Dee Finney's blog December 10, 2013 - page 607

Dee Finney's blog

start date July 20, 2011

today's date December 10, 2013

page 607

TOPIC: THE BOOK OF DANIEL UNSEALED

THE CLOCK OF GOD, PROPHECY AND REVELATION

Goodnews Christian Ministry

"From the beginning I foretold the future, and predicted beforehand what is to be." ---Isaiah 46:10

CHAPTER 27

The Book of Daniel Unsealed

""Then I said, 'My lord, what is to be the outcome?'
'Daniel,' he replied, 'go away: these words are to remain secret
and sealed until the time of the End."
Daniel 12:8-10

_____________

As the only sealed book still left in the Bible, the Book of Daniel stands unique.

"Daniel, you must keep these words secret and the book sealed until the time of the End." (Dn.12:4).

With this declaration, God put aside a great body of prophecy, holding it hidden until the last days of the earth. In the wake of this order, the true meaning behind Daniel's words has remained locked in a spiritual quiet, awaiting the day of its unveiling -- a day which has recently begun to dawn.

As the vestments shielding this hidden prophecy begin to fall away, the words of Daniel are coming to their own age -- the unveiling of his message openly chronicling the last hours in the life of Babylon.

Daniel's prophecies are about Jesus. That is the key to all its secrets. It is not a book about Moses. Daniel is not telling us about the past; his vision is about the future. He has made this fact crystal clear by describing the coronation of Jesus at the time of the Reckoning when God and all the angels of heaven have gathered to judge the earth for they way it has lived (Dan.7:13-14).

Because Daniel's writing is in the Old Testament his words seem to relate to the old covenant -- to a restoration of the Jewish temple and all its Mosaic rituals in the last days -- something commonly preached.

But it does not.

Daniel's words have nothing to do with the Mosaic covenant.

Instead, they describe the Second Coming of Jesus Christ:

"Thrones were set in place and one of great age took his seat...a court was held and the books were opened. I gazed into the visions of the night, and I saw, coming on the clouds of heaven, one like a son of man."

"He came to the one of great age and was led into his presence. On him was conferred sovereignty, glory and kingship, and men of all peoples...became his servants. his sovereignty is an eternal sovereignty which shall never pass away, nor will his empire ever be destroyed..."(Dan.7:9-14).

In his vision of the night, Daniel saw Daylight! It was Jesus Christ returning in power and glory with all the angels of heaven to take His place as the everlasting king of the new creation the Davidic Messiah of eternity.

This is why we must view Daniel's words in terms of the final fulfillment of Christianity on the earth. Daniel's vision describes the 'Second Coming' and all the events that lead up to it. Everything that Daniel said relates to the ultimate victory of Christ on earth. His descriptions have nothing to do with an end-time revival of Judaism. The Jews will be saved of course, but the old covenant is gone and it will not come back, not even for a brief moment.

Daniel's is a sealed book. It was ordained closed by God until the last days had arrived. In keeping with that ordination it has remained tightly closed for almost 2500 years. But now, in our own time, it is opening for the very first time to human understanding.

The book of Daniel revolves around two dreams.

The first dream is that of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.

It came to him in response to his worries about the enemies that threatened his empire of Babylon. Four kingdoms were shown to him four eastern empires on the other side of the Euphrates. In this dream he saw a statue with a golden head and feet of clay (It was the statue of the beast, the god of wickedness described in Zechariah 5:5-11). It was raised in his land and, in it, Daniel showed him the four kingdoms that would try to overthrow the empire of Babylon. Daniel told him:

"There is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and who has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what is to take place in the days to come."(Dan.2:28).

Nebuchadnezzar was shown the handwriting on the wall that revealed his kingdom would be conquered by Persia. It was a vision for his own time, but more than that, it was a vision for the world. Daniel's is not about ancient history. Secular history is serendipitous and driven by money. This vision is not about that.

Instead, it focuses on the God-driven history that revolves around Jesus Christ. Nebuchadnezzar was shown the history of allegorical Babylon, the fate of the western world. These visions are based on a second prism through which history must be viewed. A history, not architected by God, but channeled by Him because the western world is the homeland of the House of Israel imprisoned within it.

Looking beyond his own borders, Nebuchadnezzar was shown the four kingdoms that would rise up against the western world of the future. He was shown, not just his own kingdom, but the Babylon of Christian scripture and Hebrew Diaspora as well. Seeing in that world view, he saw four attacks coming across the Euphrates by the kings of the East. We have detailed the chronology and nations involved in those attacks in chapter 6, "The Kings of the East", in 'The Last Days of Babylon'.

Over the course of history, three of those invasions have already occurred. The fourth, the terrible one, is building now. When it comes it will encompass the forces of Persia, the same nation that overthrew Nebuchadnezzar, himself. In his dream Nebuchadnezzar was shown that not only his own Babylon, but the Babylon of the future as well would be overthrown by similar empires. The first three, though potent, would not succeed.

Daniel also had a dream. He also saw four kingdoms.

But these were not the same kingdoms shown to Nebuchadnezzar. The kingdoms Daniel was shown were four kingdoms that would arise in the last days. He was shown a world-ruling western empire that could circle the globe without ever touching the ground an empire that would be governed by a boyish king in the visage of Alexander the Great, invincible in his conquests, who would spread a philosophy similar to Greek civilization to the ends of the earth and who, in his youth, would be suddenly cut down in death at the height of his victories.

All these visions were for us and our time. Just like in the days of Alexander, the western world will once again fracture into four parts, each going in opposite directions. Once again, the world would not be ruled as it was in Alexander's allegorical day.

In his visions of the night, Daniel was shown that one of these four, the smallest, will rise to become the invincible fourth Persian kingdom that terrified the sleep of Nebuchadnezzar. Understanding Daniel's dream reveals to us that it is also the kingdom of iron teeth that is destined to destroy the world, and in so doing, will bring the final tribulation to the House of Israel.

The Rebel's assault on the everlasting covenant is the central focus of all of Daniel's words.

There is nothing 'everlasting' about the covenant of Moses -- it has already passed away as far as Christian scripture is concerned. (Heb.8:7).

Daniel's visions plot the unfolding trail of destruction of the last days as it leads to the appearance of the man the Apostle Paul has described as the 'Great Rebel'. It is clear in Daniel's words that Jesus Christ and those who follow Him will be a key target in the Rebel's attacks. (Dn.7:13-27).

This assault is the second and final war against the children of God which John described in the Book of Revelation. (Rv.20:7-9).

A true part of the House of Israel, the Jews will certainly be involved in this conclusive war as well. Their conversion is the key to the end of the second war and they were central victims in one of its earliest battles -- the event we now call 'the holocaust'.

The Jews are destined to become the last visible remnant of the House of Israel on earth (Dt.4:30); but in order for that to happen, something catastrophic has to strike the vast Christian community first -- a community that now numbers almost 2 billion people.

Every day that passes this number grows larger and the magnitude of the catastrophe increases. That is the shrouded meaning behind Daniel's vision. (Dn.8:10-14).

Since Christians outnumber Jews by about 100 to 1, the Jewish people today represent only 1% of the House of Israel on earth (Dt.4:27). This ratio will not change significantly in the few years that are left, so once the war begins in earnest, the true dimensions of its scope and awesome toll will soon be seen in full perspective.

Many Christians will fall away and join the pagans, but many others will be killed and most of those who are not put to death will end up having to run for their lives.

The dire predictions scattered throughout the scriptures leave little doubt that before it is finished, the war that follows the millenium may claim as many as a billion Christian lives and drive what remains of the Church into hiding in almost every part of the world. (Is.24:6).

What will be crushed by the beast in this onslaught is the power on earth of the Christian Church. That is what Daniel has foreseen and described: the attack by the beast on the power of the holy people. (Dn.8:24; 9:26; 12:7).

At the center of Daniel's words lies a description of the beast's assault on the temple and on its sacred liturgy. This attack on the sanctuary is the reason why so many have seen in Daniel's prophecies a resurrection of Mosaic worship at the end of time.

But in viewing Daniel in this Jewish way, most Christians have ignored their own liturgy.

Jesus did not end the liturgical elements of worship, he gave this sacred ritual a new management. That is why a liturgical church has dominated Christ's religion since the day of its birth.

The pomp and ceremony that attached to this liturgy during the Middle Ages caused many Christians to question its holiness. There are some at the extreme end of this dissension who feel that not only are liturgical excesses incorrect, all church ritual is wrong and inherently evil as well.

Jesus did not go along with this view:

"Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who pay your tithes of mint and dill and cummin and have neglected the weightier matters of the Law -- justice, mercy, good faith! These you should have practised, without neglecting the others." (Mt.23:23).

Not only is the ritual of worship practiced in most Christian churches not wrong, because this liturgy is centered on the communion sacrifice, the life of the whole world is tied to it's perpetuation.

Daniel has shown us this in terms so clear they cannot be ignored. It is the communion sacrifice that holds back the Wrath. (See Footnote)

Satan's attack on the liturgy of the Church dominates much of Daniel's vision.

"From one of these...sprang a horn which grew to great size...It grew right up to the armies of heaven and flung armies and stars to the ground, and trampled them underfoot."

"It even challenged the power of that army's Prince; it abolished the perpetual sacrifice and overthrew the foundation of his sanctuary, and the army too; it put iniquity on the sacrifice and flung truth to the ground." (Dn.9:9-12).

"He will take furious action against the holy covenant and...will favor those who forsake that covenant."..."Forces of his will come and profane the sanctuary citadel; they will abolish the perpetual sacrifice, and instal the disastrous abomination there." (Dn.11:30-31).

"The city and the sanctuary will be destroyed by a prince who will come...and for the space of one half-week he will put a stop to sacrifice and oblation, and on the wing of the temple will be the disastrous abomination..." (Dn.9:26-27).

It is not Jewish liturgy under attack that Daniel's words here describe; it is Christian liturgy. Transpose Temple to Church and what was unseen in Daniel suddenly becomes clear.

God's 'Prince' of Jerusalem is Jesus Christ. He is the army's Prince whose power the beast will challenge.

The beast will attack the Christian Church because the religious structure which Jesus established on earth through the Holy Spirit is the silhouette of perfection according to God. It is not an orphan looking for a Jewish home. Nor is it evil as Satan would have us believe.

The fact that the world will come to an end when this liturgy is attacked is certain proof that it is deeply grounded in the divine plan of God.

When Jesus proclaimed about the words of Daniel, "Let the reader understand" (Mt.24:15), it was a signal to us, not just that we should understand Daniel, but also that we need to understand the close relationship between Daniel's words and Jesus Christ -- the relationship between Daniel and the Christian Church.

Examining Daniel's words in relation to Jesus brings us to a completely different understanding than when doing so in Moses. It breaks the seals that have long obscured the true meaning of this cloaked book.

We can see this in every passage we read. The 'desolating sacrilege' that the Rebel will one day erect in the holy sanctuary, for instance, has nothing to do with compromising a Jewish altar built for Mosaic animal sacrifices.

Instead, the placement of this abomination must be seen as an object making desolate the liturgy of Christian communion. It is something that will occur at a Christian altar, not at a Jewish altar. It has to do with the redemptive sacrifice of Jesus Christ, not with the bloody throat-slicing sacrifice of sheep, cattle or doves.

Understanding this changes our whole comprehension of Daniel, because it shows that the 'sanctuary citadel' (Dn.11:31) which the Rebel's forces profane at the time of the end will be a major Christian church, not be a newly constructed Jewish temple.

This has profound implications. It means that the 'foundation of the sanctuary' that the beast will overthrow at the end is a structure that will relate to the Rock of Peter, not to the rock of Abraham.

Before Jesus appeared, the foundation stone of the Jewish temple was the physical 'rock of Abraham' -- the threshing stone on Mt. Moriah that David purchased from Arunah the Jebusite.

"But their rock is not like our rock" (Dt.32:31).

When Jesus changed temple worship to spiritual worship, he also changed the foundation of the sanctuary:

"Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem...the hour will come -- in fact it is here already -- when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth: that is the kind of worshipper the Father wants. God is spirit, and those who worship must worship in spirit and truth." (Jn.4:21-24).

With these words, Jesus threw out all the stones and pillars of the past and replaced them with acts of compassion and mercy instead. The true 'foundation' of the sanctuary of God is faith in Christ.

This is why Jesus replaced the stone boulder (the rock of Abraham) on Mt. Moriah in Jerusalem with "Petros", a rock of human faith -- Simon Peter.

When Simon, filled with the Holy Spirit, suddenly realized that Jesus was the Son of God, he said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." (Mt.16:16). At that moment, Peter became the first disciple of Christ on earth to suddenly realize that Jesus and God were identical.

In a Church that would be built only on this revelation, Peter became the first stone in Christ's new temple. This made him the foundation stone of the Christian faith.

Each of us become a part of this Church only when we come to the same revelation.

That is why Jesus, hearing this declaration from His disciple, told Simon, "You are 'Rock' ('Peter') and on this rock I will build my church." (Mt.16:18).

At that very moment, Mt. Moriah and the rock of Abraham in Palestine were immediately succeeded -- replaced by the kind of living stones that God was looking for..."the living stones which form God's spiritual house". (1 Peter 2:5).

The proof of this is that God abandoned the rock on the temple mount in Jerusalem, making no attempt to keep it from falling into the hands of Israel's most ancient antagonists -- the people of the east -- who hold it in their possession to this very day.

God had no more use for that rock once Jesus came.

The new structure that He was building was spiritual and could only be made out of human stones. That is why God made Simon Peter the true rock of Abraham.

The stone that Jesus used as the foundation of His church had to be human. Just as Jesus Christ, himself, was human: "It was the stone rejected by the builders which proved to be the keystone." (Ps.118:22).

Because Jesus is the key to his words, every element in Daniel's prophecy can be examined in the light of the Christian faith.

When Daniel wrote that the beast will "throw truth to the ground" (Dn.8:12), there is only one 'truth' that his words could possibly describe -- the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There is no truth on earth outside of this Gospel.

Daniel's prophecy shows that the beast will abolish the Gospel and forbid its existence in his empire. Because it teaches about Jesus, every Bible will be burned when this madman comes to power.

We have already shown that when Daniel wrote of the beast abolishing the 'perpetual sacrifice' (Dn.8:11), he was alluding to the destruction of the perpetual offering of communion -- the sacrifice that relates to Jesus Christ. He will abolish the offering of the Eucharist.

For there to be altars and liturgy in these prophecies, there has to be a priesthood. This is significant. Judaism today has no priesthood and it has no perpetual sacrifice; nor has it had either one of these for almost 2000 years -- not since the destruction of the temple.

But Christian liturgy has both and has had both since the very beginning. Jesus did not abolish either the office of the priesthood or the perpetual sacrifice. (Mt.5:17).

Instead, he transferred authority over them from the corrupt Jewish hierarchy -- the Sadducees and Pharisees of Judaism who had rejected His Son -- to the new tenants that he appointed to take their place -- tenants that would bind the liturgy of worship to the commandments of God revealed by Jesus Christ. (Mt.21:41).

In this respect, even the High Priest still remains in office -- but now he is a Christian. The very fact that the priesthood and sacrifice continue to exist in Christianity and not in Judaism shows the transfer of authority from one covenant to the other.

What we see in Christian liturgy, then, is an extension of the same liturgical elements practiced by the priests of Moses, only refocused now on the ultimate sacrifice of all -- Jesus Christ.

The 'iniquity' that the beast will one day put on the sacrifice (Dn.8:11) must be seen as an 'abomination' that abolishes Christian communion and desecrates the altar from which it had been offered. (Dn.11:31).

Isaiah wrote that this action will initiate the curse that consumes the earth. (Is.24:6). That is why Jesus warned that when we see it occur everyone should run for the mountains. (Matt.24:15+).

In fact, because Christian communion legally perpetuates God's peace treaty with the world -- God's offer of peace to mankind -- the desecration of this sacrifice will be the world's culminating act in the rejection of Jesus Christ himself. It is only this treaty of peace and its offer to the world by the Christian Church that holds back the Law's sentence, so its desecration by the beast makes inevitable the world-ending catastrophe that Jesus warned us about.

Daniel has termed this sacrilege 'the abomination of desolation' -- a phrase which means that everything will be made desolate because it is set in place. For it is at that point -- the moment the abomination is erected -- that God will say, 'Enough!' and bring this earthly creation to an end. (Is.24:16).

The Apostle Paul has already shown us the immense power that the communion sacrifice has in this regard:

"Everyone is to recollect himself before eating this bread and drinking this cup; because a person who eats and drinks without recognising the Body is eating and drinking his own condemnation. "

"In fact that is why many of you are weak and ill and some of you have died. If only we recollected ourselves, we should not be punished like that. But when the Lord does punish us like that, it is to correct us and stop us from being condemned with the world." (1 Cor. 11:28-32).

From the day of its formation, it was announced that the covenant of Moses was temporary. (Dt.18:13-22). Even the Jewish elders knew that.

In case anyone had forgotten, Jeremiah came along 600 years after Moses had first proclaimed it and reminded the people again.

"See, the days are coming - it is God who speaks- when I will make a new covenant with the House of Israel (and the House of Judah), but not a covenant like the one I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt."

"They broke that covenant of mine, so I had to show them who was master. "No, this is the covenant I will make with the House of Israel when those days arrive: Deep within them I will plant my Law, writing it on their hearts. Then I will be their God and they shall be my people."(Jer.31:31-33).

The covenant of Moses came into being as an interim law because of the compromise at Sinai, and it was destined to be broken by the sins of the people and replaced by an everlasting covenant formed in the Son of David.

All these truths were described in great detail in the Old Testament -- a fact which shows that the Old Testament was pointing to Christian liturgy from the very beginning.

This is why almost every word in the Old Testament can be seen fulfilled in the New. Since Christianity is the essence of the eternal covenant, faith in Jesus Christ is the whole meaning of the Bible.

The Law of Moses, on the other hand, was temporary, and was structured on something not only predicted to pass away, but which did so almost 2000 years ago. (Heb.8:13).

This is why the 'everlasting covenant' that Daniel predicted the beast would attack with such fury at the end (Dn.11:30) can have nothing to do with Moses.

Jeremiah's words reveal that not only has the old covenant been terminated, it will never return. God has made a new covenant with the world in Jesus Christ and that new covenant is everlasting and cannot be supplanted in any way.

The words inside the brackets "(and with the House of Judah)" in Jeremiah's prophecy (Jer.31:31) reveals that the Christ's new covenant applies to the Jews just as much as to the rest of Israel.

This shows that in God everyone will end up a disciple of Christ.

"My servants are to be given a new name." (Is.65:15). That new name is 'Christian'. No longer called Hebrew or Jew, the holy people now invoke the messianic title of God's divine Son.

Everyone must acknowledge Jesus and accept His new covenant. (Lk.19:27).

"By speaking of a new Covenant, God implies that the first one is already old. Now anything old only gets more antiquated until in the end it disappears".(Heb.8:13).

Therefore, when the Jews regain their sight at the end of time, they will accept the new Covenant. Acknowledging Jesus Christ as their savior, the Jews will become Christians.

On that day, Zechariah prophesied,

"They will look on the one whom they have pierced; they will mourn for him as for an only son, and weep for him as people weep for a first-born child." (Zech.12:10-11).

Paul said that the blindness of the Jews was the mechanism that God used to save the pagans. (Rom.11:11-12). Zechariah revealed that this would be exactly reversed at the end.

In the last days the pagans, in their rejection of Jesus, will all go blind and that blindness will cause the restoration of sight to the Jews. (Zc.12:3-5).

In prophesying that reversal, Zechariah said that all the nations of the world would gather in the valleys of Palestine and make preparations for their final assault on the House of Israel. But at the last moment God would open His eyes on the Jews and suddenly they would be able to see Him as He really is -- they will see Jesus.

At that moment, the revelation that came to Peter will come to the remnant of the House of Judah gathered within the city of Jerusalem.

"When that day comes...the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, 'Strength for the Jews is in the Lord who is their God." (Zech.12:4-5).

At that moment they will know that God has placed all their strength in Jesus Christ. They will clarion this revelation in the prophetic declaration Jesus predicted:"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" (Matt.23:39).

This is the culminating moment of prophecy, because it will complete the final prophetic utterance in the history of prophecy on earth. Immediately after this declaration has been made, Michael will call out the command and the End will be at hand.

It was only their blindness to this fact that prevented the Jews from becoming Christians in the first place. And that loss of sight was a divine decree for the sake of the salvation of the pagans.

When this divine decree is rescinded, the Jews will accept the kingship of Jesus with the same kind of fervor that Christians do now. The old Covenant will not come back. It has been replaced forever in Jesus Christ.

Jews and Christians will become one. The last to go into Babylon, the Jews will be the last to leave it. The final vestige of Israel's captivity will have then come to an end. And that will be the signal for Jesus to return.

Before God rules in favor of the saints, Daniel tells us that the beast of the End will crush the power of the holy people. (Dan.11:28-35). "He will destroy powerful men and the people of the saints." (Dn.8:24).

This 'power' has nothing to do with an army of tanks and missiles and warplanes. The power of the holy people relates to the world authority of the Christian Church.

Daniel's words are an announcement that the beast will put an end to the rule of Jesus Christ on earth.

Historically, although Jesus was rejected by his own people, he was believed in by the world. (1 Tim.3:16). In the fertile soil of this belief the Christian Church quickly became the most dominant religion on earth -- a position it has maintained to this day. (See Graph 1). The Rebel of the last days will bring this world belief to an end.

When he appears, the beast will remove the 'Anointed Prince' of the Church -- the High Priest of Christianity -- and in doing so bring to a conclusion on earth the '62 weeks' of Christian restoration -- the time when all the squares and ramparts of holy behavior have been rebuilt in the righteousness of Christ.

Under the Rebel's direction, the peg will be pulled out from its firm place and all the cups and saucers hanging on it will fall. (Is.22:25). This will terminate the millenium of Christian rule on earth.

This is how the power of the holy people will come to an end -- through the destruction of the Church.

The true power of the holy people is Jesus Christ. He is the force of God that holds up the Church. And not just the Church, but the whole world, because Jesus is the force that has kept the Wrath from descending on the earth all these years.

The 'power of the holy people' specifically relates to the world's conversion into the Gospel and therefore to the rule of Christianity which has governed much of this earth for most of the last two thousand years.

The planet's conversion to Jesus was officially recognized by the world at the time of Constantine, almost 1700 years ago, when the Gospel of Jesus became the guiding principle of western civilization.

It is difficult for many of us to see this power now because it is collapsing all around us so quickly; but even a casual look back into history reveals the immense power that the Christian Church wielded in the world up until the recent past.

For almost two thousand years the Holy Spirit made the world bow to the authority of Christ's iron scepter. (Ps.2).

Just how fast this power is now eroding can be seen by the fact that the Charlie Brown Christmas show, a TV program in the 60's and 70's which had the Peanut's gang doing a Nativity scene in an American public school, can no longer be shown on commercial television.

In crushing the power of the holy people (the ability of governments to rule in the ethic of Jesus) the beast will put out the light of the Gospel on earth and bring to an end all political rule structured in Christ's words. This has almost been accomplished. And it has occurred quietly -- with barely a wimper of protest.

Christian 'power' has been made most visible to the world in the grandiloquent ceremonies of the major Christian churches. Proclaiming the victory of Christ in the world (and to the world), the majesty of these services are not appreciated today by many Christians.

But for almost two thousand years -- throughout the history of Christianity -- such services were able to project to the people of this world a brilliant physical reflection, not just of Christ's victory on earth over Satan, but of the hidden spiritual glory and majesty of God's eternal kingdom in heaven as well.

Officially termed 'triumphalism', these services produced a glorification of God's Son so captivating and celebrative that it not only enthralled the world, it brought a vast number of the most powerful kings of the earth to their knees in humility and tribute to Jesus Christ as well.

When Judas Iscariot and some of the other apostles observed Jesus being anointed with a jar of very precious oil (which could have been sold at a large profit and the money distributed to the poor) they were indignant at the injustice of the ceremony involved. (Jn.12:4).

How, they asked Christ, could these other disciples justify wasting such expensive oil on Jesus' body when there were so many poor people to be fed?

But Jesus would have none of their argument. He told them that the woman who had anointed his body with this precious oil had done a good work in the sight of God. He said,

"The poor you will always have with you and you can feed them whenever you want, but you will not always have me." (Mk.14:3-9).

The same is true of Christ's Church. The ceremonies of the triumphal Church have been for the glory of God and to promote on earth an image of the majesty of Jesus Christ, and when these ceremonies are gone this fact will be evident even to those who once railed against them.

The Christian decorations that used to cover our cities and public parks at Christmastime are now only a memory, and those who tore them down have not allocated one penny of the money they saved to the poor.

After the beast comes and burns down all the cathedrals and churches of Christ throughout Europe and the Eastern Hemisphere, the poor will remain behind just as poor and unfed as before.

More than that, they will then have lost the food of heaven as well. Because, at the very center of the majesty of the Christian church service is the feast of God -- the distribution of Gospel and communion to mankind.

Again, it cannot be stressed enough, Daniel vision shows us that the Persian battleground will become the communion celebration itself. The "perpetual sacrifice" will be cancelled and in its place will be raised the "abomination that makes desolate". The impact of this catastrophic attack will be the deciding factor in God's decision to end the world for good.

"See how God lays the earth waste, makes it a desert, buckles its surface, scatters its inhabitants...for they have transgressed the law, violated the precept, broken the everlasting covenant. So a curse consumes the earth and its inhabitants suffer the penalty, that is why the inhabitants of the earth are burnt up and few men are left." (Is.24:1-6).

Amid hosanna's and rejoicing, and surrounded by the ceremonial trappings of a divine victory celebration, this feast of perpetual sacrifice is being offered to the people of the world on a daily basis in every triumphal church.

At the very center of this triumphal liturgy are two foods: 'communion' and 'Word'.

Because these are the two essential ingredients of the sacrificial meal offered to the world by the Christian Church, they are the two sacred elements of 'truth' and 'perpetual sacrifice' targeted for destruction by the beast in the disclosures of Daniel.

The war against the majesty of Christian service surrounding these sacred elements is part and parcel of Satan's war against the Church.

It mimics the tearing down of the Christian Christmas decorations in the city streets and parks, and coinciding as it does with Satan's return from the Abyss, it shows that Satan's power of deception has cast its dark shadow deep into the ranks of the faithful who are succumbing to his devious arguments with little protest.

The church will not be strengthened when the expensive oil of triumphalism that has washed the body of Christ's Church over the past seventeen centuries is taken away.

Instead its absence will expose the sacred liturgy encased within these ceremonies to Daniel's prophecy.

When he crushes the power of the church and its service, the sacrifice and oblation that the Rebel will put a stop to (Dan.9:27) is the offering of the bread and wine of the communion feast, and the truth that he will throw to the ground is the Gospel that this offering represents.

In destroying Christ's treaty of peace with the world, the beast will create a way for the kings of the east to initiate the second and final war against the Church.

"When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive all the nations in the four quarters of the earth, God and Magog, and mobilize them for war".

"His armies will be as many as the sands of the sea; they will come swarming over the entire country and besiege the camp of the saints..."(Rv.20:7-9).

And the precise steps that Satan will follow as he raises his beast to such power over God's Church is contained in the visions of Daniel, the prophet in whose words God has hidden the secret mysteries of the last days.