Daniel and Revelation are closely connected. Both were written under similar circumstances by elderly men who were both living under foreign domination. Much of Revelation is drawn from Daniel and one must understand Daniel in order to correctly understand the Revelation. While these Books outline the major worldly powers involved with the persecution of God's people and their deliverance by Jesus, it is also an invitation to every nation, kindred, tongue and people to come out from these worldly systems and be true disciples of Christ and be one with him through obedience to His word - John 8:31,32
The following is only a snippet of the attacks on both literal and spiritual Israel:
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Daniel and Revelation reveal an attempted religious genocide of God's people
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Literal Israel suffered at the hands of the Egyptians during their sojourn in that land
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The Assyrians under Sennacherib were next to persecute Israel
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Then came the Babylonians under King Nebuchadnezzar - Daniel 1:1
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Babylon destroyed Jerusalem and its temple - Daniel 1:1,2
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Daniel's three friends were thrown into a burning fiery furnace in Daniel 3:21
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Daniel was thrown into the Lions den under the Medes & Persians in Daniel 6:16
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A death decree was sent out to exterminate the Jews - see the Book of Esther
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The Grecian kingdom's Antiochus Epiphanes also persecuted the Jews
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Rome followed the Greeks and continued the same persecution of the Jews.
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Jesus, a Jewish Messiah was crucified under Imperial Rome.
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Rome destroyed Jerusalem and its temple in AD 70, killing a million Jews in the process
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World War II saw the murder of 6 million Jews
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This battle has continued to this day with the ingrained mindset to exterminate the Jews
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it is heard in the clarion cry of "Free Palestine From The River To The Sea"
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But Literal Israel transitioned to Spiritual Israel after the 70 weeks prophecy of Daniel 9
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Literal Rome transitioned to Papal Rome and continued the persecution of spiritual Israel.
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This persecution was arrested around 1798 with the French taking the pope prisoner.
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Persecution is predicted to revive in Revelation the 13th chapter.
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It is aimed at those who keep the commandments of God & the testimony of Jesus -Rev 12:17
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But deliverance will come for those who believe and trust in Him. Daniel 12:1
The Book of Daniel can be viewed in two parts. The first six chapters asides from Daniel chapter 2 and 4 are a historical narrative. Daniel's prophetic ministry (first vision) begins in chapter 7 and continues in chapters 8, 9 and 11.
Judgment is written all over the Book of Daniel.
Daniel chapter 1 - A type of judgment occurs here when the King examines Daniel & his companions
Daniel chapter 2 - Judgment comes upon the wise men of Babylon & the world - image's destruction.
Daniel chapter 3 - Judgment of the three worthies and their attempted execution in the fiery furnace.
Daniel chapter 4 - A type of judgment is pronounced on King Nebuchadnezzar.
Daniel chapter 5 - Judgment comes upon Babylon and it falls to the Medes & Persians.
Daniel chapter 6 - Judgment falls upon Daniel & he is thrown into the Lions den.
Daniel chapter 7 - THE JUDGMENT of the Little horn & professed Christianity.
Daniel chapter 8 - The time frame for THE Judgment is given here - 2300 days (years) of Dan 8:14
Daniel chapter 9 - The commencement of the timeline for the 2300 days (Judgment) prophecy.
Daniel chapter 10 - Dialogue concerning the Judgment vision of chapter 8
Daniel chapter 11 - The Judgment of the King of the North - he comes to his end ... Dan 11:45
Daniel chapter 12 - The close of THE Judgment and probation for the world when Michael stands up.
Daniel means “God is judge.” Dan means “judge” (Gen 49:16). El is one of Godʼs names.
ABB'A'
The name of the team is ABB'A', because it reflects the chiastic structure of the Book of Daniel.
What is a CHIASTIC structure?
It is a literary device or pattern in which two ideas (AB) or more are presented and then re-presented in a reverse order (B'A') so as to convey a more complete meaning.
The simplest chiasmus is found in Mark 2:27:
"And he said unto them, The sabbath (A) was made for man (B), and not man (B') for the sabbath: (A')" conveying the idea that the Sabbath was made after man was created and not vice versa, hence man has no authority over the Sabbath except for the one who made the Sabbath. The Son of man, therefore, is Lord of the Sabbath Day as he made it for man. It is His prerogative and not man's to decide how the Sabbath is to be kept holy which was the contention in Mark chapter 2.
THE CHIASTIC STRUCTURE OF DANIEL - ABB'A'
Daniel chapter 2 presents the image of a MAN (A)
Daniel chapter 7 presents the vision of BEASTS (B)
Daniel chapter 8 presents the vision of BEASTS (B')
Daniel chapter 11 presents the MEN who ruled the Kingdoms (A')
The point about this chiastic structure is that the prophecies of Daniel 2,7,8 & 11 are all interconnected and cannot be broken up. The worldly kingdoms which affected God's people are locked in, in the Daniel 2 image, hence one cannot introduce a different power as a major player in end-time events.
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The Daniel 2 MAN outlines 4 world kingdoms leading up to the second coming of Christ.
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Daniel chapter 7 repeats this in the form of four BEASTS with added detail
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Daniel chapter 7 presents the rise of the Little horn
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This is followed by the Judgment in chapter 7
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Finally in chapter 7 the Judgment is given in favour of God's people.
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The Daniel chapter 8 BEASTS revisit this sequence after Babylon has passed on.
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The rise of the Little horn is again outlined in verse 9 of chapter 8.
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This is followed by the time frame for the Judgment in Daniel 8:14
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The Little Horn is broken without hand in verse 25 - judgment in favour of God's people.
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Daniel 11 gives us greater detail regarding the MEN who ruled in those kingdoms.
AIDS TO INTERPRETING BIBLE PROPHECY
1. LINE UPON LINE
Prophecy is of no private interpretation - 2Peter 1:20
1 Cor 2:13 “...the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual”
Isaiah 28:9, 10 “Line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little.”
Isaiah 8:20 “To the law and to the testimony: …..…”
We must compare scripture with scripture and make the Bible its own expositor.
We must remember that speculation is not inspiration!
2. REPEAT AND ENLARGE
Daniel 2 is the foundation prophecy outlining four world kingdoms.
Daniel 7 adds further details concerning those kingdoms.
Daniel 8 adds a new time prophecy concerning the Judgment
Daniel 11 gives greater detail concerning the rulers of the four world empires.
3. THE LITERAL & LOCAL TYPIFIED THE SPIRITUAL & GLOBAL
The names remain the same in the end-times but that which they refer to takes on a spiritual & GLOBAL meaning.
LITERAL LOCAL Babylon => Spiritual Babylon (false religion world-wide) of Revelation 14, 16 & 18.
LITERAL LOCAL Israel => Spiritual Israel (the church)
LITERAL LOCAL sanctuary => Heavenly Sanctuary - for all mankind.
LITERAL LOCAL Jezebel => Spiritual Jezebel of Revelation 2:20.
LITERAL LOCAL Euphrates => Spiritual Euphrates of Revelation - Rev 9:14, 16:12.
LITERAL LOCAL 7 Churches => Spiritual 7 churches of Revelation - Rev 2 & 3.
THE LITERAL & LOCAL TYPIFIES THE GLOBAL & SPIRITUAL
Literal localised things that affected literal Israel represent spiritual global events that affect the world-wide church. Israel and the events affecting it was a miniature world in which God illustrated His way of dealing with sin. What happened to Israel are types or figures illustrating
world-wide events in the experience of the church:
1Cor 10:6, 11 “Now these things were our examples,...Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.”
Rom 15:4 “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.”
The prophecies of Revelation are for the Seven Churches (Rev 1:4, 11) not the Jews.
Jesus said to John, “What thou seest, write in a book, and send [it] unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.” Rev 1:11.
The whole of the Revelation was for the church. In the New Testament the Church is now the “Israel of God (Gal 6:16 etc), but, while there is a change from national to spiritual Israel, there is no change in the language. The Old Testament terms are kept but they refer to the Church worldwide and her enemies, not to literal local Israel. (Matt 21:43; 1Pet 2:9; Rom 11:17-21; Gal 3:28-
29. See Dan 9).
The transfer from the literal to the spiritual meaning occurs with the transition from Pagan Rome to Papal Rome especially in Daniel 11.
SYMBOLS USED IN PROPHECY FOR KINGDOMS, NATIONS OR POWERS
1. “King” used interchangeably with Kingdom - Dan 2:37-38, Dan 7:17,23
2. “Mountain” symbolic of a kingdom - Dan 2:35, Rev 17:9
3. “Beasts” used interchangeably with “Kings”- Dan 7:17,23
4. “Beasts” are also said to be Kingdoms - Dan 7:23
5. “Horns” represent Kings / Kingdoms - Dan 8:20-22
6. “Heads” are symbolic of kingdoms - Dan 7:6, Dan 2:38
7. “Waters” symbolic of kingdoms, nations, tongues - Rev 17:15
8. “Great City” used interchangeably with kingdom - Rev 14:8, 16:19
9. “Ribs” symbolic of kingdom - Ram conquers in 3 directions. Bear has 3 ribs - Dan 7:7, Dan 8:4
These symbols bar "ribs" all meet in Revelation chapter 17.
