“And so all Israel will be saved,as it is written:
The Deliverer will come out of Zion,
And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;” (Rom. 11:26)

“Following our recent meeting, I gathered the below. Feel free to add to these lists.” – Maor S.

Verses about All Israel saved in the day of the Lord after the GT being the remnant that survived the Sword of the Covenant:

Isa.4:3 (“For those of Israel who have escaped”) also see Isa. 66:19
Isa. 10:20-21 (“such as have escaped…”)
Isa.11:11 (“to recover the remnant of His people who are left”)
Isa. 26:1-2 (“In that day…the righteous nation…”)
Isa. 27:12-13
Isa. 30:26 (“…seven days….binds up the bruise of His people…”)
Isa. 32:15 (“Until the Spirit is poured…”)
Isa. 41:8
Isa. 44:3
Isa. 45:17, 25 (“But Israel shall be saved by the Lord…”)
Isa. 53:6 (“All we like sheep…[All the Jewish people who are left will say this])
Isa. 54:7-10,13 (“For a mere moment…”)
Isa. 59:20-21
Isa.60:15-16,21 (“also your people shall all be righteous…”)
Isa. 61:1-11.
Isa. 65:23
Isa. 66:8
Jer. 30:22 (“you shall be My people…”)
Jer. 31:1-2 (“all the families of Israel ” “survived the sword”)
Jer. 31:33-34 (“for they all shall know Me…)
Jer. 32:37-42
Eze. 20:40-44 (“…there all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, shall serve Me;”)
Eze. 28:24-26
Eze. 34:25 (“I will make a covenant of peace with them”)
Eze. 36:33 (“Thus says the Lord GOD: “On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will also enable you to dwell in the cities, and the ruins shall be rebuilt.”)
Eze. 37:23-25 (“Then they shall be My people, and I will be their God”)
Eze. 39:22-29 (“‘And I will not hide My face from them anymore; for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,’ says the Lord GOD.”)
Hos. 1:10 (“…you are the sons of the living God”)
Hos. 3:5 (“Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They shall fear the LORD and His goodness in the latter days.”)
Hos. 14:4-7 (“I will heal their backsliding…”)
Joe. 2:18-19
Joe.3:16
Mic. 7:18-20
Zeph. 3:12-20
Zech.8:7-8
Zech. 10:6-12
Zech. 12:10 + Rev.1:7
Psa. 14:7 (“salvation of Israel “)
Dan. 2:44 (“…and the kingdom shall not be left to other people;”)
Dan. 12:1-2 (“…And at that time your people shall be delivered, Every one who is found written in the book…”)

All Israel never to depart after the everlasting righteousness of the everlasting covenant is realized:

Isa. 59:20-21
Jer. 31:34
Jer.32:40
Eze. 36:27 – They will be persevered in holiness

Verses related to the Hiding of the Face theme:

Deut. 31:17-28
Deut. 32:20
Job 13:24
Job 34:29
Isa. 8:17
Isa. 45:15
Isa. 54:8
Isa. 57:17
Isa. 59:2,9
Isa. 64:7
Jer. 33:5
Ezek. 39:23,24,29
Psa. 10:1
Psa. 13:1
Psa. 30:7
Psa. 44:24
Psa. 89:46

Blessings,

Maor

The post All Israel Shall Be Saved (Podcast and List of Scriptures) – [AUDIO] appeared first on Mystery of Israel.

Without doubt, what seemed so hopelessly remote and improbable only two years ago appears to be moving at an unprecedented pace towards the deceptive Mideast peace that sets the stage for the final sequence of events leading to the Lord’s return. Just what form this will take or how long it will be in its development remains to be seen, but prophecy clearly shows that a disarming illusion of peace is the necessary prelude to the shock that must come to Israel and the world.

The danger that besets these exciting developments is the tendency to make premature announcements that discredit prophecy just when its greatest potential for witness and warning is nearing the appointed time when it will be time to say with assurance and authority, “this is that!” (Acts 2:16). Even now, well meaning prophecy watchers are making premature declarations that the final seven has already started.

Others are more cautious to say only that the conditions necessary for the peace that begins the final seven are falling fast into place. Although a necessary first step, the enforcement of a multi-national peace arrangement is not by itself sufficient to signal the start of the last seven, UNLESS this is accompanied by certain equally foretold conditions and signal events. This is what we want to look at in what follows, as it will be a safeguard against the false alarms and premature announcements that are sure to fill the air.

It might be time well repaid for serious students of the scripture to become at least somewhat familiar and respectful of the kind of difficulties and perplexities that have baffled Daniel scholars of all schools (Prov 18:13<; 2Tim 2:15). It is well to remember that according to Daniel’s prophecy, certain outstanding details will not be unsealed till the end is very near (Dan 12:4, 9). Yet, the scripture is equally clear that these things will be revealed well enough before the end to ‘prepare a people to prepare a people’ (Dan 11:33; 12:3, 10).

So while we can expect the signs that Daniel reveals to come into increasing clarity as the time nears, caution, patience, and humility is appropriate, since no other book has given rise to more diverse and conflicting interpretations.

Not only this, but Daniel has been the most tortured object of critical attack by so-called higher criticism than any book of the canon. This should not surprise us, since Satan knows that the end of his rule has been set according to Daniel’s timeline (Rev 12:12).

The difficulties that have plagued Daniel scholarship is not a call to resigned despair or neglect, but to prayer and patient waiting for the promised unsealing that is divinely set to serve its greatest purpose at “the time of the end” (Dan 8:17; 11:27, 35, 40; 12:4, 9, 13). Part of that purpose will be the compelling witness of fulfilled prophecy and its meaning as a catalyst for what scripture more than hints will be the greatest worldwide harvest of souls in history (compare Dan 11:33; 12:3; Mt 24:14; Rev 7:9, 13-14; 14:6).

Paradoxically the great number that will be saved out of “the tribulation, the great one” (double use of the definite article in the Greek) will take place during the time of the greatest deception and revolt against the truth (Mt 24:4-5, 11, 24; 2Thes 2:11; Rev 13:14).

The difficulties that have baffled and divided Daniel scholarship only further confirms that God has chosen to keep certain mysteries under wraps till the appointed time (Isa 8:14-17; Dan 9:24; 12:4, 9). It is also no surprise that Satan is fully invested to obscure and discredit this most embattled of all biblical books.

The unequaled tribulation of the final half week begins with a war in heaven. Michael “stands” to thrust Satan down to earth. This is the moment Satan fears most, since it means his tenure as “the god of this age” has been reduced to a final 3 ½ years (compare Dan 12:1, 11; Mt 24:15, 21, with Rev 12:7-14).

Because “he sees his time is short” (Rev 12:12), his total focus will be to defeat the promise by wiping out the Jewish race before it reaches the finish line at Jesus’ post-tribulational return to “finish the mystery of God” (Amos 3:7 with Rev 10:7). Hence, it may well be said that the downfall of the devil is in the details of Daniel, since the unsealing of Daniel’s prophecy sets in motion the final unmasking of Satan in the revelation of the ancient mystery of lawlessness in the revelation of the man of lawlessness (2Thes 2:3-4, 7-8).

Until then, there is much that can be known that will be decisive in whether we are prepared to recognize what is most urgent to know in the time most urgent to know it. Until then, we should approach the mysteries of Daniel with humility and patience, in the faith conviction that difficulties that seem to defy easy resolution do not exist by chance but by sovereign design. God intends that His children know they are searching out a divinely ordained mystery that is not intended to yield its full light apart from the mercy and grace of our sovereign teacher, the Holy Spirit.

Those will be most blessed in the time of full disclosure who have “searched and inquired diligently” (1Pet 1:10). Blessed are those who, in trembling dependence on the Holy Spirit, have “set their heart” to understand (Dan 10:12) the divine secrets that it has been God’s pleasure to conceal from the prideful, self-reliant wisdom of this age (Mt 11:25-26; 1Cor 2:7-8).

Not that we will resolve every question, but we want to know what the evidence rules out, rules in, or leaves open to question till the time. We want to identify any safeguards that the scripture provides that will protect us from the peril of presumption, as prophecy has been so marred and discredited by the false alarms of prophetic speculation.

But there is a time to sound the alarm, and it is always time to study and prepare ourselves to recognize the time when it arrives. We want to be neither early nor late when it is time to announce that “the time is fulfilled” (Dan 11:33; 12:3; Hab 2:2-3; Mk 1:15).

From our study, it seems most probable that the scripture intends that we look for the Antichrist to arise from somewhere to the north of Israel. Since the pattern of the past often prefigures the future in Hebrew prophecy, it becomes significant that the final aggressor, whose end coincides with the redemption of the great day, is specifically called “the Assyrian” in the typology of the pre-exilic prophets, Isaiah and Micah (Isa 10:5-6, 24:17; 11:4; 14:25; 19:23; 30:31; 31:8; Mic 5:1-7).

In Isaiah and Jeremiah, the foe from the north (“north country”) is identified with the Chaldeans under the king of Babylon (Isa 14:4, 12-14, 25-26, 31-32; 23:14; 47:1, 6, 9; Jer 6:22; 10:22; 50:9). In Ezekiel, the last aggressor is Gog. Clearly, this is the final aggressor, long foretold, not only by Ezekiel but by the many prophets of Israel (see Eze 38:17).

The nations under his command surround Israel from all sides (Eze 38:5-7, 9), but his descent is always depicted as coming from the “far north” (NKJV; NIV) / “uttermost parts of the north” (ESV; ASV) / “distant north” (NLT) / “remotest parts of the north” (NASB / CSB  (Eze 38:15; 39:2).

Here too, there is cause for caution. Who is Gog? When does he attack and how long does the battle last? How far north is his country or countries of origin?

Since Gog’s multinational invasion begins when Israel is in a state of unsuspecting false security (Isa 28:14-18; Eze 38:8, 11, 14; 39:26; Dan 11:23-24; 1Thes 5:3) but ends with Gog’s destruction at the Armageddon “great day of God Almighty” (Eze 39:8 with Rev 16:12-19) and Israel’s everlasting salvation (Eze 39:22, 28-29), the only conclusion that fits all the evidence is that this battle comprehends the entire 42 months of the great tribulation. It starts with the shock of an unexpected invasion that violates the illusory presumption of peace and ends with Israel’s post-tribulational regeneration and everlasting salvation.

This is significant because the full cast of nations that are gathered by the seduction of demon spirits to Armageddon (compare Dan 11:40-45 with Rev 16:12), do not join the fray until very late towards the end of the tribulation (compare Dan 11:40-45 with Rev 16:12-17; Eze 39:8). This means Ezekiel’s comprehensive vision of Eze 38 & 39 may include nations that come in at the end and are not necessarily one of the union of ten that strike Israel at the beginning of the tribulation.

Furthermore, since Gog is called a “chief prince” over many nations (Eze 38:2-3; 39:1), this may imply something more than only a human leader. According to Paul, “his coming is after the working of Satan with ALL power, signs, and deceiving wonders (2Thes 2:9). Never before has the world seen anything like this.

The case is too involved to enter upon here, but we believe the “mystery of lawlessness” (2Thes 2:7) that is revealed in the man of lawlessness is the revelation of Satan in the flesh, the antithesis of the mystery of God manifest in the flesh (1Tim 3:16). I mention this because the scripture calls the archangel, Michael, “one of the chief princes (Dan 10:13).

This suggests that “THE chief prince” over the nations of the gentiles (Gen 10) could be Satan himself, cryptically referred to as Gog. Gog would then double as both Satan and the Antichrist because he fulfills the mystery of Satan in the flesh. This understanding explains why this title is again used to apply to Satan’s post-millennial release for the “little season” of futile threat to the everlasting peace of regathered Israel (Rev 20:3, 7-9).

But beyond this general reference to the southward descent of the northern invader, depending on how certain debated passages in Daniel are interpreted, it is possible that the typology of the scripture points us to a much narrower, more specific territory from which the final Antichrist may be expected to rise. The passages in question are Dan 8:8-9 & Dan 11:3-21. These verses specify the territory ruled by Antiochus Epiphanes IV. He was the Greek tyrant who attacked Jerusalem and famously desecrated the temple by sacrificing a pig on the altar and erecting a statue of Zeus in 167 BCE.

Because Antiochus arose out of one of the four primary divisions of Alexander’s kingdom, scholars usually identify him as the “little horn” of Dan 8:9 who also abolished the daily sacrifice in Dan 8:11. But while Antiochus IV was certainly a type of the “coming prince” (Dan 9:26), we will show in what follows why we cannot accept that he was the complete and ultimate fulfillment.

In notable contrast to Antiochus, the coming “little horn” of Dan 7:8 (the final Antichrist) is one who rises up from among ten nations to lead them in a united invasion Israel. The end of the little horn comes, not three years after the abomination of desolation is placed, as in the case of Antiochus’ desecration (Dec 164 to Dec 167), but 3 1/2 years later with the completion of the predestined half week of Dan 7:25; 9:27; 12:7, 11).

Such often neglected distinctions are placed in the text to protect the careful interpreter from a hasty presumption that a near parallel or partial fulfillment in the past has sufficiently satisfied the language of the text. It is certain that Jesus was not satisfied that Antiochus’ desecration sufficiently fulfilled Daniel’s reference to the abomination of desolation. He puts it fully in the future in relation to the unequaled tribulation that ends with nothing short of His return in glory and the resurrection of the righteous (compare Mt 24:15, 21, 29-31 with Dan 12:1-2).

Moreover, so far from being a “little horn” who “becomes strong with a small people” (Dan 11:23), Antiochus rose to power in the largest of the four “notable horns” of Alexander’s divided kingdom (Dan 8:5, 8). The territory of the Seleucid Empire stretched from Antioch (named after his father, Antiochus III) to the Mesopotamian regions of Babylonia and Assyria, all of which had been under Macedonian control after the division of Alexander’s kingdom among his successors (Dan 8:8-9; 11:3-21).

On this basis, it has been long expected that someone would rise up from within that general territory towards the end of Hosea’s 2nd millennial day (Hos 5:15-6:2). For this reason, many were reasonably considering whether Jolani (aka Amed al Sharaa) might be the fulfillment of one who would stand up in the estate of Antiochus IV, the great eschatological prototype of the final AC.

The problem with Jolani’s candidacy for the one who enters into an alliance with Israel (Dan 11:23) is that he did not come into power “peaceably”, nor by deceit and smooth promises, as stated in Dan 11:21, but by force of arms. I’m aware that some translations translate, Dan 11:24 “at a time of peace, or tranquility” but that too fails to fit the conditions by which Assad of Syria was so suddenly replaced.

And yet, never has there been a more credible and promising prospect for the kind of deceptive, false peace that the scripture depicts as necessarily preceding the sudden and unexpected outbreak of the final tribulation as we’re now seeing unfold before our eyes (compare Isa 28:14-18; Jer 30:3-7; Eze 38:8, 11, 14; 39:26; Dan 9:27; 11:24; Mt 24:15-16, 21; 1Thes 5:3; Rev 11:2 with Joel 2:1-3). Ominously, this is all taking place after the greatest upsurge of rabid world antisemitism, not seen since the Hitler time. By any fair reckoning, the stage is being set.

Whether the territory once ruled by Antiochus IV significantly narrows the general area of the AC’s origin will depend on our answer to a very important question debated by scholars. Does the “ vile / despicable person” of Dan 11:21 refer to Antiochus or the future Antichrist, or both? If to Antiochus, this would mean that the willful king who exalts himself over all forms of deity in Dan 11:36-37 is someone else entirely, already nearly 22 centuries removed from Antiochus’ time. You see the puzzle.

The far greater consensus among Daniel scholars is that Dan 11:21 & Dan 11:36 are speaking of two distinct individuals separated by many centuries. This means that both do the same thing, as described in nearly precisely the same words. Both take away the daily sacrifice (regular burn offering) and place the abomination. To reiterate, this would mean that Dan 11:31 (assumed to be past) is a completely different event from Dan 12:11 (assumed to be future).

So, is it only Antiochus, (as a highly descriptive type of the coming Antichrist) who is introduced in Dan 11:21? Or is it the Antichrist himself? All will agree that Antiochus functions as a type, but “if” Dan 11:21 does not introduce the Antichrist, then looking for him to rise somewhere within the estate (general vicinity) of Antiochus IV loses its primary support. It opens the field for him to come from a more expansive area, albeit necessarily to Israel’s north.

Antiochus came into the estate of his deceased brother, Seleucus IV, who succeeded his father, Antiochus III. This becomes significant if Antiochus is a type of the Antichrist, but especially if the person who comes to power in verse 21 is the same person who exalts himself in Dan 11:36-37. I want to show in what follows that there is no exegetical justification to find the break between antiquity and the time of the end between verse Dan 11:35 & Dan 11:36, but much more likely between Dan 11:20 & Dan 11:21.

We begin by pointing out where agreement is almost universal. Due to Paul’s verbatim quotation of Dan 11:36-27 in 2Thes 2:4, few will dispute that Daniel’s willful king is Paul’s man of lawlessness. Nor is there any disagreement that Jesus quotes the language of Dan 11:31 & Dan 12:11 to identify the sign that He expects His disciples to recognize as the event that starts the unequaled tribulation (Dan 11:31; 12:1, 11 with Mt 24:15-16, 21).

But is the abomination of Dan 11:31 the same event as the abomination of Dan 12:11? This is the very question that has divided Daniel scholars. It will decide whether the events spanning from Dan 11:21-35 have relevance for the future.

Though several reputable commentators over the years have offered a compelling defense of the position we take (I have a few in my library), we remain in the comparatively rare minority. This is not the place to recount them all, but there are notable details in Dan 11:21-35 that do not agree with certain aspects of the well documented history of Antiochus Epiphanes IV’s career leading up to his desecration of the temple. We will look at just a couple of examples:

With rare exception, most conservative scholars assume that because Antiochus was such a remarkable type of the coming man of lawlessness that the references to the removal of the sacrifice in Dan 8:11 & Dan 11:31 can only apply to him as the complete and final fulfillment, leaving only Dan 9:27 & Dan 12:11 to have a future fulfillment.

Let us look more closely at what this postulate implies. If Dan 11:31 has in view a different time and event than Dan 12:11, this would mean that mention of the abomination and removal of Tamid (regular burnt offering) of Dan 12:11 is NOT referring back to the familiar event mentioned earlier in Dan 11:31. Instead, it means that Dan 12:11, while a very similar event, is already nearly 22 centuries removed from the abomination of Dan 11:31, despite its being described in so nearly the same words.

These are the very words that Jesus will use to describe the sign that marks the beginning of the final tribulation that will surpass anything in the past or future (Mt 24:15-21). Even His reference to the unequaled time of trouble in Mt 24:21 is a direct quotation of Dan 12:1. Therefore, to NOT expect a future repeat of a very similar act in “Judea”, comparable to Antiochus’ desecration, amounts to a blatant denial of Jesus’ own, manifest understanding.

This is why Jesus sends His disciples to read and understand Daniel’s account of this particular event (Mt 24:15). He knew that by these unmistakable connections the time and nature of this massively transitional event would be recognized by His sheep, visibly, unmistakably, beyond any question (Mt 24:15; 2Thes 2:4). This will be their strategic advantage for the final thrust of the gospel before the end (Mt 24:14).

Should we then accept the verdict of the far greater number of commentators who believe that Dan 11:21-35 should be interpreted to apply to Antiochus, not as an archetypal foreshadowing of that last aggressor, but as completely fulfilled in 167 BCE by his desecration of the temple? This would also mean that Dan 11:32-35 are applied, not to the tribulation of the end, but to the ensuing persecution of Antiochus that ended in the triumph of the Maccabean warriors and rededication of the temple almost exactly three years later in 164 BCE.

While not all agree that 11:21-35 is past history, there is broad consensus that the abomination and removal of the daily sacrifice of Dan 12:11 is the start of the half week of Dan 7:25; 9:27; 11:12:7; Rev 11:2-3; 12:6, 14; 13:5). On this we agree. We do not agree that Dan 11:21-35 can be consigned to the past. This means Dan 11:31 & Dan 12:11 are both equally future. Dan 11:31 was partially prefigured by Antiochus’ desecration, but both 11:31 & 12:11 have primary and ultimate reference to the same event.

So to summarize: Because Paul is so clear in his duplication of the words of Dan 11:36-37 applied to the man of lawlessness in 2Thes 2:4, most scholars locate the gap of centuries between versus 35 & 36. From this point to the end of the book, there is common agreement that the topic is the future Antichrist and the unparalleled tribulation of the final 3 ½ years.

This is not in dispute. Our difference lies with the view that Dan 11:21-35 has been fulfilled by Antiochus IV in the second century BCE. Antiochus was a type and pattern of the one to come but he did not satisfy some of the necessary details of the prophecy, thus demanding a future and more complete fulfillment, arriving at the end that is “determined” (Dan 9:24, 26; 11:36) / “appointed” (Dan 8:19; 11:27, 35).

In several notable particulars, Antiochus does not well enough match the profile that history provides. His rise to power certainly did not begin in the way described. He was certainly no “little horn”, since he never began with a “small people” but inherited directly and at once his father’s and brother’s rule over the greatest of the four “notable horns” (Dan 8:9; 11:5).

To argue for the break of centuries to be located between verses Dan 11:35 & Dan 11:36 would mean that the “willful king” of vs 36 introduces another individual entirely, but the continuity of the preceding succession of pronouns militates against such a conjecture. In all, the cumulative evidence weighs against the view that Dan 11:31 & 12:11 are completely different events, signifying two different ends of two different times, centuries removed, despite being described in by the words in the the same prophecy. How likely? You decide.

The stakes are high in this decision, because “if” commentators are wrong in their consignment of Dan 11:21-35 to antiquity, a substantial number of revealed details about the first half of Daniel’s 70th week risks being robbed from the knowledge and witness of the church. We can hardly begin to estimate how invaluable this knowledge will prove to be in its appointed time.

So much is at stake whether the godly remnant will be able to recognize and benefit from a knowledge of the events that occupy the first half Daniel’s 70th week that run from Dan 11:23-30.

So, we ask, does the “appointed time of the end” in Dan 11:27, 35 refer to a completely different end than the “time of the end” in Dan 12:4, 9, 13? The far greater number of scholars think so. What do you think? Will it matter then? Doesn’t matter now?

Notice too that the reference in Dan 11:27 to “the appointed time of the end” comes before the first mention of the abomination of desolation in Dan 11:31. How then can we say that the same “appointed end” mentioned in Dan 11:35 refers to a different end than described in Dan 12:4, 9-13? The details of the text must take priority whether history confirms a complete fulfillment or only partial fulfillment, designed to function only as a type and pattern of a more complete and comprehensive fulfillment in the future.

As mentioned, many, actually most commentators make “appointed time of the end” in Dan 11:27 & Dan 11:35 to be speaking about the end of the Maccabean struggle over the Seleucid armies of Antiochus IV. According to this interpretation, this is NOT the same “time of the end” referred to in Dan 11:40, 45; 12:4, 8-13. Instead, most commentators treat this undeniable similarity as two distinct ends of two different (albeit very similar) times of assault on Jerusalem, its temple and sacrifice, nearly 22 centuries apart.

The extreme awkwardness of this view can be illustrated by juxtaposing two parallel passages of undeniable similarity, but are they the same? Do they signify the same time? Most say yes. A few say no. You make the call.

Dan 11:35:

“And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed.”

Dan 12:9-10:

“And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. 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.”

This alone is enough to cast doubt on the Antiochus interpretation, not that he did not prefigure and typify the coming Antichrist in his attack on the holy covenant centered in Jerusalem, but he falls significantly short in certain particulars that do not match some of the details of Dan 11:21-35. This argues for a fuller, more exact and complete fulfillment of every yet outstanding detail.

Alls to say, if Dan 11:21-35 is wrongly relegated to the past, then the witnessing, prophetic body of Christ risks being robbed of crucial end time information that is intended for their advantage and the greater glory of an infallible scripture that requires that not a single jot or tittle pass unfulfilled.

On the other hand, if we are correct that the AC is introduced in Dan 11:21, we are justified to be looking for one who has or will come to power in an initially small country of modest beginnings somewhere to the north of Israel. This will not be through natural succession, but apparently, seizing upon a momentary vacancy, he snakes his way to the top by “flattery” (slippery fair promises), as implied in Dan 11:21-23. This description stands in notable contrast to the historical account of how Antiochus came to power by wresting the throne from a usurper accused of assassinating his brother, Seleucus IV. Again, there are points of notable variance between the details of the prophecy and the historical record of Antiochus’ accession to the throne.

So, unless we are overlooking something (always a real and present danger), there may yet be a longer wait between what we’re seeing now and the “alliance” of Dan 11:23 that ‘appears’ (?) to be the same time that “he” (i.e., the coming prince of Dan 9:26) “confirms” (makes firm / strengthens) the covenant with the many to begin the final seven (Dan 9:27).

If Dan 11:21-35 is retrieved as yet future, then from the alliance of Dan 11:23 to the abomination of Dan 11:31, we have been given a clear chronological sequence of events that occupy the first half of the week.

Sometime after the alliance of Dan 11:23, but before the abomination of Dan 11:31, the sacrifice (regular burn offering) will be restored. If not already apparent, this will remove all doubt that we have crossed over into the final seven.

But there is more that will confirm that we are in the final seven. “AFTER the league made with him” (11:23), he attacks and overcomes a king to his south (Dan 11:25-27). This conquest of the southern king does not appear to impinge on the security of Israel. The conquered king is not killed but joins his conqueror in a secret plot to destroy the holy covenant at Jerusalem, but the plan comes to nothing because the time is not right (Dan 11:27).

These are things those living at that time will see. From this, they will be able to anticipate what comes next, play by play.

Manifestly, the alliance of Dan 11:23 is made with Israel in particular, but since Dan 9:27 says he confirms the covenant “with many”, it seems possible, I think probable, that the AC will be only one among many other nations that are united in common consent to recognize (confirm) Israel’s right, not only to a portion of their promised Land, but also their return to the temple service in Jerusalem as commanded in the law.

This is why the covenant that is confirmed by political expedience while fiercely hated by the AC is called “the holy covenant” (Dan 11:28, 30). It is this recognition of the “holy covenant” in particular either by the AC alone, or more likely an international cast of several nations that starts the seven.

So is the league / alliance of Dan 11:23 the same event described in Dan 9:27? It appears likely, but can’t say with final certainty. If the alliance and the confirming of the covenant are part of a single event, then we can see a certain sequence of specific events that will precede the abomination.

After the alliance of Dan 11:23, the Antichrist makes two distinct southward advances before a third whereupon he invades the Land and places the abomination of desolation (Dan 11:31).

The first is the successful conquest of a nation to his south that increases his power base (Dan 11:25-28). The second southward move is intercepted and repulsed by the “ships of Chittim” (Kittim in some translations). This momentary frustration fills him with rage against the holy covenant centered in Jerusalem (Dan 11:30).

It is inviting to speculate that it is just here that he secretly unites the ten nations that have waited for an opportunity to destroy the peace and recapture Jerusalem for the Caliphate. The check and restraint of the guardian naval power stationed in the Mediterranean is short-lived, as the now fully united ten nation confederacy floods the Land with overwhelming force (Isa 28:2, 15; 59:19; Dan 9:26, 11:22; Eze 38:9, 16; Rev 12:15-16), whereupon he captures Jerusalem (Zech 14:2), enters and defiles the “holy place” by taking away the regular burn offering and placing the abomination of desolation, as he exalts himself “above all that is called God or that is worshipped” (Dan 11:31; 36-37; Mt 24:15; 2Thes 2:4) and begins 3 1/2 years of treading down the holy city (Isa 28:18; 63:18; Mic 5:5; Dan 8:13; ; Lk 21:24; Rev 11:2).

Now the question: Why and how would Israel in the modern context ever so completely relax their guard as to be taken as much by surprise as they were on Oct 7? How does Israel come to such a presumption of peace as described in Isa 28:14-18; Eze 38:8, 11, 14; 39:26; 1Thes 5:3?

I would propose that this comes, not only when peace is initially declared and internationally imposed upon dissenters, but it comes with the glaze of false security that will steal over the minds of the population when the ships of Kittim (US? NATO?) turn back the threat of the AC’s second southward advance. This is when the boast of peace and safety will soar (Amos 9:9-10; Isa 28:14-18; 1Thes 5:3).

I’ve always speculated that the ill-fated declaration of 1Thes 5:3 has most particularly to do with what Israel will feel after the ships of Chittim have successfully checked the second southward advance of the northern king. After such a show of seemingly impregnable protection, the peace will ‘seem’ invincible.

Now ask this question: How formidable would the naval power have to be that can halt and turn back the man who in just the next verse (Dan 11:30-31) will rally and return, this time with a confederacy of ten nations united in their commitment to overwhelm and destroy, not only unsuspecting Israel, but the west may very well find itself suddenly incapacitated, unable to mount a successful resistance against the Antichrist’s all prevailing military supremacy? (Dan 11:31with Rev 13:4).

Could this happen in conjunction with an unexpected nuclear strike on the west? That’s where I see the cumulative evidence pointing.

There will be gaps in our knowledge and doubtless surprises, as more becomes un-sealed as the day approaches, but who will not consider that the unprecedented alignment of foretold events happening right before our eyes represent giant steps that perfectly align with what prophecy gives us to expect?

A fragile peace appears to be in the making, potentially unprecedented and against all odds only two years ago. When consolidated and set in place, a growing sense of security will doubtless follow. At length, the growing presumption of lasting security will become the ill-fated boast of Isa 28:15, 18; 1Thes 5:3. That boast is against the warning that prophetic witnesses will be sounding throughout the nations (Ps 19:4).

The warning will be generally dismissed at first, it will continue to speak to Israel during the time of their wilderness flight from the face of the Antichrist (Isa 28:16-19; Dan 11:32-33; 12:3; Rev 12:6, 7-14). The Antichrist’s pursuit of Jewish blood must continue until the light of the gospel breaks through the veil, as the penitent Jewish survivors of the tribulation see the one whom the nation pierced coming in the clouds of divine glory (Zech 12:10; Mt 24:30; 26:64; 1Thes 4:17; Rev 1:7). It is no accident that our president confidently announced, “eternal peace in the Mideast!”.

That declaration, while the equivalent of Jeremiah’s, “Peace, peace!” When there is no peace (Jer 6:14; 8:11), is no less a piece of sovereign divine providence. Such an extravagant expression of optimism reveals the very self-reliant humanism that boasts of accomplishing by natural means what God has reserved to Himself alone, namely, “eternal peace in the Mideast” by the long-awaited advent of the Prince of Peace. “Not by might nor by power but by My Spirit says the Lord!”

So let us guard against the tendency to assume that the long-awaited peace will necessarily include the Antichrist’s confirmation of the covenant that starts the last seven. It may but it may not.

Recognition of the futurity of Dan 11:21-35 leads us to consider that the covenant of Dan 9:27 may be more than a presumed “peace treaty” with the Antichrist. It is more likely his confirmation (strengthening / support / endorsement) of the “holy covenant” of Dan 11:22, 28, 30, 32.

This has implications for the revival of the ancient sacrifice and restoration of the “holy place” in the temple at Jerusalem (Mt 24:15; 2Thes 2:4). Hence, we must be careful and cautious to distinguish things that are not the same, lest we misidentify and thus mislead.

To be sure, at some point, what could hardly be imagined only two years ago, will exist. There will be a disarming illusion of peace, doubtless protected by one or more of the great world powers.

In its early stages, this remarkable achievement may not immediately include the AC’s “confirmation” (recognition) of the covenant of Dan 9:27, but it will be the framework that makes provision for it.

Why this caution? According to Dan 9:4; 11:22, 28, 30, 32, the covenant is not merely a peace pact, as many have perhaps too hastily assumed. In all other uses of the word throughout the book of Daniel, the covenant is God’s covenant with Israel. So if the covenant of Dan 9:27 signifies nothing more than a peace pact, this one verse would be the only exception. However, if the covenant of Dan 9:27 is the same as THE “holy covenant” of Dan 11:28, 30, a whole new vista comes into consideration.

This would mean that the AC, with “many” others, will be confirming the very covenant that has come down through Abraham’s promise of the Land, through Moses’ institutions of temple service, and through David’s acquisition of the elect city of Jerusalem. If this is the “covenant” that the AC confirms to begin the final 7 [years], then it is more than a peace pact with the AC.

Yes, a preceding peace agreement will certainly need to be in place for the “holy covenant” to be confirmed, whether as part of the initial peace plan or a later event made possible by the peace plan. In other words, it is at least possible that the covenant (assuming it is the same as the “holy covenant” of Dan 9:4; 11:22, 28, 30, 32), may not be confirmed at the same moment the peace is first initiated. It remains to be seen.

In this case, it is NOT the peace agreement that starts the seven years but the confirming of the covenant, even the covenant that Dan 11:28, 30 calls the “holy covenant”. Although inextricably related, the peace plan that may soon be implemented may not immediately include the confirmation of the “holy covenant”.

It is possible the peace plan may come into play and be agreed on by the major parties and exist for some time before the AC confirms the holy covenant. It is also possible that the he is only one of “many” nations that will unite to acknowledge, not only Israel’s right to exist, but their right to temple access to sacrifice again.

As remote as such an eventuality may seem at the moment, it MUST come about, since for the sacrifice to be stopped, it must first be started, and it must conform to the pattern of the past in the passages where Antiochus serves as an importantly instructive type.

So we must guard the delicate balance between watchful vigilance and hasty presumption, but we must also be prepared in the scriptures to “instruct many”, not only in the tribulation but even now. We need to show others how to show others how the signs that confirm certainty can be recognized with certainty.

In short, God doesn’t waste ink! These things were revealed to be unsealed in their appointed time, that the one who reads may run (Dan 12:3 with Hab 2:2-3).

There may be much that remains unclear, but sufficient clarity is given that many of the false alarms of prophetic speculation can be safely ruled out as incongruent with the scripture.

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick” (Prov 13:12). Great confusion threatens where these distinctions are not taken into account and carefully considered.

In His precious service, Reggie

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As never before, the whole flow of history is moving exactly in the direction that the plain person’s plain reading of prophecy would have led them to expect. God Himself has made the issue of Israel and the so-called, “Jewish question” a watershed of international division.

Just imagine trying to explain the irrevocable election of Israel, based on grace alone, to a generation that is being fast pre-conditioned, almost overnight, to despise the very suggestion of such an unthinkable notion. Talk about a calculated offense!

So yes, how we see the times we’re in does indeed come down to a question of one’s hermeneutics, but also to a question of the heart.

The pragmatic pastor will want to ask, how is this relevant to the gospel? If a pure gospel is well established in the heart, isn’t that enough? Shouldn’t such details of prophetic speculation be left to the mystery that God intended, nice to know but not critical, since the sheep will surely make it through, come what may?

Indeed, the gospel and the saving righteousness of Christ is centermost. But this center has a Divinely chosen context that must not be neglected, not only for our benefit, but much more importantly, for the glory that God has invested in His foretold plan, precious to savor at all times, but particularly now, as chaos and deception is about to explode on a scale eclipsing anything ever witnessed before.

We must remember that the NT revelation of the mystery of the gospel is built around Christ’s coming, departure, and return to Israel, specifically the Mount of Olives from whence He ascended. He must return to the place where He was crucified under the placard that said, “This is Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”

Why end the age just there, in that physical locality? Why has God constructed the end of the age around an ancient land dispute that is divinely calculated to plunge the nations into an insoluble crisis from which none will be able to extricate themselves? (Zech 12:2-3). Why would God bind together the issue of the mystery of the gospel with the mystery of Israel?

I would submit that part of the answer regards His deliberate intention that both comings would be surrounded by an element of mystery, designed to elude the pride of self-reliance (Mt 11:25-26), just as Paul warns in Ro 11:25. Just as the mystery of Christ’s twofold coming so deeply searched and tested Jewish hearts, just so, the mystery of Israel is designed to test and sift the hearts of the nations, even gentile believers.

But there is one important difference: The mystery of Christ’s cross and twofold coming was not only hidden from Peter and the disciples (Mt 16:22; Lk 18:34); it was hidden even from the angelic powers (1Cor 2:7-8). Not so the mystery surrounding the Lord’s return.

Those well marked days will only come “as a thief” upon the unregenerate church and the unbelieving world, but not upon the faithful children of the light (1Thes 5:4). We know this because Daniel’s prophecy is clear that the vision will be unsealed and known to the wise (maskilim) at the time of the end. They will be doing great exploits, instructing many, and turning many to righteousness, even a countless number will be saved out of, “the tribulation, the great one” (Rev 7:14; noting the significant double use of the definite article).

But the larger answer to the question has all to do with the completion of an ancient covenant promise. It is the age-ending climax of the “everlasting covenant” that forms the framework of the future. In the larger context of God’s eternal purpose in Christ, this is what defines how and why the age ends just as the prophecy of both testaments so fully describes.

Towards the goal of seeing the big picture, I believe the Lord Jesus Himself has given us the key to establish what I like to call a “plumbline of simplicity” that will align and pull many of the strands together into a coherent clarity. The object will not only be to know what is most important to know, but how best to show others how to make the case from scripture without getting bogged down in details, in a way that will equip others to equip others.

If observed, I believe God has given us an amazing, and now especially timely, provision to equip the body, not only to escape the manifold forms of end-time deception, but to have the Lord’s own, personally commended key of interpretation that will enable them to “instruct many” and “turn many” to righteousness” (Dan 11:32-33; 12:3, 10).

I would like to expand a little on how Daniel aligns and sets in order, not only the end-time events, but also the whole covenantal framework of the judgments and promises, as traced from Gen 3:15 to the final perfection of the last two chapters of Revelation.

Daniel is the key to organizing the whole of scripture around the main themes of kingdom, covenant, and mystery. But it is Jesus’ Olivet prophecy in particular, and the emphasis He puts on one centermost event, that becomes the key that opens not only Daniel, but also sets all the prophecies spoken concerning the coming day of the Lord in clearest covenant context.

Referencing and building upon Moses and the earlier prophets, Daniel gives us not only the timeline and the order of events related to both comings, but he also reminds us of the covenant curses that must continue until Israel’s everlasting deliverance and final security in the Land, all in glorious analogy to the story of Joseph and his brothers (compare Mic 5:3-4, with Zech 12:10).

Rightly instructed believers will weep with those who weep, not only in their bitter distress, but in the glory that will break upon the beleaguered survivors of Israel when they will look upon Him whom they pierced and say with one voice, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Mt 23:39).

In this way, we can begin to see God’s mind and purpose behind the great judgments and the unrestrained evils that would be otherwise inexplicable, and the occasion for the greatest offense to the natural mind.

But back to my point:

In my experience I found that when I chose to take very seriously Jesus’ command to read and understand Daniel’s prophecy concerning the abomination of desolation, I was challenged when I saw that this light did not come to him until he first, “set his heart to understand”. Looking to understand this particular event and its full significance, I would be astonished at just how much more this simple obedience would open to discovery in pulling the great strands of biblical themes together. Jesus well knew what simple compliance to His wise directive to pay attention to Daniel would set in motion.

Not only did I discover the event, and the events that follow throughout the second half of the week, I discovered a number of events that would mark and distinguish the first half. What a priceless advantage this first half of the week will provide the body for their readiness for the second half. We will see it coming!

But more than all of this, Daniel became the key to what I like to call, “the glory of the story”. This is because Daniel, like no other book, reaches all the way back to Israel’s beginnings and outlines the whole sweep of Israel’s history of crisis and covenant discipline, reaching to its glorious resolution in the kingdom that has come on earth as it is in heaven.

It is important to note that the abomination of desolation is the very event that Paul was careful to elaborate during his short, three-week stay with the Thessalonians. This should underscore the importance he attached to Jesus’ Olivet prophecy and His emphasis on Daniel’s order of events.

We know this because when the false alarm arose that Christ’s return was immediately imminent, he corrected the error by appealing to what he had gone over with them on his earlier visit. “Do you not remember that when I was yet with you, I told you these things?” (2Thes 2:5).

Paul speaks of a coming man who is yet to be revealed. He will be possessed of “all power”, capable of signs, wonders, and cunning deception. He will enter the temple of God in Jerusalem (Mt 24:15-16), and there, exalt himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped (2Thes 2:4). But there are some dots we need to connect.

Jesus doesn’t mention the man, but only this event and its location (“Judea”). But both Paul and Jesus use language that is taken almost verbatim from Daniel chapter 11, where both the man and the event are described within four verses of each other (see Dan 11:31-37). So the scripture itself shows us how the dots should be connected.

Manifestly, Paul did not regard knowledge of the basic order of endtime events as a matter of no serious concern. Notice Paul’s urgent tone when he echoes the Lord’s similar grave warnings concerning the peril of deception on this very matter. “Let no man deceive you by any means!”

You can almost hear the exclamation point.

That sounds like the beginning of Jesus’ opening answer to His disciple’s question, “What shall be the sign of your coming and the end of the age?” Significantly, Jesus’ first words were, “take heed that no man deceive you”, again, the exclamation point. No other theme is so repeatedly reinforced throughout His prophetic discourse.

Paul’s response to the error concerning the order of events preceding the Lord’s return implies that something far more serious was being threatened than to merely prompt the slackers and busybodies to return to their ‘day jobs’ and occupy till He comes, as some commentators seem content to assume. Rather, Paul is seeing where this error can lead in light of the confusion that Jesus warned would reign, particularly over thie time and manner of His return (Mt 24:23-31).

The abomination of desolation is THE prophetic key to the believer’s preparation to instruct many of the meaning, not only of the events of those days, but the great issue of the promise of an “everlasting righteousness” that is the Lord’s own righteousness, available to believers now, but promised to come to all the penitent survivors of Israel in that great day (Isa 45:17, 24-25; 54:17, Jer 23:5-6; Dan 9:24). This is the glorious free gift that gives hope and meaning and comfort, even in the face of the staggering evil, deception, and suffering of those days, like the shattering event we so recently witnessed on Oct 7, a tragic foretaste of Zech 14:2.

But clarity concerning this decisive event achieves much more than might first appear. The abomination of desolation cannot happen in a vacuum. It must be preceded by certain definite, traceable events and preconditions.

For one thing, before a sacrifice can be removed it must exist. If it does not now exist, it must start. But before it can start, a long-standing stalemate must yield to a radical change in the current status quo. For these kinds of necessary preliminary conditions to come about, we may expect seismic changes to come to the region, sufficient to move nations from their former intransigence to make unprecedented concessions for peace.

The logic is clear. In order for the Jews to have sufficient access to the forbidden Temple Mount, some kind of political peace arrangement, however presently remote, seems necessarily implied, and indeed foretold in scripture (compare Isa 28:15, 18; Eze 38:8, 11, 14; 39:26; Dan 9:27; 11:21, 23-24, 31; Mt 24:15-16; 1Thes 5:3). You see then how those who will have obeyed the Lord’s command to search out and understand this particular event foretold by Daniel, will also be able to recognize at least some of the preceding events that signal its approach.

This is where an understanding of Daniel’s 70th week will prove invaluable for the church’s readiness. For this, we must see God’s investment in the first half of the week as a divine strategy to prepare the church for the second half. But for this, we must see that the 70th week did not follow the 69th week in unbroken succession.

I will give only the briefest possible argument why the 70th week must be seen as future. The basic, highly condensed argument is this:

Dan 12:1-2, 7, 11, particularly vers 11, will show beyond reasonable dispute that the abomination of desolation, with the simultaneous removal of the daily sacrifice, starts the last 3 ½ years (the half week of Dan 7:25; 9:27; 12:7; Rev 11:2-3; 12:6, 14; 13:5). It is the ‘time like no other’, also called, “great tribulation” and “the time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jer 30:7; Dan 12:1; Mt 24:21: Rev 7:14).

Observe that this last and greatest tribulation on earth ends with nothing short of the final deliverance of Daniel’s people and the resurrection of the righteous dead, including Daniel’s personal resurrection (Dan 12:1-2, 13). Thus, it is not far to see that this is the event that divides the final week in two equal halves in Dan 9:27.

So far as it is agreed that the 69th week terminates at the cross of Christ (i.e., Messiah “cut off”; Dan 9:26 with Isa 53:8), nothing within the range of the seven years following the cross arrived at the kind of “end” / “consummation” as described in Daniel, most particularly Dan 12:1-2. Advocates of the unbroken continuity of the 70 sevens are hard pressed to identify what events within that time frame can be said to fulfill the goals reached at the end of final the 3 ½ years, most specifically and undeniably the deliverance of Daniel’s people (Jews / “natural branches”) and the resurrection of the righteous (Dan 12:1-2, 7, 11).

Therefore, to speak of an unbroken continuity between the 69th and 70th weeks is highly anticlimactic, to say the least. Such would be a complete short-fall of the end goals, not only of Dan 9:24, but of Daniel’s apocalyptic visions in general, all of which were aimed at the final and eternal end of exile and the coming in of the post-tribulational kingdom of God on earth at the end of the last persecution.

Time forbids an account of the genius and logic of all six goals of the seventy sevens (Dan 9:24) and the mystery of the interim that divides the 70th seven from the former 69 weeks of years, but for now, our purpose must be limited to underscore how invaluable this knowledge will be in preparing the church, now, but even more especially in the first half of the week for what it must be to Israel and the nations in the second half that ends in Christ’s post-tribulational return at the Day of the Lord.

This strategic advantage threatens to be lost to the church’s benefit unless we are able to identify the distinguishing markers that show we have entered into the first half of the week. I offer this brief quote from G. H. Lang (beloved mentor of F. F. Bruce) from his, “The Histories and Prophecies of Daniel”:

“When this agreement shall have been confirmed, the wise will know that the final seven years has commenced, that the end days are present, that the consummation of the age has arrived. They will expect the violation of the covenant after three years and a half, and will not be overwhelmed with surprise, having been told beforehand by this prophecy. Then will it be seen in fullness that the knowledge of prophetic scripture is simply priceless.”

I conclude with this appeal: Certainly every inch of ground in the confusing smorgasbord of eschatological options is hard fought and hard won, but there are keys of simplicity that make a plain path through the maze. One of those keys I have mentioned, but just how best to use that key to equip the church belongs to another discussion.

But regardless, whether you believe the preterist position that the abomination and the great tribulation is past already, or the classic dispensational view that the Olivet prophecy is to be seen as “Jewish ground”, not directly applicable to the church that is expected to be gone during this time. In any event, I soberly appeal to you to at least treat the grave warnings of deception and the antidote that Jesus prescribes with at least a ‘just in case’ sense of responsibility for the sake of your flocks.

If Jesus put such stress on the relationship of this event to offset some of the prevailing deceptions of “those days”, such as the present massive upsurge of antisemitism, just reflect on how regrettable it would be if you had failed to prepare those under your care with at least the means to recognize these things if you might just happen to be sincerely mistaken.

All’s to say, a careful knowledge of Daniel’s prophecy of the end is a pain well worth taking. It is only as we are instructed that we will be in a position to instruct (Dan 11:33; 12:3).

If Paul can rightly call the living church of the living God “the pillar and ground of truth” (1Tim 3:15), it would seem inconceivable that the last witness of the gospel to Israel and the nations would be made in its absence. If we take the view that to be alive “in Christ”, whether before, during, or after the tribulation, is necessarily to be part of His body, then it follows that “the voice of the bridegroom AND of the bride” (Rev 18:23) will be heard far and wide during a final witness, sealed in the blood of the tribulation martyrs (compare Dan 7:21; 11:35; 12:10; Mt 24:14; Rev 6:10-11; 12:11; 13:7, 15; 14:6; 20:4).

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“But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”

John 6:39-40

“And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose none, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.”

John 6:44-45

“No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.”

John 6:64-65

“But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.”

In all of the above texts, the necessity of faith is understood, but the existence of saving faith is credited to the Father’s prior initiative to give only some to the Son. The text would have us to observe that this is a limited number, since none to whom it is given fail to come, but none can come unless enabled by the drawing power of Father.

This raises the question: Does any so drawn by the Father ever fail to come? The procession of the text will not admit of any such failure.

The order of the Lord’s sayings, as the chapter continues, seems to narrow to an unavoidable conclusion: None are enabled to come to Christ unless it has first been given, and no one who comes is ever lost.

We know that this drawing is effectual in obtaining its goal because it ensures that each one who is drawn by the Father is also “taught of God”, and that “everyone” so taught comes to Jesus, never to be cast out or lost (Jn 6:37, 39). What follows will show that this is all by a Divine enablement that is not only the result, but also the effectual cause of faith in those whom the Father has given to the Son from all eternity.

Of that foreordained number, not one is ever lost or cast out (6:37, 39), but is kept by the unfailing power of Jesus to be raised at the “last day” (Lk 14:14; Jn 6:39; 17:12; 1Pet 1:4-5). These chosen ones whom the Father has specifically entrusted to the Son’s secure keeping (compare Jn 6:39; 10:27-29; 13:18; 15:16; 17:9, 12, 20) are also the special object of His unfailing intercession, most especially to the end that their faith “fail not” in the day of testing (Lk 22:32; Jn 17:9, 12, 20; with Heb 7:25).

Next is an observation that carries the most glorious implications for those who “love God and are the called according to His purpose” (Ro 8:28-29). It is Jesus’ citation and application of Isa 54:13 in Jn 6:45.

Here Jesus extends to His sheep from every nation all the glorious eternal security of Yahweh’s long promised, long awaited “covenant of peace” (Isa 54:10 with Eze 37:26), which is elsewhere equated with “the everlasting covenant” (compare Isa 55:3; 61:8; Jer 32:40; Eze 16:60; 37:26).

As you will observe by comparing the following verses, the “everlasting covenant”, as well as “My covenant of peace” are manifestly synonymous with Jeremiah’s “new covenant” (compare Jer 31:31-34 with Jer 32:38-40 & Isa 54:10, 13 with Eze 34:25; 37:26).

This is the covenant that includes all the unilateral (some would say, unconditional) promises made to Abraham and to David concerning their seed. It will stand in its most public and plenary fulfillment with a fully renewed Israel in the future Day of the Lord.

This is when every penitent Jewish survivor of the final great tribulation (Jer 30:7; Dan 12:1) will all “know the Lord from that day and forward” (i.e., the Day of the Lord; Eze 39:8. 22), “never again to depart” (Ps 89:28-36; Isa 59:21; 66:22; Jer 31:34; 32:40; Eze 37:25-27; 39:22, 28-29). Since “all Israel” will be a completely regenerate nation “in that day”, they will no longer stand under the continual threat of covenant judgment, subject always to the potential of curse and recurrent eviction from the Land.

In glorious contrast to past generations, post-tribulation Israel will dwell securely in their own Land “from ‘that day’ and forward” (Lev 25:18-19; 2Sam 7:10; Ps 4:8; Jer 23:6; 30:10; 32:37; 33:16; Eze 34:25, 28; 39:26; Hos 2:18; Mic 4:4; Zeph 3:13; Zech 14:11).

This is made possible because, no longer will there be a mere remnant, at best restraining, but never long preventing the largely blind and backsliding nation from falling back under covenant judgment. In radical, unprecedented contrast, post-day of the Lord Israel will all, without a single exception be righteous with the Lord’s own “everlasting righteousness” (Isa 45:17, 24-25; 54:13-14, 17; Jer 23:5-6; Dan 9:24).

This blessed unity in the Holy Spirit is promised to extend throughout all future generations unto “children’s children”, not one ever failing of the “everlasting righteousness” of the “everlasting covenant” (Isa 4:3; 44:3; 45:17, 24-25; 54:10, 13, 17; 59:20-21; 60:21; 65:23; 66:22; Jer 31:34; 32:38-42; Eze 20:40; 37:25; 39:22, 28-29, etc.)

From Jesus’ citation of Isa 54:13 in Jn 6:45, we can see that He is applying the eternal security of this everlasting covenant that will stand with post-tribulational Israel to all whom the Father has given Him now, and in the millennial age to come. To be given by the Father to Jesus is to be secured in the everlasting covenant established with Abraham while he was in a deep sleep, signifying its unconditional surety of certain fulfillment (Ps 89:35-36; Isa 55:3; 66:22).

God’s purpose in putting Abraham into a deep sleep before passing between the pieces was certainly NOT to ignore or circumvent the indispensable conditionality of the inheritance. Rather, it is God’s own pledge of Himself that He would unilaterally engage to meet and fulfill all required conditions, first by means of the atoning sacrifice of the curse-reversing Seed of the woman on behalf of “all the seed” (Ps 18:50; 89:29, 36; Isa 41:8; 45:25; 53:10; 65:23; Jer 33:25-26; Ro 4:16; Heb 2:16). Then by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, a new nature will invariably, necessarily bear fruit “after its own kind” (Mt 13:23).

At the “set time”, “when it pleases God” (Gal 1:15-16; Ps 102:13; 110:3), whether for the Jewish remnant at the end of the tribulation, or the calling of any individual in this age, God will “put” His Spirit into the newly recreated hearts and spirits of the heirs of the everlasting covenant. He retains this free sovereign right to quicken “whom He will” (Mt 11:27, Jn 5:21; Ro 9:18), when, at His own sovereign timing, He has prepared the right conditions for the final and everlasting salvation of His elect nation (Isa 30:18).

By Jesus’ applying the covenant promise of Isa 54:13 to all whom the Father has given Him to save and keep (Jn 6:37, 39-40, 44-45, 65), He is thereby uniting “the called according to His purpose” of every generation to the same secure covenant inheritance that will come to the “natural (Jewish) branches” in the coming day of their great national deliverance when “all Israel shall be saved” (Ro 8:28-29; 11:26-29).

For the elect remnant of Jewish survivors of the final tribulation, covenant failure resulting in more than temporal discipline will be a thing of the past. Scripture is very clear that from this time forward, not one of the heirs of the everlasting covenant will ever again depart (Isa 59:21; Jer 32:40; Eze 39:22, 28-30).

Neither can any of the chosen seed of Israel’s race ever fall fatally or finally away from what they have irrevocably and irreversibly become, namely, an everlasting “new creation … born of the indestructible Word of God that lives and abides forever” (2Cor 5:17; Gal 6:15).

One can see how the NT writers will often describe personal salvation in all the terms and colors that the prophets use to describe the eschatology of post- tribulation Israel. For the apostles, Israel’s eschatology is the model and pattern for the soteriology (doctrine of salvation) of the new / everlasting covenant as applied to the salvation of the individual.

But how might such assurance be mistaken and misused by persons who are yet in the body of this flesh? Wouldn’t this give them a sense of license to misuse their liberty? Well, as believers in the “fight of faith” are reminded to take due diligence to make their calling and election sure (2Pet 2:10), this danger of presumption is certainly warned against in scripture (Gal 5:13; 1Pet 2:16).

But so far as one may have evidence that they are bearing the fruits that witness to the reality of “the righteousness of faith” (Ro 4:13), it is also to be understood that the holy fear of God (“my fear”; contrast Jer 2:19; 32:40) is built right into the everlasting covenant. This is what God has promised to “put” into the heart of every heir of new covenant righteousness (Isa 59:21; Jer 31:33; 32:40; Eze 11:19; 36:26-27; 37:6, 14).

Because of the indwelling Spirit of Christ, the regenerate seed of Abraham will vigilantly guard their own hearts. This is not because they will be in any doubt of the security of their everlasting inheritance, but because the love of God has been shed abroad in their hearts by the Holy Spirit, and also the sure knowledge that God will faithfully chasten His own, which is the distinguishing badge of true sonship (Ps 89:30-33; Heb 12:7-8).

Not only post-tribulation Israel, but all of God’s elect are contemplated as the “seed of Abraham” and heirs of His everlasting “covenant of peace” (Isa 54:10; Eze 37:26) . And lest it be foolishly objected that the word, “everlasting“ doesn’t always mean “everlasting”, the context makes its meaning here most abundantly clear. It means eternal, “world without end”(Isa 45:17; 66:22).

These things cannot be said of all persons, but only those whom Paul calls, “the election of grace” (Ro 11:5). Indeed, the gift of “everlasting life” (Jn 6:40) is promised to faith, since unbelief forms the contrast between those to whom it has been given and those to whom it has not been given, in verses 36-37 and 64-65.

But faith is NOT the basis for God’s sovereign, pre-temporal initiative to this limited number. Rather, faith is the result of the Father’s eternal choice to Divinely enable all whom He would give to Christ to both come to Him and be kept forever by Him (Jn 6:37, 39, 44, 65)

This enablement is preceded, not at first by faith that we supply, but by the Father’s “good pleasure” to “quicken whom He will” (Jn 5:21; 6:39; Ro 9:18; Eph 1:5; Phil 2:13). This is a Spirit-quickened faith that must invariably and necessarily “overcome the world”, precisely because it is “born of God”, since it is a rule that “whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world” (1Jn 5:4).

While many, such as Judas (Jn 6:64, 70; 13:10-11; 17:12) and the tares sown among the wheat, may move undetected among the sheep for a season (“Lord, who is it?”, Jn 13:22, 25), Jesus said these are “NOT of My sheep” (Jn 10:26; 1Jn 2:19). None of God’s true sheep who are truly “born of God”, and thus in living union with the Divine nature (2Pet 1:4) can ever fatally or finally fall from the Father’s grip (Jn 10:28-29; Ro 8:28-39).

This is just one example of a pervasive biblical doctrine taught in many places throughout both testaments, but it is far more than a doctrine among doctrines. In Ro 9:11, it is called “the purpose of God according to election”.

Paul is clear that in order for that purpose “to stand”, it must not be influenced by any virtue found or foreseen in one more than another (Ro 9:11). The only difference distinguishing the two brothers is a difference that is made by God (1Cor 4:7)

According to Paul, and no less John, any difference that is not perceived as given from above is dangerous ground for the pride of presumption (Jn 3:27; Ro 11:35-36; 1Cor 4:7). In 2Tim 2:19, Paul will call this doctrine the very “foundation of God”. That unshakable foundation has “this seal, the Lord knows them who are His”.

It is the knowledge that Jesus has of His own sheep (Jn 10:14). He warns of those who will count themselves as His sheep whom He “NEVER knew” (Mt 7:22-23). So 2Tim 2:19 is clearly not merely speaking about God’s obvious knowledge of one’s present spiritual condition, but an eternal foreknowledge that reaches back to the covenant that always existed between the persons of the Godhead before creation (Ro 8:28-29; 2Thes 2:13; 1Pet 1:2; Rev 13:8).

Not only is this great truth precious to the believer’s comfort; it is also vital to the upholding of the integrity of the Word and the vindication of the “everlasting covenant” of grace.

John Newton who wrote, “Amazing Grace”, believed this truth, as nothing else so plucks from man any presumption of entitlement, simply because this decision of God, so unbiased by anything in man, cannot be impugned as in any way unjust (Ro 9:14-21). Notably, Paul does not undertake to satisfy all the natural questions that might arise. Rather, he simply answers the anticipated protest with the surprising retort, “who are you, O man, to reply against God?”(See Ro 9:18-23).

Ironically, it is in the place of greatest offense that God has plainly declared the incomprehensible goodness of a grace that was moved by nothing found or foreseen in man, except this unique love for His own that existed before time. Its source, its working, and its goal begins and ends as wholly the work of God alone, for the glory of Christ alone.

He is both author and finisher of a faith that is “given from above” (Jn 3:27; Ro 11:35-36; 1Cor 4:7; Eph 2:8; Phil 1:20) and upheld to the end by the power of God and the indwelling of the indestructible, ever-abiding seed of the Word of God (1Pet 1:23), establishing an eternal, irreversible union between the believer and the Divine nature (1Pet 1:4-5; 2Pet 1:4). This means the truly regenerate believer is not ‘becoming’ a new creation; he or she ‘is’ an eternal new creation (Isa 66:22; 2Cor 5:17, Gal 6:15).

In conclusion, Israel’s eternal covenant is our eternal covenant.
Romans 11:33-36

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!
“For who has known the mind of the LORD?
Or who has become His counselor?”
“Or who has first given to Him
And it shall be repaid to him?”
For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.

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ALL times are Eastern Standard Time

1. Travis Bennett – The Purpose of the Church – Lam 1:12
[ Recorded Video ]

2. Fred London – “Speak to Us Pleasant Words”
[ Recorded Video ][Fred’s Notes]

This Chart was used in Session 3: Reggie Kelly – The Olivet Key to the Daniel’s Prophecy of the End

3. Reggie Kelly – The Olivet Key to the Daniel’s Prophecy of the End
[ Recorded Video ] Portions of THIS paper were read.

4. Rob Weiss – The Outcomes of the Day of the Lord
[ Recorded Video ] [Rob’s Notes]

5. God’s Foretold Work // Main Speaker: Reggie Kelly / Q&A – Critical Connections
[ Recorded Video ]

6. David Hirsch  – Let No One Deceive You
[ Recorded Video ]

7. Looking Back and Looking Forward
[ Recorded Video ]

The post 2024 Online Convocation – The March of the Prophets appeared first on Mystery of Israel.

Where in Scripture is it revealed that we should expect an indefinite time gap between weeks 69 and 70?
This cannot be obtained from a straightforward reading of the text.

The gap is what can be called a necessary inference. As with many great truths of scripture, it is not based on one single, obvious text but the cumulative evidence of many verses, scattered here and there, forming a mystery that must be searched out.

What is clear and, as you say, “straightforward”, is that scripture puts the last half of Daniel’s 70th week as arriving at “the consummation / the end”. This end of the age, reaching to the end of the final tribulation, the destruction of the “beast” (Dan 7:11) / “little horn” (Dan 7:8: 8:9) / “vile person” (Dan 11:21) / “wilful king” (Dan 11:36), the deliverance of Daniel’s people, and the resurrection of the righteous dead (Dan 12:1-2) is the same “end” so prominently in view throughout the book of Daniel. There is great, I would say decisive evidence that the final 3 ½ years of this age is the last half of Daniel’s 70th week.

This final 3 1/2 years (the half week) of unequaled tribulation clearly begins with the taking away of the daily sacrifice. This removal of the sacrifice is coupled with the placing of the abomination of desolation by the Man of Lawlessness in the temple of God in Judea (This is seen by a careful comparison of Dan 9:27; 11:31, 36-37; 12:11; with Mt 24:15-16, 21; 2Thes 2:3-4).

This question becomes of supreme importance when we see that in Mt 24:15 Jesus instructs His disciples to read about this particular event in Daniel’s prophecy and to be careful to “understand” it. This is important because this is the specific sign that starts the great tribulation that ends in His return.

The decisive question then becomes: which of the two princes distinguished in Dan 9:25-26 stops the sacrifice in the middle of the week in Dan 9:27? If it is said to be Jesus stopping the sacrifice by the shedding of His blood, this argues for a spiritual cessation, since the sacrifice was not literally stopped but continued for some 37 more years until Jerusalem was destroyed by Titus. Also, Jesus did not confirm any covenant for only 7 years. And what kind of “end” was reached 3 1/2 years after the sacrifice was stopped?

Notice that in every other place in Daniel where the sacrifice is mentioned, it is always the wicked, self-exalting “little horn” / “vile person” / wilful king that takes it away (Dan 8:11; 11:31; 12:11). So, if Dan 9:27 is NOT the AC who starts the final 3.5 years of great tribulation (cf., Dan 12:1; Mt 24:21), then Dan 9:27 becomes a curious exception.

This would be to suppose that the sacrifice that is stopped 3.5 years before the end in Dan 9:27 is NOT the same sacrifice that is taken away 3.5 years before an entirely different “end” in Dan 12:1-2, 7, 11-13. In such a case, it becomes an entirely different and separate event in both time and circumstance, accomplished by different persons, and bringing about a different “end” that is not the same as the “end” mentioned in every other reference throughout the book.

If, on the other hand, the last half of the week begins WHEN the self exalting “prince that shall come” of Dan 9:26 stops the sacrifice and places the abomination (the event that brings on the final desolation of Jerusalem), then it follows that just as the 7 weeks, followed by the subsequent 62 weeks bring us to the cross (Messiah “cut off”; Dan 9:26 with Isa 53:8); in the same way, the 70th week is reserved to bring in the final seven years to fulfill the mystery of lawlessness in the revelation of the man of lawlessness, the event that Paul puts as necessarily preceding Christ’s return to gather together His elect (compare Mt 24:31 with 2Thes 2:1-4, 7-8).

So if the one who stops the sacrifice is indeed the prince that shall come of Dan 9:26 (the one who brings on the final desolation of Jerusalem), then this is indeed the second half of the week that ends with the destruction of the “desolator” at Christ’s return (Dan 7:11; 9:27; 2Thes 2:8). And since the one who stops the sacrifice is the same who confirms the covenant, it follows that as surely as the career of the AC does not immediately follow the 69th week, so surely the 70th week must be future.

Lastly, some of the goals that are reached by the 70 weeks concern Jerusalem and Daniel’s people in particular. Some of these were certainly NOT fulfilled seven years after the cross. The full balance of the six goals will, however, be gloriously fulfilled for the languishing Jews (“natural branches”) when the Deliverer comes (roars) out of Zion to turn away ungodliness from Jacob (Joel 3:16; Isa 59:20-21; Ro 11:26).

If this all sounds strange on first hearing, be patient, and pray for light and the Spirit to be your teacher, remembering too that the book of Daniel contains mysteries that were intended to remain closed up and “sealed” till the “time of the end”. These sealed mysteries are not automatic to Bible reading. They are precious, divinely guarded secrets designed to be revealed to babes while at the same time eluding human self reliance. They are grace given.

Proverbs 25:2
It is the glory of God to conceal a thing:
but the honor of kings is to search out a matter.

There is so much more connected to this question. I wrote a little piece called, “The Glory of the Gap” where I give many examples throughout scripture where prophecies blend and combine events that prove in hindsight to be fulfilled at great distances apart. You’ll also recall that many messianic prophecies combined events that would be fulfilled at both His first and second comings.

Until the surprise discovery that the Messiah would come twice (Acts 3:18-21; 26:22-23), the gap would remain a mystery, even to the prophets, until the part that was fulfilled at Christ first coming opened to view the part that awaited His return. All would come to full, glorious light when the Spirit “sent down from heaven” would reveal the glory of the “the mystery of the gospel,” as fully foretold in the prophetic writings, but kept till the appointed time of revelation (Ro 16:25-26; 1Cor 2:7-8; Eph 6:19 with 1Pet 1:1-12).

Yours in the Beloved, Reggie

The post How Do You Justify the Gap Between the 69th and 70th Week? appeared first on Mystery of Israel.

Why are we certain that the beginning of Hosea’s “two days” does not begin with the time that the nation was torn by the Romans (mangled and carried off-5:14 and “torn”-6:1)?

The case is absolutely decisive. You’ll see. In all other interpretations that I’ve seen, the two days is a nebulous metaphor that has little to do with signifying time of any meaningful duration, usually suggested as a metaphor for the brevity of the exile.

So why not start the two days of divine desertion with the destruction of 70? As Travis said, “why not 132 A.D.? It’s just as reasonable. After 70, the Jews recovered, repopulated, and rebounded with yet another, swiftly crushed rebellion against Rome. Then began the age-long exile of “many generations” (compare Isa 61:4 with Eze 38:8).

No, in order to mean anything concrete or significantly limited and definite, the terminus-a-quo must go back to Israel’s fall at the stumbling stone, the national rejection and crucifixion ending the 69th week. That is when He departs to the Father’s right hand, waiting till …

Here is when the “door of faith” was opened to the Gentiles, making Israel jealous with a “no people” UNTIL the fullness of the gentiles has “come in”. Here again, the interim is reckoned from Israel’s fall, the cross, ascension, and the pouring out of the Spirit on “all the families of the earth”.

This is the time He departs to His place UNTIL …, and gives them up until Zion’s travail and the worldwide sway of the smitten ruler from Bethlehem with the return of “His brethren” (Mic 5:4).

To move the starting point further up to 70, or 132-35 is to destroy all symmetry of the otherwise clear signposts by which the interim is marked off and bounded by the mystery of Messiah’s twofold advent.

No other interpretation fits so well, or so well explains the mystery of the long delay. And no other possible interpretation, of which I’m aware, or can conceive, so well commends itself as more glorifying of the miracle of the prophetic scriptures to leave no unforetold gaps. This concept of a gap of great duration is well defended in H. A. Ironsides classic little booklet entitled, “The Great Parenthesis”.

There’s so much more to this. Time does not permit my much fuller account of the evidence. Believe me; I’d like to stretch it out and avoid the scandal that, at least till now, there has been no substantial or obvious movement made towards restoration of sacrifice and sanctuary.

I believe I know my heart well enough to assure that my only single eyed burden, zeal and jealousy for this has only to do with the glorious harmony of the scripture and the vindication of that word in the foretelling of every part of what I’m fond of calling, “the glory of the Story”. The appointed times and seasons of God are always very calendrical and tangible, accessible to the plain person’s knowledge, edification, and practical benefit.

The 490 years of Daniel’s prophecy was quite knowable, at least very approximately. It is why “all men were in expectation” when John broke the 400 years of silence with the announcement that the time was at hand (Lk 3:15). With good reason many believe that the wise men of the East (the Jewish community in Babylon?) was looking for a king to come into the world at about that time.

Of course, we’re always reminded that “no man knows the day and the hour”. But does anyone stop to think how very specific, limited, and precise a day and hour is? That is the one thing He has withheld, and look what men have done with it to the complete neglect of all the certainty the Lord knew His disciples would receive when they would follow His wise directive to “read and understand Daniel’s prophecy of the abomination of desolation (Mt 24:15).

Jesus well knew that this would lead to their discovery of the 3 1/2 years that would follow this event leading to His return (Dan 7:25; 9:27; 12:11), as John would later corroborate in his Revelation (Rev 11:2-3; 12:6, 12, 14; 13:5). The Lord’s meaning in adding this gaurd concerning the exact day and hour when we consider that there is a mysterious extension of days in Dan 12:11-12 that exceeds the 1260 days of Rev 11:3; 12:6 by some 75 days into the millennium.

This leaves open considerable latitude for exactly when the Lord will return, though certainly not far beyond the 1260, since the AC’s persecution of the saints lasts only 42 months till cut off by the Lord’s appearing (2Thes 2:8; Rev 11:2; 13:5).

By this simple expression, “day and hour”, meaning no more than exactly and precisely what it says, the whole world of scholarship, both liberal and conservative, presumes to safely dismiss the certain knowledge of the very approximate time that the recognized arrival of the last seven years is sure to bring to the maskilim.

Behold the glorious mystery God hath wrought! It designs to elude all reliance on nature (“wise and prudent”), but sufficient evidence to be discovered by babes, “a hidden wisdom ordained to their glory.” Amazing irony!

I hope we weren’t expecting anything that would not entail a serious test of faith in what He has spoken. As for God’s way of keeping His foretold timetable, we have this word in Paul’s interesting application of Isa 10:23.

Romans 9:28
For He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness,
Because the LORD will make a short work upon the earth.”

This will go down to the wire; I’m sure. There are things we may miss preventing precise reckoning, of course. But that it will be at least very approximate for the greater glory of God and the readiness of His saints, for that, the cumulative evidence compels a measured assurance.

The post When Does Hosea’s “Two Days” Start? appeared first on Mystery of Israel.

“It is clear the nameless one (described in Dan 10:4-11:1) is the Lord Jesus given clear unity with Revelation 1. How do you understand His being delayed and receiving help from Michael to release the word?”

Even among those commentators who see verses 5-9 as depicting a pre-incarnate appearing of Christ, most will argue that beginning at verse 10, another figure has come into view. The proposed change from Christ to an angel is assumed only because it is thought to be inconceivable that the pre-incarnate Son could need angelic assistance to push past the resistance of the demon Prince of Persia to complete his errand to Daniel (Dan 10:13).

[And what a strategic errand it was! It was to be an exceptionally long, uninterrupted (two chapters), unparalleled, narrative style prophecy that would lay out in astonishing detail “what shall befall your (Daniel’s) people in the latter days.” No wonder the demonic realm was so invested to impede the messenger’s mission. It is important to note what this mighty, history-determining breakthrough of divine revelation cost Daniel, as well as the place that sovereign providence had brought him in preparation for it.]

Yet, does the view that an angel has stepped in in place of the glorious Christ really solve our problem? It still leaves the question, why would the holy angels, sent by God, ever be successfully detained? Wouldn’t it be expected that the only assistance they would need to fulfill their mission would be amply supplied by God Himself? What then is this mystery of demonic resistance? What is its purpose in the great scheme of God’s eternal purpose? Why the struggle?

Could it be that God desires a concerted effort of participation by those who are partakers of His divine nature in a relationship of union? I like the following explanation by commentator, Gleason Archer:

“While God can, of course, override the united resistance of all the forces of hell if he chooses to do so, he accords to demons certain limited powers of obstruction and rebellion somewhat like those he allows humans. In both cases the exercise of free will in opposition to the Lord of heaven is permitted by him when he sees fit. But as Job 1:12 and 2:6 indicate, the malignity of Satan is never allowed to go beyond the due limit set by God, who will not allow the believer to be tested beyond his limit (1 Cor 10:13).”

More than this, why has God made believing prayer so much the issue in His fluctuating war with the fallen powers of this age? Apparently, the holy angels receive their strength over the demon princes of this age according to this rule: when the flesh is weak and its power broken, when the heart is tender and contrite, the veil of the flesh gives way to life, light, and revelation. Where this deep breaking has occurred, there is a corresponding release of the Spirit that grants great access and mountain moving power in prayer.

This is the secret that gives prayer its power. It is the issue of the veil. The strength of the veil to hide and blind is through the strength of carnal self reliance. When the power of the flesh is broken, the veil gives way to transforming revelation of the liberating light of the gospel (Deut 32:36; Dan 12:7; 2Cor 3:14-18; 4:4, with Isa 25:7).

Therefore, my answer would be, the demonic resistance, like the mystery of lawlessness itself, exists for the glory of grace. As Paul says, we have been brought into the fellowship of a hidden mystery, namely, that through the church (composed of necessarily weak, the frail jars of clay), the manifold wisdom of God is being demonstrated, even to the principalities and powers. This is all “according to His eternal purpose” (Eph 3:9-11).

The design in this conflict comprehends the whole story of God’s foretold work. Manifestly, He hasn’t merely permitted the resistance, He has ordained it as indispensable to an eternal purpose that had no beginning in time. In this light, it is not inconceivable that Christ should choose to require angelic assistance, particularly if Michael’s arrival was inseparably related to Daniel’s self abasement and prayer.

Not only here in Dan 10:13-21, but all of history proceeds from a pre-ordained purpose to permit a demonic resistance under Satan to hinder and oppose the coming of the kingdom on earth (compare Dan 10:13, 20; Rev 12:10). These are the opposing angelic powers that stand over and behind the great usurping kingdoms of man.

So the resistance was perfectly ordained from the beginning to serve the greater plan of God, since in no other way could His eternal purpose in Christ be realized (see Ro 8:19-21). By the same pre-creation decision, God has predetermined the bounds of this resistance (“who says to the proud waves, this far and no further”).

This is why we see the threefold seven (21 days). It is also why we see such language as “the set time to favor Zion” (Ps 102:13), with many such predetermined time indicators, (e.g., “time appointed” (Dan 11:27); “seventy weeks are determined” (Dan 9:24); “that which is determined shall be done” (Dan 11:36) and many more.

Yet, none of this takes place apart from the equally preordained, indispensable means of grace, chiefly, in this case, as in so many since, “the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man.”

We may be sure that nothing of the end time victory of the church over the beast, and the witness by which gentile believers will make Israel jealous, will happen apart from this supreme grace of prevailing prayer.

This brings to mind what I see as a principal divine use of the first half of Daniel’s 70th week. I call it the “straightening (or constraining) of the church”. This is when the well defined signs of the first half of the week mark the near approach of the tribulation, which begins with the removal of the regular sacrifice and the placing of the abomination in the temple in Jerusalem (Dan 9:27; 11:31; 12:11; Mt 25:15-16; 2Thes 2:4; Rev 11:2).

The signs that confirm the final week has begun are divinely calculated to move the living members of Christ’s body to a deeper place of corporate intercession.

Through deep self-abasement and a Daniel-like depth of spiritual travail (Gal 4:19), not only will the church come to the promised maturity (Eph 4:13), but the mighty Michael will again be sent, this time to fully and finally expel Satan himself (not merely one of his ‘princes’) from his present position of hindrance in heaven. This happens significantly in the middle of the week at the threshold of the final persecution.

With Michael’s middle of the week expulsion of Satan (Dan 12:1; Rev 12:7-14), the mystery of lawlessness can be revealed in the full empowerment (we believe incarnation) of the man of lawlessness (2Thes 2:7-9). It is this great event in heaven that intersects with the key, signal event on earth (the abomination of desolation) that sets the last 3 1/2 years in motion (the half week of Dan 7:25; 9:27; 12:7, 11; Rev 11:2-3; 12:6, 14; 13:5). This great transition in heaven and earth must first take place before the the “mystery of God” can be “finished” with Christ’s return at the 7th trumpet (2Thes 2:3-8; Rev 10:7; 11:15; 12:10)

Seeing then that these things must be fulfilled before Christ’s can come, how urgent must the church become with strong cries that the necessary events fall soon into place, so that Satan might be dislodged from his position in heaven as the one who hinders? (compare Dan 10:13 with 1Thes 2:18; 2Thes 2:7; Rev 12:7:14). Perhaps we will not see this degree of intensity until the door of the final seven has closed fast behind us, but the evidence is strong that we will see it.

When the church will travail, Michael will prevail! That is to say, a considerable body of evidence from the scripture leads us to expect a convergence of God’s set time with a Daniel-like depth of holy travail of intercession. When this corporate cry comes up before God, Michael will prevail to cast down Satan. This makes possible the revelation of the mystery of lawlessness in the man of lawlessness that brings the overarching mystery of God to its predestined conclusion (2Thes 2:3-4; Rev 10:7).

This certainty of well marked, well defined events that establish the certainty of the time will prove a priceless provision for the preparation of the church and the release of kingdom power and authority that God has invested in “those days” of greatest transition from this age to the next (Dan 12:1; Mt 24:19, 21-22, 29)

By these clearly foretold events, the “wise” who “understand” (Heb. “maskilim”, simply the godly remnant) will be able to instruct many and turn many to righteousness (Dan 11:33, 12:3, 10; Rev 7:9, 13-14). From what we can observe by a careful comparison of parallel scriptures, the great transition that takes place in heaven to start the final tribulation will also result, not only in the revelation of the mystery of lawlessness, but also, on the side of light and truth, a mighty, Pentecost-like outpouring of power and strength (Rev 12:10) that will come upon, not only the two witnesses, but also the ‘maskilim’ (defined as the forerunner remnant appointed to teach and evangelize; Dan 11:33; 12:3, 10).

This can be seen by observing that the scripture reports a mighty power to do exploits coming upon the maskilim. This is significantly reported immediately after the placing of the abomination of desolation has been placed in Dan 11:31. Noting what we have seen about the great transition that removes the accuser from his long held access to heaven, and noting that the two witnesses receive power at this time (see below note), is it not significant that just now, with the placing of the abomination, the scripture announces the power of the maskilim to perform exploits amidst the final martyrdom? (Dan 11:32-35).

… the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits … (Dan 11:32 NKJV)

[Note: That the ministry of the two prophets occupies the second half of the week is shown by observing that their death and ascension happens in connection with the 6th trumpet, which is also the 2nd woe. This is very “shortly” prior to Jesus’ return at the 7th trumpet, which is also the 3rd woe (compare Rev 8:13-9:1, 12-13; 11:11-15).]

Note too, it is just after Michael has cast Satan down that Satan begins his “short time” of rampage upon the “earth dwellers” (Rev 12:10-12). Again, it seems most significant that just here, we are told of the triumph of the saints.

“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto death” (Rev 12:10).

Is it too far to infer that this glad boast of spiritual triumph (unparalleled?) is shown to immediately follow upon the removal of the accuser of the brethren (2Thes 2:7; Rev 12:10)? Surely this intends to indicate that something without equal or precedent has only now taken place in heaven that has completely and forever removed Satan, not only from his position of hindrance to the arrival of the kingdom by holding back the necessarily preliminary “mystery of lawlessness” (2Thes 2:7; Rev 12:10); he is also denied access to the now fully liberated consciences of sealed and fully secure believers.

He no longer has access to challenge or question the identity of the living members of Christ. Of course, this reality is available now to what the writer of Hebrews calls, “the full assurance of faith”, but here, this liberty of triumphant assurance and gospel clarity of conscience is being realized on, I would suggest, an unprecedented corporate scale as essential establishment in grace for the last battle. All’s to say, there has been a mighty, truly unprecedented breakthrough in the heavenlies, and this will have its outworking in the power that comes upon the saints who have been deeply processed by the events of the first half of the week.

This is not a metaphor for the entire inter-advent period, as some teach. It may indeed be a reiteration of the historical pattern of Christ’s victory over the Dragon, but this is clearly future, at the threshold of the final, very short tribulation. It particularly concerns Michael’s pre-tribulation victory over Satan, as foretold in Dan 12:1 and Rev 12:7-9). From this point on, in some unprecedented way, what Satan could do before, he can do no longer.

What will such a victory in heaven mean for the saints on earth when Satan will no longer have any more access to heaven to accuse them? That this has not yet come, even for such a saintly saint as Job is shown in Job 1:6, 9-12. The same removal of the accuser is foreshadowed in the case of Joshua, the high priest? (Zech 3:1), and will be even more fully enforced to the penitent survivors of the last tribulation when “… I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.. (Zech 3:9 with Isa 66:8; Eze 39:22; Ps 102:13).

Such freedom from the accuser’s accusations will not, of course, be anything entirely new (Jn 5:24; Ro 8:1). It does, however, seem that from this point forward, as from no other, Satan will be completely cut off and cast down from whatever access to heaven he had before Michael’s pre-tribulational victory. Could this be why the saints of this time are spoken of as sealed, beyond reach of Satan’s accusations?

It certainly raises many interesting questions that will doubtless come to greater light as the time nears (Dan 12:4, 9).

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