FIVE KINGS

INTRODUCTION

Prophetic Geography
and the Time of the End
By Ernest L. Martin, Ph.D., 1992
Edited by David Sielaff, February 2007

Prophetic events are important to understand in order to appreciate the

power of God to control all earthly circumstances to accord with his divine
plan formulated before the foundation of the earth. Those events can be
comprehended if two essential factors are applied.One involves chronology
(the time the events take place) and the other is geography (the places
where the events will occur). In this Prophetic Report we will concentrate
on the geographical indications where the prophetic occurrences for the
End-Time will happen.

There are four types of geographical indications found in the Bible to describe the
places where End-Time events are to be fulfilled.

The first is the use of very old geographical terms associated with the places that
the initial patriarchs went after the dispersal of the human race in the wake of the
rebellion of mankind at the Tower of Babel. These early terms were in vogue from
the 22nd century to the 15th century B.C.E.

The second pertains to new geographical terms for various peoples after the
development of nations when the Exodus of Israel from Egypt took place in the
15th century B.C.E. This phase lasted until the Babylonian Captivity in the 6thcentury
B.C.E.

The third applies to geographical terms of empires or of their subject peoples who
developed within their empires after the Babylonian Captivity of the Jews (from the
6th century B.C.E. to the close of the Old Testament canon in the time of Alexander
the Great).

The fourth involves geographical areas in which the Bible describes non-descript
rulers or kingdoms who have power on the earth up to the End-Time generation. As
an example of this, we have references in the Book of Daniel to a few kings of the
north and kings of the south as well as ten toes and ten heads. These are all
given much attention in the prophecies but there are few geographical indications
associated with them in order to pinpoint with accuracy where the events connected
with these non-descript powers take place. The same applies to similar non-descript
prophetic terms in the Book of Revelation with its mountains and heads.

We will discuss these four types of geographical indications mentioned in the Bible. It
should be mentioned that all of the basic information in this Prophetic Report comes
solely from the Bible. I do provide some historical connections with proper
references, but this research primarily involves only biblical information. 1 But we
should all look at the Holy Scriptures first in these matters. After all, it is God (and
his divine word) who has the final say on all prophetic events. With the teaching of
God being given first, we can be properly led in looking at the historical evidences in
determining what the truth really is.

Click to View Larger Map

This map deals with geographical terms linked to the first period in human history
after the Flood of Noah. That was the time from the dispersal after the rebellion at
the Tower of Babel until the Exodus of Egypt by the Israelites. Look at this outline
map of the world and you will see that some of the areas first colonized by the few
patriarchs mentioned in Genesis Ten are still being called by those patriarchal names
in biblical prophetic contexts even at this End of the Age. For example, in the Book of
Revelation, the people of MAGOG are shown as inhabiting regions in the extremities
of the earth from the area of the Middle East. It mentions the people of MAGOG as
being located in the four quarters of the earth. 2To people in the 1st century this
meant MAGOG was inhabiting areas in the antipodes of the earth (a term which
would embrace both the American continents today).

As a further example of using the names of patriarchs to identify geographical areas,

note on map A that the use of the word JAVAN is the geographical term for the
southern European areas bordering the Mediterranean. JAVAN gave rise to four
patriarchs who went with their few descendants after the Tower of Babel into the
southern European areas (and also to the western half of North America):

1. His son TOGARMAH settled our modern Spain and Portugal and the western
half of North America.

2. The people of KITTIM went to Italy, parts of Asia Minor and Cyprus.

3. ELISHAH took over western Asia Minor and most of Greece.

 4. DODANIM (which in other biblical contexts is called RODANIM) inhabited the
island of Rhodes and other adjacent regions.

Most Bible dictionaries or encyclopaedias will confirm these basic geographical

indications to even the casual investigator.

Because of this well-known movement of JAPHETIC peoples into Europe (JAPHETH

was Noahs firstborn and JAVAN was JAPHETHS fourthborn), JAVANS first
descendants settled all areas of southern Europe. It is common, however, in some
circles to identify JAVAN only with Greece. But this is a mistake. The name JAVAN
actually identifies all of southern Europe if one applies the first settlement of JAVAN
with his four sons as mentioned in the Table of Nations in Genesis 10. And this
should be understood when using End-Time prophecies involving the geographical
term JAVAN. Thus, in Daniel 8:21 and the two references in the End-Time prophecy
called the Book of Truth in Daniel 10:20 and 11:2the term JAVAN means in
prophecy any of the areas of southern Europe, and not simply Greece alone. 3

That does not end the matter, however. If you will notice map B (below) it is shown
in a general way that Shemite tribes (people who were descendants of Shem and
including some peoples who came from Abraham) later colonized the whole of
southern Europe and replaced the people of JAVAN and his four descendants.
JAVANS people were pushed mainly into the northern areas of Europe where in turn
they migrated farther east into Asia (along with GOMER the firstborn son of JAPHETH
and his descendants). Indeed, in prophecies dealing also with the End-Time, we find
the people of JAVAN no longer in Europe but they are now associated with TUBAL
(another son of JAPHETH) who became an eastern Mongolian type of people. So far
from Israel did JAVAN finally migrate that the prophet Isaiah said they came to know
nothing about the God of Israel (Isaiah 66:19). If this were a reference to JAVAN in
Europe (where they first settled), it would make no sense because most southern
Europeans since the Exodus of Israel from Egypt were well aware of the practices of
the God of Israel.

The JAVAN whom Isaiah was speaking about was now aligned with TUBAL (a
Mongolian people). Even in Ezekiel 27:13 and 19 we also find Ezekiel no longer
associating the people of JAVAN with Europeans the people of JAVAN had long left
the area (though the name JAVAN still retained its geographical hold on the southern
region of Europe, particularly in Greece). But Ezekiel in his day was now placing the
people of JAVAN (along with Isaiah) with the mongoloid peoples of TUBAL. The
people of JAVAN later take their name even further into the southeast Asian area of
Indonesia where many modern people are called JAVANESE.

It is not uncommon for people to give a name to a region and then the original
people move on to other areas or are killed off. The original geographical name then
becomes associated with completely different people. 4 Thus, Shemitic peoples (and
others) took over the areas of JAVAN in Europe (with his four descendants named
ELISHAH, RODANIM, KITTIM, and TARSHISH). The same thing has occurred to the
people of MAGOG in the Americas. People from Europe and Africa have come into the
original territory colonized at first by MAGOG and now the MAGOG people in North
America have become a minority group.

In fact, as map B shows, not only did the people of TARSHISH (a son of JAVAN)
establish themselves at first in what we call Spain and the western part of North
America, another group must have journeyed eastward into the tropical areas of
Asia. In II Chronicles 20:36 it is recorded that Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, joined
himself with Ahaziah, king of Israel,to make ships in Ezion-geber to go to
Tarshish. This was at Ellat on the Red Sea. These ships to Tarshish were in the
Indian Ocean and they sailed to the same areas where Solomon fetched gold, silver,
ivory, and apes and peacocks (2 Chronicles 9:21). And while the people of
TARSHISH who first settled the western parts of the Mediterranean were finally
replaced by Shemitic peoples (basically) from the Levant, Asia Minor and
Mesopotamia, the eastern branch of TARSHISH remained active in later times in East
Asia.

And what about the KITTIM (another son of JAVAN)? They were the original ones
who settled Cyprus and finally Italy, but they were pushed northward and east by
Shemites coming from the areas cited above and went into the central areas of Asia
to the area we call China today (an early name of China was CATHAY which comes
from the root word Khitai which answers to KITTIM). 5

And too, GOMER (the firstborn of JAPHETH) was the first to settle central Europe, but
at the End of the Age we find his descendants in Asia in the Far East. In Ezekiel
38:16 we find GOMER associated with MAGOG, MESHECH, TUBAL, PERSIA,
ETHIOPIA (eastern CUSH, of the Hindu KUSH), PHUT in India and Ceylon (not as the
KJV states as Libya). This means that GOMER and all his bands long ago became
Asiatic powers, and they are still Asiatic powers at the End-Time. After the
Millennium is over, we have the Book of Revelation referring to the earliest
geographical regions associated with MAGOG the four extremities of the earth
which primarily refer to the regions of the antipodes (the North and South American
continents, Southern America and extreme northern regions of Eurasia).

What must be understood is that most of the European tribes of JAPHETH left the
region and went into Asia (and a small band to South America who gave rise to the
Hottentots) and further eastward into the Pacific Islands and then the Americas. The
Americas were at first colonized from the west (mainly via the Pacific Ocean) with
people using small boats and not from Europe and Africa.

In the period covered by map A (from the dispersal at the Tower of Babel to the
Exodus of Israel from Egypt), the people involved in the migrations were just small
family groups hardly numbering more than a hundred people or so. Though the
people of JAVAN and GOMER did at first settle southern and central Europe and gave
their names to the regions (which in some instances still persist to this day), it was
just roving bands of a few people who did this name-giving. It was characteristic of
this period for nations of people to be made up only of a few families banded
together.

Note that in Abrahams day when the four nations came south from Asia Minor and
Mesopotamia to invade the cities of the plain (Sodom and Gomorrah), Abraham was
able to conquer all four nations near the area that later became known as Dan with
a mere 318 troops (Genesis 14:14). Indeed, the city of Sodom was so small at the
time that all the men of the city showed up to do malice to two angels whom they
thought were men (Genesis 19:4). When all the men of the city of Shechem in the
time of Jacob were recovering from circumcision, only two sons of Jacob (who had no
such affliction) were able to kill every male in this major city (Genesis 34:25).
When David wrote a History of the World in a series of Psalms (Psalm 103:19
through to the end of Psalm 106) that described historical events from before the
creation of the world until his own time, David stated that in Abrahams day when
Abraham was an important man in the eyes of nations and kings (and the texts show
nations and kingdoms in existence), the populations involved are best described
as being few men in number; yea, very few (Psalm 105:1213). And though I
am guessing regarding the exact figure, in the time of Abraham the biblical texts
indicate there were probably fewer than 20,000 human beings scattered over the
whole earth.

Ten Generations

Following the Tower of Babel rebellion, these early movements of peoples into all
areas of the world at the dispersal, were made with just a handful of individuals.
There were as yet no races of people as we know them today. It took time for the
various races to appear from the eight people who came through the Flood.

In the animal world it takes about eight to ten generations to create a new breed
(say of a dog), and in Gods own way, God caused new breeds of humans by
placing small groups of people in various isolated areas of the world to develop into
the racial types of people we see on earth today. God indicates that ten generations
can apply to one type of people before they become like another type (e.g.
Deuteronomy 23:3).

By the time of the Exodus (about ten generations from the time of the dispersal at
the Tower of Babel) we know that racial types had then come into existence because
Israel came out of Egypt with a mixed multitude in their midst (Exodus 12:38). All
races on earth today are assigned their areas of influence by God himself though
humans are all of one blood to one another (Acts 17:26). In dispersing the nations
around the world, God was able to help the first settlers to navigate to their assigned
locations on earth.

Map A gives a rough overview of this movement of these small bands of peoples
into their areas of the world. These were groups of people (very few in number).
True, they gave their names to the geographical areas to which they first went (and
in some prophetic texts those names are still applied to the peoples who live there
when the End-Time prophecies are fulfilled), but in most cases the few people of
JAVAN and GOMER who first colonized Europe, were driven northward and eastward
when the second phase of migration set in at the time of the Exodus of Israel. It is
important to recognize that the descendants of JAVAN and GOMER left the European
areas and went far away into most of the areas of Asia (China, Japan, Southeast
Asia, Indonesia and about 2000 years ago a group from Indonesia went to
Madagascar off the Southern African coast). We must understand that the word
JAPHETH itself, who was the patriarch who gave rise to these peoples, means
enlargement. The JAPHETIC peoples were to be the largest group of the human
race in numbers and were to settle finally in the larger areas of the earth away from
the Middle East.

The Importance of the Exodus Period

The Bible shows that during the time Israel was in Egypt there was a population
explosion among the settled peoples of the Middle East. The Israelites grew great in
numbers, but so did those in Canaan and elsewhere in the Middle East. Recall that
(even with their numbers) the Israelites were still afraid to attack the peoples in the
Land of Canaan because their populations also increased.

When the Israelites set out for Canaan to possess the land from its first inhabitants,
this set off a chain of events that led to numerous peoples from Canaan, Asia Minor
and Mesopotamia leaving those areas and going into the regions of North America
and southern and northern Europe. This movement of peoples (which happened over
several generations and centuries, I am giving simply an overview in map B) were
made up of vast numbers of peoples in a relative sense and they changed the racial
make-up of the various regions of Europe into which they went and settled. Many of
these newcomers were from Abrahamic stock. The apostle Paul said that the Romans
to whom he was writing (though they were uncircumcised Gentiles) were
nonetheless people who had Abraham as their father through the flesh (Romans
4:1).

As for Israel, once they conquered the Land of Canaan, they ceased to call it Canaan
and they placed their own name Israel on the region. But when the Amalekites,
who were desert dwellers, took over Egypt, 6 the new comers did not change the
name of Egypt to one of their own. They continued to call the nation Egypt (i.e.,
MIZRAIM its earliest name) for the next 300 years. In fact, all future conquerors
of Egypt continued to use the name Egypt (MIZRAIM) for the region. And in the
area of Canaan there are historical records to show that Joshua (and later Israelites)
not only drove out most of the Canaanites, they even pursued them into North
African areas all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. 7

Click to View Larger Map

During the period covered by map B there were many intrusions of Shemitic
peoples into Europe and into the fertile areas of North Africa along the Mediterranean
Sea. The main bulk of the Phoenicians (which means Ruddy People) were of
Edomite stock. The word Edom also means Ruddy. The Edomites were close kin
to Israelites since Edom was the twin brother to Jacob. 8 They established a network
of mercantile routes (both sea and land) throughout the Eurasian and North African
areas which made them the envy of the world for the thousand years from the
Exodus to the Babylonian Captivity. It was mainly in the time of Solomon that the
Phoenicians and the mercantile guilds controlled by Solomon made intrusions of
trade and settlements in many Eurasian and African areas. While this was going on in
the Old World, no major settlements were made in North and South America by
these people. It was not necessary. All the gold, silver, animals, and exotic plants
that Solomon was interested in were found in abundance in the Eurasian and African
continents.

While there were no doubt occasional links between Europe and the Americas in the
time of Solomon and in other periods, there were no active settlements of peoples
made by these Shemitic and/or other European or North African peoples in the
thousand years between the Exodus and the Babylonian Captivity of the Jews.
Indeed, in Persian, Greek, Roman, and even in the early Islamic periods, there may
have been an occasional contact by ship between Europeans and peoples of the
Americas, but there were no settlements of these people. There were no doubt trans-
Pacific migrations took place, but not large scale transatlantic European migrations or
colonizations. The evidence has to do with domesticated animals and diseases.

Animals Are a Clue

The fact that Shemites (and the later peoples of Europe) were always great lovers of
animals and domesticated scores of animal types for the use of mankind (goats,
sheep, cattle, horses) is almost a certain guide to show that the New World (before
the time of Columbus) was not visited extensively or certainly not settled by
European or North African peoples who almost always took their animals with them
in their settlements. People who are used to domesticated animals always want them
in their midst to supply them with special foods that the animals produce, clothing,
work, power and/or companionship. When people colonize new areas of the globe,
they almost always take their domesticated animals with them to their new areas of
settlement.

In the Americas, however, the only real domesticated animals (and this is even
debated) were the dog and turkeys. When Europeans who had long lived with their
domesticated animals (and inherited many diseases associated with them) first
began to settle the New World in the early 16th century, the native peoples who had
not lived intimately with animals in their midst, died off at a prodigious rate. The
same thing happened to other peoples in the world who mainly made their living by
hunting wild animals and/or did not live with the animals if they were domesticated.
This allowed such people to be free from the many diseases that came from microbes
that had their origin with domesticated animals which were abused by man or
became sickly but still consumed by man.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with having domesticated animals as long as man
uses them correctly and not in ways that God condemns and utterly forbids. The wild
animals in the Americas were less likely to be misused by people than those that
mankind in the Old World domesticated.

Animals can be very dangerous to humans if they are misused or not governed
correctly. Whereas Noah had separate rooms in the Ark for animals and humans
(Genesis 6:14) to avoid cramped and unsanitary contact between humans and
animals, our early European colonizers often forgot this example of Noah concerning
the separation of animals from humans. When the first Europeans brought their
animals to settle in the New World, they ate, slept and conducted their aboard ship
living in close association with their animals.

Such conditions of even a few weeks duration produced some of the most disease
generating environments that one could imagine (with rats, animals and humans all
living together without proper sanitary facilities). Indeed, many people and animals
were already sick when they stepped ashore in their new homelands and they spread
their animal engendered diseases among the natives (who did not have domesticated
animals and were not used to them) and wiped out whole tribes of peoples because
of such diseases. Actually, such conditions could even cause new diseases to develop
(or for old ones to be revived) because of wrong contacts with animals.

The first inhabitants of the Americas after the rebellion of the Tower of Babel did not
bring their domestic animals with them in their small boats. This spared them from
many contagious diseases that too close contact with animals (in an unsupervised
way) can bring about. The fact that the New World was free of many animal
generated diseases before the time of Columbus is evidence that people with
domesticated animals on board bigger ships did not make settlements in the New
World until about 500 years ago.
 Click to View Larger Map

After the Babylonian Captivity (in the 6th century B.C.E. and onward), nations in the
Middle East like Elam, Edom, Ammon, Moab, Assyria, and even Babylon began to
disappear from the scene. In their place at first was the Empire of Persia. 9 The
whole of the Middle East became Persian, just as it later (for a short period)
became Greek, then Roman, then Byzantine, then Arabic Islamic, then
Turkish Islamic.

In Daniel 7:12 and 17 it states that some of these nations will make a re-appearance
at the End of the Age (in our time today). 10 As a matter of fact, since the First World
War, nations have again appeared on the scene but they have boundaries that do not
resemble any of the earlier nations which many of the prophecies mention.
Prophecies made at the beginning of this period shown on map C are still
concerned with areas in the Middle East, but just as Persia embraced a multitude of
nations within its empire, so nations today may not perfectly fit the modern
geographical boundaries which modern man has imposed on the region of the Middle
East.

When End-Time prophecies refer to the early lands of Babylon, Moab, Ammon and
Edom (to name a few), they still refer to the geographical areas that the prophets
were able to view when the prophecies were first given, no matter what modern race
or culture of people now reside in the lands.
 Click to View Larger Map

This map is perhaps the most important to understand in regard to prophetic matters
for the last seven years of this age, just before the Second Advent of Christ back to
this earth. This map shows what the Promised Land that was first given to
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob really encompasses. It shows what King David was
inspired to disclose about the boundaries of the Promised Land. Most people do not
realize that the biblical commands of God actually make the Promised Land a lot
bigger than people have been led to believe. It actually includes all of Kuwait, Saudi
Arabia, Jordan, most of Syria and all of Lebanon as well as the Sinai Peninsula and all
the land bordering the central and southern parts of the Suez Canal. The enhanced
dark line circling the Arabian peninsula and the adjacent lands in the north and west
as shown on map D, delineates the real Land of promise (which is called in
Daniel 11:16, 41, and 45 the glorious land).

In the time of Solomon, Israel controlled all the land that is shown within that
enhanced boundary. While the nations of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, Sidon,
Damascus and all the region of the Arabian tribes of the Arabian peninsula are
allowed by God to live in this area of the Promised Land and to be treated as
homeborn people with all the rights of Israelites (Ezekiel 47:2223), the land is still
acknowledged by biblical teaching as destined to be under the control of Israels
messianic king. This is the real Promised Land of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and King
David.

Let us now look at the biblical verses that prove this. First notice Genesis 15:18. God
said to Abraham: Unto your seed have I given this land, from the
river [Hebrew: nahar]of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates. There
can be no doubt that the word nahar means a real river that normally flows all year
round. It could only refer to the Nile, and this is how most people (including Jewish
religious leaders) have interpreted it. It is even said that the present Israeli flag with
two blue stripes (one at the top and one at the bottom with the Star of David in the
center) denotes the River Euphrates in the north and the Nile in the south.

But there is a problem in accepting the Nile River as being the southwestern border.
Thats because the Nile goes south about 4000 miles into Africa and it might be
interpreted that all lands east of the Nile (even in Africa) were to be included in the
land of promise. There is not a hint anywhere that this is what God actually meant.
Indeed, a further reference was given in the Old Testament to clarify the matter so
that the boundaries would be clear. True, the River Nile was the extreme western
boundary of the Promised Land, but only the east branch (known as the Pelusaic).
The Nile traditionally was split into seven smaller streams in its delta region. It was
known as the seven fold river in its delta (e.g., Virgil,Aeneid, BK. VI. 800), and
the Nile is destined to be smitten by God in the seven streams (Isaiah 11:15).
On this last remark, MClintock and Strong in their Cyclopaediastate:

Notwithstanding that Rabbi Kimchi and others have understood this[as

pertaining to] the Euphrates, it is clear from the context, as well as from a
comparison of the parallel passages (Isaiah 19:5; 23:3), that none other
than the Nile can be intended which in ancient and modern times alike has
been recognized as the seven-mouthed Nile. ...

vol. VII. 104

Certainly, the Nile was intended by Isaiah, and the extreme eastern branch of the
Nile (the Pelusaic, which has now dried up, Isaiah 19:5) is the one that was the
border of the Land of Promise. Indeed, the Pelusaic branch was only a small stream
and this is why the Euphrates in Genesis 15:18 was called the great river in
contrast to it. Thus, it is clear that the western boundary of the Land of Promise was
the point where the Pelusaic branch of the Nile entered the Mediterranean.

When one proceeds south from that western point on the Mediterranean, one would
soon leave the Pelusaic branch of the Nile and head in the direction of the Red Sea. It
is at this point that a further geographical term came to be used to designate the
western limits of the Promised Land. It was the Valley [Hebrew: nachal] of
Egypt. And true enough, just south of this former eastern branch of the Nile is a
valley which heads directly toward the Red Sea (to the city of Suez today). This is
the valley area (with a few lakes in it) that was called the Valley of Egypt and it
represented the border between civilized Egypt of the past and the desert regions to
the east. This valley today occupies most of what we call the Isthmus of Suez and it
is clearly the celebrated Valley of Egypt (i.e., Egypts Valley) referred to in the
Bible (e.g., Joshua 15:4, et al.) that was Israels western boundary in a geographical
sense.
In no way was the Wadi El-Arish some 90 miles east toward Palestine meant as
theValley of Egypt, though the LXX Greek translation of Isaiah 27:12 has it that
way (no doubt because of political reasons in the 3rd century B.C.E.). Josephus knew
better than this. He showed the area of El-Arish as belonging to Judah
(Antiquities 13.395) and Jerome even said the Valley of Egypt was west of El-
Arish towards the eastern arm of the Nile. Without doubt, the Valley of
Egypt which represents Israels western border is the valley within which the
present southern two thirds of the Suez Canal traverses to the Red Sea. With this
being the case, the Red Sea southward becomes the southwestern border of Israel.
This means that all of the Sinai Peninsula is included in the Promised Land.

But there are other boundaries to consider that show the full extent of the actual
Promised Land. In the north the River Euphrates is clearly defined as the boundary,
and we are further told in Ezekiel 47:17 that the city of Hamath on the
Mediterranean Sea was also its north border. One can draw a line from Hamath to
the River Euphrates for the position of the extreme north border. But then one should
follow the River Euphrates southeastward until it reaches the Persian Gulf for the
northeastern border of the Promised Land.

As a matter of fact, Ezekiel showed his ideal Land of Promise (as it will exist in
the Millennium) as having its new Temple centered at Shiloh in Ephraim. This was to
fulfill the promise given to Jacob that the Messiah will go to Shiloh to establish his
Temple (Genesis 49:10), not that a person named Shiloh will arise in Judah. Ezekiel
shows that the city of Jerusalem will still exist as the capital and it will be a square
city located in the same area as now. But the sanctuary region in the Millennium
(which is a squared region with boundaries about 60 miles in length on each of its
four sides) will stretch eastward from its central location at Shiloh for about 30 miles.
This means that the sanctuary area has expanded some 15 miles east of the Jordan
River.

Ezekiel then draws a line from the north (from the Euphrates) to Israels southern
border to intersect with the point 15 miles east of the Jordan. The line of Ezekiel
starts southward from the Euphrates to Damascus, then to Gilead east of the Jordan
River, and then through the border areas of the Trans-Jordanian tribes. From this
eastern line (some 15 miles east of the Jordan River), Ezekiel 47:18 then records
that one should measure unto the east sea. This is clearly, again, the Persian
Gulf.

But the boundary does not simply end at the Persian Gulf. How far south does the
boundary of the Promised Land extend? This is where Psalm 72:8 comes on the
scene. In Davids Psalm for Solomon (and this also has messianic overtones to it),
David was inspired to write:

He shall have dominion also that is, from the Mediterranean Sea to
from sea to sea, the Arabian Sea(otherwise known as
the Persian Gulf)

and from the river the River Euphrates from the line even
with the city of Hamath until it reaches
 the Persian Gulf

unto the ends of the earth. or, as it can be rendered unto the
ends of the land or unto the place
where the land ends until one
reaches the ocean

This means that from the River Euphrates east of Hamath unto the Persian Gulf one
should go south from the River Euphrates until the land ends until one reaches the
ocean. In this case, David meant the Indian Ocean. This clearly shows that all of the
Arabian Peninsula is in the Promised Land! Indeed, when one proceeds southward
from the River Euphrates in this eastern region, one meets with the Arabian desert
where all the oil at the present happens to be. And what does David go on to say? In
the very next verse (Psalm 72:9) he relates that because of this direction in showing
the Promised Land they that dwell in the wilderness [the desert region of
Arabia] shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust. Yes, all of
Arabia is also reckoned to be in the Promised Land.

The End-Time Prophecies Regarding the Promised Land

Most people, even prophetic interpreters, do not realize how extensive the Bible
shows the Promised Land to be. Some are willing to take it from the River Nile to the
Euphrates and then eastward to include the region of Gilead where the Trans-
Jordanian tribes of Israel settled at the time of the Exodus, but to stretch out its
dimensions to include all of the Arabian Peninsula has hardly been realized by most
Gentile commentators on the Bible. However, in Israel itself one can read (though it
is all in Hebrew) the Atlas of the Land of Israel Its Boundaries According to the
Sources, published by Cana Publishing House in Jerusalem. All of the above is shown
quite adequately. In this Atlas one will note that the southern boundary from the top
of the Red Sea towards the east to the Persian Gulf is sometimes given as a dotted
line, but the map on page 62 of the Atlas that gives the dimensions of the land found
in Psalm 72:8 and Ezekiel 47:1718, forces the mapmakers to place the southern
boundary of the Promised Land far to the south of the dotted line.

In a word, Psalm 72:8 takes the southern boundary to the Indian Ocean, as I show
on Map D above. It embraces all of the Arabian Peninsula. Thus, when one wishes
to interpret the prophecies of the Book of Truth given in chapters 11 and 12 of
Daniel, one should consider that what Daniel calls the glorious land (Daniel 11:16,
41, and 45), may well be a much larger territory than many interpreters believe. This
is the land that the Antichrist (called the Vile Person of Daniel 11:21) will endeavor to
take over and to rule as his base of operations.

Indeed, at the end of our age (just before the Second Advent of Christ), there will be
ten nations in the Middle East (mentioned in Psalm 83) who will align with the
Antichrist in a great confederation of states. It will at first be dominated by the
Antichrist and it will embrace most of the lands found within the enhanced dark line
on map D. These ten kings (who rule over ten geographical areas in the Middle
East) will finally turn against this once united confederation (that is what Psalm 83 is
all about and Revelation 17:1617 states the same thing in different language).
For more information on how this will develop and succeed, see my research study
The Life and Times of the Antichrist. 11

As for us who love the Bible and its teachings, we should keep our eyes on events
that will occur in the Middle East. God will soon send a spirit of grace and
supplications on the people in Jerusalem and the land of Israel. Many Israelites are
destined to return to the one who has been pierced (a reference to Christ and his
crucifixion) (Zechariah 12:914) and they will send the idols out of the land
(Zechariah 13:16). When one reads the text carefully, it shows that Jews, Arabs,
Christians and others who live in the area will take part in this renewal of the Spirit
that God will send.

This will cause more of an accord to come between Israel and her Arab neighbors.
And as time goes on, Israel will be able to place many Israelites coming back to the
Promised Land from the north quarters of the world even into Gilead (the region east
of the Jordan River). See Zechariah 10:10 where this is clearly shown. But their
dominion will not stop with Gilead. An accord will be made with most of the peoples
of the Middle East and increasing harmony will be seen among the peoples as we get
nearer the end of the age. Indeed, the people of Iran are destined to have a strong
ruler once again like Cyrus who will actually help Israel to build a new Temple in
Jerusalem (Isaiah 44:2128 and all of Isaiah 45 as well).

Some very interesting times are just on the horizon to us. It is time for us who love
the biblical revelation to unite with our funds and prayers that the people of the
world may soon begin to understand the Gospel of Christ Jesus. It is prophesied that
the blinders that have been placed on peoples eyes by God will soon be removed
and people will begin to understand the truth of the Gospel as never before (Isaiah
29:924). Even the prophecies of Daniel will be made more clear to all of us as we
approach the Second Advent of Christ back to this earth (Daniel 12:4, 9).

This is the time for all of us who are members of the Family of God to be about our
Fathers business, teaching the truths of the Gospel to the world. This is specially
true of us who understand the Great Mystery revealed to Paul and others in the
Ephesian and Colossian epistles. A time of opportunity is just on the horizon to us.
Let us keep our interest in the Word of God, and getting the Bible back into its
original design, so that the world will have an easier time knowing what the Holy
Scriptures teach. All of us together have a big job to do.

Ernest L. Martin, 1992

Edited by David Sielaff, February 2007

1 Dr. Martin wrote originally in this article: I plan to write a book on this subject
that will give the prime historical references to support the biblical teaching. This
book was not able to be written by Dr. Martin before his death in January
2002. DWS

2 This takes place after the first 1,000 years of the reign of Christ:
And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his
prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four
quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the
number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

Revelation 20:78 DWS

3 Japheth had seven sons (Genesis 10:2):

1. Gomer > Gomer had three sons (Genesis 10:3):

2. Magog 1. Ashkenaz
3. Madai 2. Riphath
3. Togarmah

4. Javan >
5. Tubal Javan had four sons (Genesis 10:4):
6. Meshech 1. Elishah
2. Tarshish
7. Tiras 3. Kittim
4. Dodanim

In Daniel 8:21, 10:20, and 11:2 the word Greece in the King James Version is
Javan in Hebrew. DWS

4 An example of this is our state in the United States called Massachusetts. If one
would have traveled to the area 500 years ago there would have been numerous
native tribes calling themselves the Massachusetts people, but within 300 years
(primarily because of disease that Europeans brought among them) every single
indigenous tribesman who was of the original Massachusetts race of people died
out and has been replaced by people of European and American origin (with a
smattering of most races in the world) who now call themselves the people of
Massachusetts. This has happened in other areas of America. ELM

5 See Dr. Martins article China in Prophecy

athttp://www.askelm.com/prophecy/p950701.htm.

6 This took place at the same time Israel was invading Canaan. See Psalm 74:14
where Leviathan means Egypt and the desert people were Amalekites:

You broke the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gave him to be meat to the
people inhabiting the wilderness [desert].

Psalm 74:14

7 This Prophetic Report is simply an overview of this subject. I plan later to write a
book showing the historical evidence of these movements of peoples and how
major race changes took place in Europe over the generations and
centuries. ELM
 As indicated earlier, this book was not written before Dr. Martins death. However,
much information about the race change in Europe during later historical times,
particularly during the Roman period, is found in Dr. Martins book The People
that History Forgot(Portland, OR: Ask Publications, 1993) which is available
complete online athttp://www.askelm.com/people/index.asp. DWS

8 See Dr. Martins presentation which discusses the Edomites in The Most
Significant Gentile Nation in the Bible
at http://www.askelm.com/prophecy/p060701.htm. DWS

9 See Dr. Martins important presentation: The Prophetic Birth of Our Civilization
athttp://www.askelm.com/prophecy/p020701.htm. DWS

10 Note these separate passages:

As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away:
yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time.
These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of
the earth.

Daniel 7:1217

11 This one article was superseded by two. One is chapter 21, The Antichrist Will
Establish the Mosaic Law at http://www.askelm.com/essentials/ess030.htm,
which gives an overview of the rule of the Antichrist. The other is the article
Discovering the Mark of the Beast
at http://www.askelm.com/prophecy/p900501.htm. DWS
CHAPTER 1

The nation and people of Iran will have a very interesting future ahead of them.
Until 1935 the nation was known to English speakers as Persia, which is the biblical
name for the land and people. That land and people will play a major part in Gods
increasingly visible and direct participation in world affairs.

Iran Today

According to the CIA Factbook, produced and updated as a public service by the
United States Central Intelligence Agency, Iran is a country of some 68 million souls
in a land mass slightly larger than Alaska. Iran is a large country with a young and
growing population. Its capital, Teheran, is located in the far north of the country.
About 51% of its citizens are Persians with several ethnic groups comprising the
other 49%. About 89% of the Iranian population is Shia Muslims. Literacy in Iran is
very high, almost 80%.

[ By contrast Iraq has a population of 26 million and the land mass of Iran. Iraqs
population is 6065% Shia and 3237% Sunni. Arabs make up 7580% of the
population with Kurds making up the next largest ethnic group. Literacy is 40%
nationwide. ]
Between 1980 and 1988 Iraq attacked Iran and the two nations fought a long,
indecisive war which ended in exhaustion and a million casualties, with no gain to
either side. That war left a scar on the memories of the older Iranian population. Iran
wants to solidify its position on its border with Iraq by having a ruling and religiously
friendly Shiite governing plurality in Iraq.

Irans young population is well educated and anxious to enter the 21st century, not
live the life in a modified 8th century Islamic caliphate. It remains to be seen how
the younger Iranian population will respond to an increasingly oppressive Islamic
religious regime that picks and chooses which elements of Western society are
desirable for their people. The people wish to choose their own path consistent with
their own view of religious requirements. Those may not coincide with the views of
the Iranian government and severe conflict could ensue. Some commentators believe
that the Iranian governments public statements and provocative actions are being
done to raise patriotic support for the national government against external threats.

Irans western coast forms the northeast portion of the Persian Gulf and
geographically forms a potential economic, political, and military choke point at the
Straits of Hormuz. According to the CIA website, Iran exports approximately 2.5
million unrefined barrels of oil each day. Iran is the worlds fourth largest oil producer
behind Saudi Arabia, Russia and the United States. It is also the fourth largest oil
exporter. The oil that Iran produces, and all the oil that is transported through the
Straits of Hormuz, lubricates and operates the economic engine of the world.
Although their oil production costs are higher than Saudi and other Gulf states, the
ruling Iranian government has a very positive cash flow with oil prices presently
above $60 per barrel.

The worlds oil must continue to flow and Irans potential squeeze on that flow
gives it great potential influence and power. A disruption of the flow of oil would
decimate the economies of the entire world, and poor nations would starve because
of an impossibly high cost of oil. The poorer nations could not export their goods to
markets and they would not be able to purchase needed food.

Irans potential power and influence were previously balanced by the presence of the
militaristic and dangerous Iraq. The United States invasion and elimination of the
Saddam Hussein regime removed that potential of Iraq and left a potential vacuum
of power in the region. It also created what is perceived by Irans leaders as a future
opportunity to enhance their own position and power in the region.

A quick look at any map of Iran shows that it is hemmed in on two sides by an
American/British military presence in Iraq and a smaller allied American/European
military presence in Afghanistan to the northeast. At present these are, man for
man, the most powerful military forces on the planet, outside of nuclear weapons. By
this geographical fact alone, Iran feels threatened.

Threat and Opportunity

Europe and particularly the United States are not likely to withdraw their protection
from the oil-producing nations of the region, but Iran at present seeks to diminish
that protection (which they perceive as a threat) so it can have a hegemony military
and political power in the Gulf region and indeed within the entire Middle East.

Iran is rapidly becoming a regional superpower as further pointed out in a February

2006 article Iran Makes Its Bid for Regional Hegemony. Iran intends to use its
power to, first, strengthen its own base of power (i.e., solidify its control over the
population so it can remain in power), and second, to expand its influence as the
leading Muslim power in the world. This latter purpose involves a 13 centuries-old
religious and ideological struggle between the (largely Persian) Shiite Muslim sect
and the Sunni sect (led by the Wahabbi school) traditionally led and represented by
Saudi Arabia. Only 15% of all Muslims worldwide are Shiite.

Iran seeks to end that long religious struggle by demonstrating Shiite religious
superiority. That superiority involves non-Koran and non-biblical (mystical)
prophecies that the present President of Iraq adheres to and believes in. See the
section about Iran in my article Ariel Sharons Political Death and Other Events.
What I wrote in January still applies today.

Irans active quest for nuclear weapons is threatening. The surprising and radical
political statements against Israel by Irans leaders are highly provocative. And,
Irans cumulative provocative actions such as its continuing military build up, military
exercises, and new weapons announcements, are also threatening. All these actions
potentially threaten the protection, production, and transport of oil through of the
Persian Gulf and Straits of Hormuz. The world cannot and will not allow the flow of oil
to be shut off.

Of course, a stoppage of oil would also decimate the economy of Iran, as well as
provoke an attack by the United States and other world powers (however weak those
other nations may be) out of economic necessity. In fact the tense and unstable
internal political situation within Iraq itself may be a major reason the current
religious government is making provocative statements and taking provocative
actions.
There is no indication to believe that Iran has any territorial ambitions of gaining
Iraqi territory. However, because of the terrible war in the 1980s with Iraq, Iran has
a great interest to make sure that a resurgent Iraqi Sunni minority government
never gains rulership again in Iraq, as in the days of Saddam Hussein. Therefore,
Iran wants influence and limited control over what happens in Iraq to secure its
western border, but Iran has no desire to run Iraq. Almost all analysts I have read,
people from Iran I have heard speak, as well as military and political logic suggest
this to be the case.

[ A civil war between Shiites and Sunnis in Iraq is also less likely due to a large
percentage of intermarriage between the two religious groups. Most consider
themselves to be Iraqis first and religious Shiites or Sunnis second, and they resent
Irans interference in Iraqi affairs. However, radicals in both groups continue to fight
against each other, and against the Coalition forces. This is what is causing the
current extreme difficulty in Iraq. ]

However, Iran and the United States announced on March 16, 2006 they would begin
public and formal talks on the ambassadorial level, even though at present there are
no formal diplomatic relations between the two nations. The topic will be about the
various aspects of the Iraq issue. This is a good sign. Remember that nations even
when in conflict or at war very often talk with one another at various levels. Iran
and the United States have been talking often on an informal basis for years. In fact,
there have been reports that Iran has helped the U.S. keep track of certain Sunni
terrorists that threaten the U.S., Iraq, and Iran. The 1,200 year old Golden Dome
Shiite Mosque in Samarra, Iraq, that was bombed in February 2006 shocked even
the Iranians who did not blame the U.S., but blamed insurgents.

[ The outrage by most all Islam of the bombing of the Golden Dome Mosque is a
small foretaste of the horror that would occur if anything would happen to the Al
Aqsa Mosque or the Dome of the Rock located on the so-called Temple mount in
Jerusalem. Even though neither structure has anything to do with the site of the
Jerusalem Temples as demonstrated by Dr. Martins research, nonetheless the
reaction of Muslims around the world would be extreme and riotous. Governments
could fall in several Islamic countries in an unreasoning riots and reaction to the
news. The consequences to Israel would also be serious as several nearby nations
would go on a war footing to redress such an insult to a major Muslim holy place. ]

Iran has been striving to develop nuclear weapons for nearly 10 years. They are not
yet able to produce them on Iranian soil, in spite of considerable assistance from
Russia and rogue scientists from neighboring Pakistan. Building nuclear weapons is a
major industrial achievement and not so much a scientific achievement. The science
has been known for decades. Furthermore, to develop and produce a reliable delivery
system for those nuclear bombs (that cannot be intercepted easily) is itself a major
technological and industrial achievement. Whether Iran will ever succeed in building
its own nuclear weapons and delivery systems, perhaps only God knows. Other than
tests, no nuclear weapons have been set off since the United States used atomic
bombs against Japan at the end of World War II. Thus far, nations possessing nuclear
weapons consider their custody and use very carefully and in a mature manner.

The United States and Great Britain developed atomic weapons and the means to
deliver them over 60 years ago. Just yesterday the U.S. announced a new 700 ton
conventional bomb (non-nuclear blast equivalent) that could be used to reach and
destroy Irans nuclear weapons facilities in spite of their dispersal around Iran or
their underground construction.

For its part Iran claims to have developed a new missile that could be used to attack
very large targets such as huge oil tankers filled with crude oil in the Persian Gulf.
Just in the last few days Iran began conducting naval exercises in the Persian Gulf
involving over 1,000 small craft equipped with various weapons, and the government
announced that Iran has independently developed a new missile that cannot be seen
on radar or stopped. See Iran stages war games near Iraq border. (Read the other
articles on the www.iranfocus.com website.)

Thus both sides have the capability to threaten the other. Such posturing aside, Iran
needs these on-the-record talks to clarify the U.S. positions vis--vis its future
position on Iraq. The U.S. wants Iran to publicly state its intentions toward Iraq. The
fact that Iran and the United States are holding public bilateral talks is a very
positive sign.

All parties are proceeding with extreme caution. Missteps in this game of power
politics could have major consequences to severely cripple the world economy. And,
the consequences would be felt very quickly.

Iran in the Past

Power politics has always been dangerous. We know from the Bible and history that
it was common for empires to uproot major portions of conquered populations and
force them to move from their homelands by the Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians,
Greeks, Romans, and several other empires. Those transported populations were, in
effect, held hostage, or the intent was to destroy their culture and society. In ancient
times slavery was common and genocide was not exceptional. All nations seem to
have done it when it was their turn to rule over others. Historically the uprooting of
nations seems to have stopped. (Although in the United States it was done to various
American Indian tribes even to the late 1800s.) In modern times armies cause and
force refugees by the millions to migrate away from the scene of fighting.

The Persian Empire was somewhat different. Iran at one time ruled the known
civilized world in ancient times. The Persian Empire inherited much of the area ruled
by the Neo-Babylonian Empire which rose to worldwide extent during the time of
Nebuchadnezzar. Iran in their time of supremacy actually allowed previously captive
peoples to return to their homelands. While this was done for the good of the Persian
Empire and trade, and not for the good of the captive peoples, it nonetheless
occurred.

The dynasty of the Persian Empire was founded by Cyrus, termed the Great, who
was accorded that appellation that God said first applied to King David (2 Samuel
7:9; 1 Chronicles 17:8). Alexander the Great was so impressed by the legacy of the
Persian ruler that he visited and honored the Tomb of Cyrus the Great. (See Cyrus
the Great. Click the links to learn more.) The location of his tomb is known to this
day, and is in fact being restored. In February Iran announced the Restoration of
Cyrus Tomb Resumed.

It was the goal of Cyrus to unify the world, and create a Persian Peace in that Persian
ruled world. It succeeded for a time until the Persian Empire was itself supplanted by
the Greek-Macedonian Empire under Alexander. Dr. Martin in the article Iran in
Prophecy shows the biblical fulfillment in type by the historical Cyrus, who was a
man prophesied about in the book of Isaiah, one hundred years or so before he was
born.

They poured gold down his throat, cut off his head, and sent it back as a warning to
others.

No, this is not a scene from the latest episode of Game of Thrones; this was the passing of
Marcus Licinuis Crassus in 53 BC.[1] Romes richest man, a member of the First
Triumvirate with Julius Caesar, and the man responsible for putting down the pirates that
menaced the Mediterranean, met his ignoble end fighting the greatest challenge the
Romans ever faced in the east: Parthia.
Iran in the Future

Another Cyrus will come in the future to totally fulfill the prophecies contained in
the book of Isaiah. Those prophecies dovetail with others in the books of Zechariah,
Daniel and Revelation.

The current situation of Iran is background to Iran in Prophecy. I hope that knowing
the current political, military, and economic realities about Iran will cause you to look
at the prophecies in a different way than you thought in the past.

Iran in the future will be powerful again. It will be intimately associated with Israel
and shall, ultimately, use its great power at the end of the age for good. As
surprising as that may seem today, look to the future because Gods hand in world
events will cause sudden changes in the minds of men and nations.

Iran in Prophecy
By Ernest L. Martin, Ph.D., August 1995
(December 1979, January 1982) 1
Transcribed and edited by David Sielaff, April 2006

Historical events in the Middle East can alter the shape of the political environment
very quickly. In fact the region is used to experiencing abrupt changes in authority
and influence. The Bible has some very interesting things to say about Iran in
prophecy, anciently called Persia. In the Bible two other names describe this region
of the world. Those names are Elam and Media. They also are to be considered when
we look at the prophecies dealing with this area of the world. 2

[Thirty] years ago you could take an El Al jet from Tel Aviv to Tehran, the capital of
Iran, which was then ruled by the Shah. Iran was one of the Islamic powers who
tried to get along with Israel at that time. But then the Ayatollah Khomeini came to
power. 3 Things changed dramatically and quickly. Iran suddenly became hostile to
Israel. It is still very antagonistic to Israel, here in 1995 [and even in April 2006].

At present a great deal of emphasis is being placed politically, economically, militarily,

and religiously on what happens in the Middle East, which lands sit on the worlds top
reserves of oil. Fifty years ago few would have thought the region very important,
but suddenly the Middle East is becoming the most important area on earth,
involving the major powers of the world. I have been there on many, many
occasions. Some of you no doubt have been there as well. What do you see? You see
desert lands. How there could be any potential whatsoever for major confrontations
between world powers over desert lands of the Middle East? Now, however, everyone
knows there are important factors involved in the nations of that region.

Someone knew it a long time ago. That person was God Almighty. He gave
prophecies in His Bible which show what will happen in the Middle East in the next
few years. We do not want to set dates but I think anyone who has any mind at all
can begin to see that things are beginning to shape up in the Middle East as never
before. 4

We also are aware that elements of biblical prophecy, geographical areas mentioned
in the Bible, and peoples of the Bible, are coming back into a prominence in that area
to make the Bible one of the most important commentaries of future newspaper
events that you can possibly imagine. We are coming into a phase of history in which
the Bible will play a major part in understanding the world around you.

The Bible makes it quite clear that before the Second Coming of Christ Iran must
have a strong and centralized power, a type of a Shah. There is coming a major
power, a man who will arise in the region of ancient Persia, our present Iran, who will
conduct many interesting and very important affairs dealing with the End Time. That
man has not yet arrived on the scene. Bible prophecies say that this leader of Iran
will come to the rescue of the nation of Israel just prior to and just after the Second
Coming of Christ. Look at the last verses of chapter 44 and the beginning of chapter
45 of Isaiah which show a type of situation developing in Iran which is fundamentally
different than we see at the present time.

A number of major events must take place in the region of Iran prior to the Second
Coming of Christ. At present I do not see these in action. They will occur however. In
fact the events that are taking place may well be a prelude to these major events,
but what is happening at present, as I see it in the Scripture, is not revealed
absolutely. Confusion in Iran at the present time shows that End Time events are not
presently being conducted there or in the Middle East. They are leading up to it.

Iran in History

What does prophecy say will happen just before the Second Coming? Turn to the
central prophecy of the whole Bible about events prior to the Second Coming, and
look at the Book of Daniel. 5 Let us first read about Persia in these matters dealing
with the history of the world starting from the 6th century B.C.E. onward. We should
start there because the Book of Daniel shows a history of the future given to King
Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon in a dream, interpreted by the prophet Daniel, revealing
what would happen in that area of the world from the 6th century B.C.E. down to the
Second Advent of Jesus the Messiah.
This dream of Daniel chapter 2 shows that Persia will have a prominent role. It starts
by mentioning Babylon, the power then in authority over the Middle East in the early
part of the 6th century B.C.E. This prophecy is about a dream which Nebuchadnezzar
had at night. The dream was about an idol seen on the plains of Shinar and the idol
had a head of gold. The next part in the area of the chest and arms was silver.
Farther down it went into brass and the legs were made of iron. Finally, right at the
very bottom we have the feet with ten toes and they were partially with iron and
partially with miry clay.

The dream did not stop with this image. There was a mountain in the distance and
Nebuchadnezzar saw a rock that was carved out of the mountain side without hands.
It rolled down the mountainside straight for the image. It struck the feet where the
toes are made up of iron and miry clay. It toppled this image over on its side. Then
the rock pummeled the remains of this image into dust. Wind comes and blows that
dust into all areas of the earth. That was the dream.

Daniel revealed to Nebuchadnezzar what the dream was about in specific detail. This
dream relates the history of the world in prophetic terms since the time of
Nebuchadnezzar, the King over the Neo-Babylonian Empire. He came to power in the
traditional chronology in 604 B.C.E. and ruled for a little over 40 years. In that period
of time Daniel was in Babylon with his three friends. The twelve chapters of Daniel
were written beginning at that period of time and through to Nebuchadnezzars
death, to the arrival of Media and then Persia came on the scene. Daniel lived
through to the middle part of the 6th century B.C.E.

Let us look at the interpretation that Daniel gave to Nebuchadnezzar where Daniel
refers to Persia (Iran today), starting with the historical scenario at the time the
dream was given. We will not stop with Persia, but we will come down to the present
day to see what the Bible says will occur in Persia in the next few years in advance of
us, and how Persia will affect world history. Daniels interpretation:

You O King [Nebuchadnezzar] saw and beheld a great image. This great
image whose brightness was excellent stood before you and the form
thereof was terrible [fearful to look at]. This images head was of fine gold,
his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, His legs of
iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.

Daniel 2:3133

The first thing to realize is that each kingdom that follows below the head of gold
decreases in power and authority. As one views parts of the image closer to the
ground, the values of the metals deteriorate, starting with gold, then silver, brass,
iron, until it finally gets to this feet area where we find the least value in the toes
with part iron and part clay. We have that same type understanding today that the
most precious metal, gold, is on top. Daniel goes on to say in verse 37:

You O King are a King of Kings for the God of heaven has given you a
kingdom, power, strength and glory. And wheresoever the children of men
dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven has he given into
your hand, and has made you ruler over them all. You are this head of gold.
 Daniel 2:3738

This is the beginning of the interpretation. Nebuchadnezzar was the head of gold.
Verse 38 tells us something very interesting that most people overlook. It says that
Nebuchadnezzar had an influence that reached out to all areas of the world, though
his headquarters was at Babylon and in Mesopotamia, and we see the vast ruins of
Nebuchadnezzars Babylon to this very day. 6 He had a typical empire of the period.
That does not mean that he had soldiers in the New World, in South Africa, in
Australia, or places like that. It means that Nebuchadnezzar controlled the economics
of the world to such an extent that he was, indeed, head of the world system at the
time. That is what we find Daniel telling him.

You are the head of gold, and after you [we find chronology coming in] shall
arise another kingdom inferior to you [in power, authority, and extent], which
shall bear rule over all the earth.

Daniel 2:39

That next kingdom after the Babylonian kingdom is the subject today. That kingdom
would be Persia, or Iran, the silver kingdom mentioned here.

There will be a third kingdom of brass which shall bear rule over all the
earth. That is interesting also. We must understand that statement not in the sense
that soldiers would be everywhere throughout the earth or that one government
would rule, but that the philosophical principles, the economic principles, and the
economic power of the world at this particular time would be essentially in the hands
of, first, Babylon, then Persia, and then to Javan, a European power normally
associated with Greece and north into the Balkans (and that is important to
remember at this time because of the Balkan wars). That third kingdom is also to
rule over all the earth. Then it speaks about the next kingdom:

And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaks
in pieces and subdues all things: and as iron that breaks all these, shall it
break in pieces and bruise.

Daniel 2:40

Last it speaks about the ten toes on the feet. Some are made of miry clay and others
are iron, and they do not mix very well. They are very weak, the weakest of all. This
image of the Babylonian kingdom is to last until a stone comes down out of a
mountain.

That stone is a representation of the kingdom of God, the second advent of Christ,
which will destroy this image on its base. The base part of it is not only toward the
bottom, but it will be base in the sense of not being of the same quality of power and
authority as was Babylon (which started with gold), then Persia which is silver, then
brass, iron, and finally iron mixed with miry clay. These ten toes or kings are
destroyed. These ten kings are also mentioned in the 7th and 8th chapters of the Book
of Daniel later, and are also indicated in Psalm 83 and the 17th and 18th chapters of
the Book of Revelation. These all have to do with the end time.
We find a chronological or historical sequence of events starting with the 6th century
B.C.E. and coming down until our time today. Those ten kings as we see on the feet
of this image have not yet come into power. When they do come into power they will
be relatively weak because they will not really agree with one another. God will cause
them to cohere for a short time, about a 3 year period. They will have power in the
Middle East and it will come out of the Jerusalem area. 7 Once this image falls over
on its side and is pummeled into dust:

And in the days of these kings [these ten kings represented by these toes] shall
the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and
the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and
consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

Daniel 2:44

that is, for the rest of recorded prophetic history. That is what Daniel was trying to
tell Nebuchadnezzar. But let us not forget one more point. Daniel went on to say:

Forasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without
hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver,
and the gold; the great God has made known to the king [Nebuchadnezzar]
what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the
interpretation thereof sure.

Daniel 2:45

Daniel Chapter 7: the Four Beasts

From Daniel chapter 2 go to chapters 7 and 8 where you will find confirmation that
the first kingdom was the Babylonian kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar. In Daniel chapter
7 there is a vision occurring in the last years of Nebuchadnezzars dynasty.
Nebuchadnezzar was already dead and his son Belshazzar was on the throne. This
was the middle of the 6th century B.C.E. some 40 years after Nebuchadnezzars
dream.

A vision was given to Daniel and he interprets it. It builds upon Nebuchadnezzars
vision in chapter 2. The vision of chapter 2, however, did not go into detail
concerning many of these kings; only the king of Babylon was identified. It was
establishing the whole image as being a Babylonian kingdom. It makes no difference
if the next segment after Nebuchadnezzar was Persia, the head was Nebuchadnezzar.
It will be guided by Babylonian principles. The brass portion which is Javan, a
European power, is still governed by the head which are the Babylonian principles.
Coming to the legs made of iron, very strong in this particular case in two divisions,
but they also are still governed by the head, Babylon. Then we come to the feet of
ten toes, the last kings to exist on earth before the Kingdom of God emerges under
Christ to destroy the image. They are still governed by the head, which is Babylon. 8

So we are still a part of Babylon. That is why the image needs to be completely
destroyed, thoroughly annihilated, and then the Kingdom of God will emerge, with
Jesus Christ as King. Once that happens on the earth there will be a Kingdom for a
thousand years, and it will be very different than this Babylonian Kingdom we have
at present. In delineating these four powers leading down to these ten Kings, we find
in chapter 7 still more details about these kingdoms.

In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and
visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum
of the matters. Daniel spoke and said, I saw in my vision by night, and,
behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea.

Daniel 7:12

The great sea was probably the Mediterranean, as it was known in past times. Here
are four winds coming from four cardinal directions of the compass, striving upon the
great sea causing waves to come forth. A great commotion was taking place. This
means a storm was seen, and the waves were roaring:

And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. The
first was like a lion, and had eagles wings: I beheld till the wings thereof
were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made [to] stand upon
the feet as a man, and a mans heart was given to it.

Daniel 7:34

This seems to describe ancient cherubim. At the British Museum there are great
cherubim statues from ancient Assyria and Babylon which typified certain aspects of
the Babylonian Empire. This lion with eagles wings is identified in other areas of
Daniel as the Babylonian Empire. There can be no question. 9

And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself
on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it:
and they [the teeth] said thus unto it [the beast], Arise, devour much flesh.

Daniel 7:5

A bear was the second beast Daniel saw emerge out of the Great Sea in great
commotion. This is the Medo-Persian Empire that succeeded the empire of Babylon.
This is reflective of the Iran in the near future. He had three ribs in his mouth. 10
What was to succeed the bear?

After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back
of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was
given to it.

Daniel 7:6

This beast has four heads, and an extensive dominion given to it. That answers to
the brass portion of the image of Daniel chapter 2. This leopard has been identified
with the Greco-Macedonian Empire of Alexander the Great. After Alexander died the
empire broke into four divisions, which may be what this verse tells us. After the four
divisions come out of this leopard, the Greek Empire, Daniel sees the fourth beast:
After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful
and terrible [fearful], and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it
devoured and broke in pieces, and stamped the residue [the rest of these
beasts] with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were
before it; and it had ten horns. 11

I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another
little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by
the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a
mouth speaking great things.

Daniel 7:8

This little horn is the Beast in the Book of Revelation [chapters 13 and 17], the man
who will emerge amongst these 10 horns or 10 kings at the end of the age, coming
out of this exceedingly terrible Iron Beast, which succeeds the Greco-Macedonian
Empire. This iron beast will exist just prior to the Second Coming of Christ. Anyone
doubt that? Read verse 9:

I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit,
whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure
wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A
fiery stream issued and came forth from before him [from before the throne].
12

Daniel 7:910

This horn to arise from this iron beast of 10 horns shall occur just prior to the Second
Coming of Christ, and God will sit in judgment through Christ over all the nations of
the world when the books are opened at the end of the age. We also read in 2
Thessalonians chapter 2 that when Christ Jesus comes back the wicked one, the
Beast, will be slain by flaming fire.

Something Happens to the Beasts

Something will happen to those first three beasts: Babylon, Persia (or Media with
Persia), and Javan (sometimes translated as Greece):

I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn
spoke: I beheld even till the beast was slain [the particular beast of the end
time], and his body destroyed, and given to the burning. As concerning the
rest of the beasts [the other three, Babylon, Persia, Javan], they had their
dominion taken away [back in the 6th, 5th, and 4th centuries B.C.E.]: yet their
lives were prolonged for a season and time.

Daniel 7:1112

That is most important to look at. It means that these first four beasts will be
prolonged and preserved until the time of the end. We will see a revival in power of
Babylon, of Persia, of Greece and of Syria and Egypt before the Second Coming
of Christ. That is what it says. I know this sounds very difficult to believe, but this is
the vision of Daniel chapter 7. Daniel gave this prophecy in the first year of
Belshazzar, King of Babylon. The Babylonian Empire was just about over. The four
kingdoms being talked about here are coming up at the end of the age.

In other words though the ostensible part of the kingdom or empire disappeared,
and you cannot see them in evidence as they were formerly in the earlier period
when Daniel saw them, they will still be simmering below the surface. Their lives
were prolonged for a season and a time. Look down in verse 15:

I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of
my head troubled me. I came near unto one of them [one of the angels that
stood by], and asked him the truth of all this [what this means]. So he told me,
and made me know the interpretation of the things.

These great beasts, which are four [Babylon, Persia, Javan, and the iron
kingdom], are four kings [or kingdoms], which shall arise out of the earth. But
the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the
kingdom for ever [the age], even for ever and ever [the age of the ages].

Daniel 7:1518

The information in Daniel 7:12 and 7:17, when combined, reveal that Babylon, 13
Medo-Persia, and Greece (along with the fourth non-descript nation) WILL ARISE on
the world scene when the ten nations exist. Each of those three nations will be
renewed and be in existence in their former areas at the end of the age! This must
transpire for prophecy to occur.

These kingdoms from Daniel chapter 2, as confirmed in the visions of Daniel chapters
7 and 8, will have a continual existence, beneath the surface a little bit, until the
very end of time. That includes Media and Persia who are the silver section of this
image. It is part of Babylonian history from the time that Nebuchadnezzar had his
dream, and later when Daniel gave the interpretation.

We can therefore expect to see a new Persia arrive on the scene, along with a new
Greece, a new Babylon, a new Syria, and a new Egypt. I have said so for [32] years
[since 1974]. 14 I do not know exactly in what fashion they will come back according
to biblical prophecy. Persia is coming back. All the old empires are coming back
powerfully. Some say, how could this happen? Those are desert lands in most cases,
and all are in the Middle East except Greece which is in southeast Europe. The Bible
says they will arise. When they do, what will happen to this Persia or Iran near the
end of the age?

What the image of Daniel chapter 2 and the vision of Daniel chapter 7 represent will
be in existence at this end time. Since the head, as I said before, is the kingdom of
Babylon, a part of that image very near the head is Persia and Media. We have a
panoramic view of history beginning with the Babylonian Empire up until judgment is
set and the books are opened at the Second Coming of Christ (Isaiah 2:4; Micah
4:3; Daniel 7:10), when the beast will be slain (Daniel 7:11, 8:25, 11:45; Revelation
19:1920).

Persia, Iran, the Silver, the Bear

The bear part of this vision is what we will look at. It is the silver portion of the
image from Daniel chapter 2. The interpretation is clear as to who the first three
image portions and beasts are. These beasts are described further in another vision
given to Daniel in chapter 8. The second beast is given a name in Daniel 8:20. There
it is given two horns as well, and it is called Media and Persia. 15 The image
Nebuchadnezzar dreamed about in chapter 2 will not be completely destroyed until
the Kingdom of God is established on earth, until that stone comes off that mountain
top and hits that image on its base (Daniel 2:4445). Not until then does the whole
image cease.

At present Iran wants nothing to do with Israel. But near the end of the age it will be
different, because one of the nations to allow Israel to build its own Temple in
Jerusalem, believe it or not, will be Iran. The person in charge of Iran will be called a
modern Cyrus, a son of the sun, who will come and help some way, somehow, in the
rebuilding of that Temple which will exist at the end of the age.

Most of the major prophecies about Persia are found in Isaiah and Jeremiah. From
Isaiah chapters 41 to 45 (inclusively) we find a great deal of information about the
powerful king who will head Persia at the end of the age and will be instrumental in
helping Israel rebuild a new temple in Jerusalem. The section is expressed in
language applicable to the 8th century B.C.E. of Isaiah, and it uses as a subject-
indicator the ancient King Cyrus of Persia. But Isaiah tells us that the early historical
events are to be reflected in a later application. Look at Isaiahs teaching on this
matter which shows his duality principle. 16 This may sound completely absurd, but
that is what the Bible says. Here is a principle given by YHWH:

Let them bring them forth, and show us what shall happen: let them show
the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the
latter end of them; or declare us things for to come.

Isaiah 41:22

What Isaiah is saying is this: if you want to know what the future will be, you better
look at the past and understand it. The past can give indications to what the future
will be like. It will be type and antitype. That is the theme of Isaiah chapter 41,
written some 100+ years before Daniel.

Persia will be one of the major powers that will exist at the end of time. As it had an
existence back in the 6th century and into the 5th century B.C.E., in Daniel chapter 7
we find that Persia shall have a renewal. It, along with Babylon and Javan, will
simmer under the surface. At the end of the age all three will emerge again, but they
will emerge alongside ten kings which will be members of one group. Those ten kings
will be made out of iron (some rather strong) and miry clay (some rather weak). In
the 17th chapter in the Book of Revelation Christ Himself will call these ten kings
together to do a particular service for Him.

National Conversion and War Prophesied by Zechariah

To find out just what is in advance of us and where Iran fits into all of this, we need
to recall once more what Zechariah chapters 12, 13, and 14 tell us. These are
chapters that I have referred to frequently because they are very clear as to what
will happen to Israel in the years in advance of us.

Israel as far as a state is concerned will get even more powerful, believe it or not.
There is soon coming a major event in Israel that has not occurred yet. Zechariah
shows Israel in power, quite a great deal of power, in the Middle East (Zechariah
12:19). Then in verse 10 is that cardinal verse that we should all pay attention to,
because something important will happen to the people in Israel and in Jerusalem. It
says:

I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom
they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for his only
[son], and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his
firstborn [son].

Zechariah 12:10

Verses 1114 continue to say that there will be a national conversion of the Jews to
Jesus Christ. The individual who was pierced is none other than our Lord Himself who
was crucified. There will be a spirit of grace and supplication sent to the Israelis and
to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. It goes on to explain in chapter 13 that with
this conversion God will start cleaning up things in Jerusalem 17:

In that day shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the
inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and uncleanness. It should come to pass in
that day that the Lord of hosts I will cut off the names of idols out of the
land.

Zechariah 13:12

That means the idols from the land of Israel. There are idols in Jerusalem and
most are in Christian shrines and churches. They will be remembered no more (verse
2). The false spirits and false prophets will pass out of the land. There is coming
a national conversion to be associated with the spirit of John the Baptist coming
back, an Elijah will come back, as we will find in the 4th chapter of Malachi, just
before the Day of the Lord takes place. 18

In this national conversion the Jewish people will begin to understand who Yeshua is,
that is Jesus Christ. (Yeshua is a Hebrew word for Jesus.) They will start
understanding that He is the Messiah. That is all prophesied in chapters 12 and 13 of
Zechariah. After that conversion, we read in verses 7, 8, and 9 that a great
tribulation will come upon Israel and in the Middle East, and it may have
ramifications even out here into the Western World, because it says in verse 7, at
this time of conversion and afterward:

Awake O sword against my shepherd [Gods shepherd here is Israel], and

against the man that is my fellow, says the Lord of Hosts: smite the
shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon
the little ones.
 Zechariah 13:7

Israel will be scattered again. This will be a major international event. There is
coming some type of war, which, by the time it concludes, two thirds of the people in
Israel will have perished. It is a great tribulation. Only one-third will survive (verses
89). Then we come to the 14th chapter of Zechariah where the Mount of Olives is
the scene, and God Himself, that is Christ Jesus, comes back from heaven to earth,
and He puts his feet on the Mount. That is when that image in Daniel chapter 2 will
be finally destroyed when that stone (that Nebuchadnezzar saw) carved out without
hands comes down and hits the image on the feet. But before this happens there will
be a great tribulation upon Israel, and Israels remnant scattered. Now that is what it
says, but I will not go into more detail because my subject is Iran.

Irans Role?

Where does Iran fit into all of this when Israel is scattered at this time? As I said at
the beginning, politics in the Middle East can change very quickly. At one moment a
nation is on one nations side, then a short time later on another. Iran, which is
Persia or Media, was in alliance (almost) with Israel back twenty years ago [from
1995]. But when Ayatollah Khomeini came on the scene some fifteen years ago
Irans relations with Israel deteriorated tremendously. At present the people of Iran
are highly hostile and antagonistic to Israel [continuing to April 2006].

That situation will change. When Israel is scattered as described in Zechariah, there
will be a change in attitude by the people of Iran. In fact there is coming a King who
shall arise, like a Shah of old, and his name is actually given in the Bible. He will aid
the Israelis, believe it or not, bringing them back from this scattered condition, just
before the second coming of Christ. He will help them return to the land of Israel and
reestablish them there.

Not only that, these Iranians, or this King who will rule at the time, will actually help
the Israelis build a new temple in the Jerusalem area. And it also says in prophecies
that have never occurred in history, in the 50th and the 51st chapters of the Book of
Jeremiah, that the Iranians will help to gather nations together to destroy Babylon,
indeed, helping Israel to destroy Babylon. That is in the prophecy regarding
Nebuchadnezzar and others. That is right. Persia will, near this time of the Second
Coming of Christ, actually aid God in doing a reversal, shall we say, of what they
have been doing over recent years. Remember that the ten kings mentioned in the
Book of Revelation in chapter 17 and 18 shall finally fight against one another, and
they will turn on the beast of Babylon and also help destroy Babylon.

There shall be a change of opinion in Persia or Iran coming in the next few years.
Now we have quite a number of years when I say a number, I mean it will not
happen tomorrow. It certainly will not happen, I am sure, before the 21st century.
But in the early part of the 21st century we will come to a period when Israel shall be
converted to Jesus Christ. It does not mean everyone shall, but a great number will
convert. Then comes this Great Tribulation that Jesus Himself talked about in the
Olivet prophecy of Matthew 24. He even said to people that were members of his
ecclesia, those of His own group, that they should be aware of what is happening at
that time, and flee into the mountains. That also is on the horizon to us.
But before that happens Israel shall get even more powerful. We are looking at a few
years down the line yet. But we must keep our eyes on Jerusalem, on Israel, on Iran,
and what will happen there. There are several prophecies concerning Iran that have
never happened in history.

Isaiah Regarding Cyrus

There was a man who lived in ancient Persia who ruled the kingdom of Persia, the
second kingdom of the Babylonian image. That man was called Cyrus. He lived in the
6th century B.C.E. There is another man coming up from the East, from Iran, who will
do certain things to help Israel at the end of the age.

Isaiah chapter 40 begins a section of Scripture which differs remarkably of the

prophecies in the first 39 chapters of Isaiah. Chapter 40 introduces this end time
scenario. In Isaiah 41:2 there is information about this man God will raise up.

Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to his foot, gave
the nations before him, and made him rule over kings? he gave them as the
dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow.

Isaiah 41:2

Note carefully that this ruler is called a righteous man from the east. God calls
him and gives him the nations before him and makes him to rule over
kings. The metaphors as the dust to his sword and driven as stubble to
his bow mean that he will easily overcome all opposition. When he fights, this king
of the east will prevail. But go on in chapter 41 where this king is again mentioned as
being from both the north and the east:

I have raised up one from the north and he shall come: from the rising of
the sun shall he call upon my name: and he shall come upon princes as upon
mortar, and as the potter treads clay.

Isaiah 41:25

This is Old Testament language to say that he will have great power and authority.
This is the same person here who is coming up from the East, but the North comes
into it also. This means East and North of Israel, in the region of Iran. When you
come to chapter 44 in Isaiah beginning in verse 24, it says this:

Thus says the Lord, your redeemer [speaking to Israel], and he that formed
you from the womb, I am the Lord that makes all things, that stretches
forth the heavens alone that spreads abroad the earth by myself. [This
prophecy comes from God.] That frustrates the tokens of the liars, and makes
diviners mad; that turns wise men backward, and makes their knowledge
foolish; That confirms the word of his servant, and performs the counsel of
his messengers; that says to Jerusalem, You shall be inhabited; and to the
cities of Judah, You shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places
thereof.

Isaiah 44:2526
The King James rendition decayed places just means the waste places. If you
note the context, you find that at this time of Great Tribulation, as Zechariah chapter
14 says, Judah and Israel will be scattered again in the Middle East. And at this very
time that event will happen.

It says in verse 27 That says to the deep [the ocean] be dry and I will dry up
your rivers. That [he] says of Cyrus (Isaiah 44:2728). Cyrus is the man of the
North and East, the man who will be raised up. This was written by Isaiah in the 8th
century before the birth of Christ, some 100+ years before Daniel, before the typical
fulfillment in history. The first king of Persia in the Book of Daniel was named Cyrus,
and that Cyrus is a type of the Cyrus prophesied in Isaiah.

This Cyrus in Isaiahs prophecy deals with the end time, our time today. Things that
are mentioned here, particularly in chapter 45 never occurred with the original Cyrus
back there, but they will occur with the Cyrus coming up in the next few years. This
man has the name of the sun on him, s-u-n. That is what Cyrus means. He is a
Gentile, not an Israelite, but he will help Israel do something. The former Cyrus in
the 6th century before Christ did some of these things in type, but not in great detail,
and all scholars know that. If you read the whole passage about what this man of the
East is to do, it could not refer to the original and typical Cyrus who was head of the
Persian Empire back in the 6th century B.C.E. Recall that Isaiah says that if you want
to know the future, look at the past (Isaiah 41:22). 19

That [he] says of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my

pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, You shall be built; and to the temple,
Your foundation shall be laid.

Isaiah 44:28

Rebuilding the Temple

At this time of tribulation Jerusalem will have a severe problem, with no temple or
anything. This Cyrus will come along, the man of the East, and he will do the job of
bringing the temple back into order. How many of us believe that a Temple can be
rebuilt in Jerusalem?
It is important to note that virtually all of the people of the Middle East are Muslims.
20
I have been in the Middle East for many years and I have talked with many
Muslims to find out their political, theological, and prophetic beliefs. Do you know the
Muslims believe that Christ Jesus, whom most Arabs call Isa, will come back to this
earth, rule for 1,000 years, and that all people who are Islamic peoples today will
have to submit to Him during the 1,000 year rule? Where do they get this teaching?
They get it from the Book of Revelation. Why do they get it from there? It is because
Muslims believe in the Old Testament, they believe generally in the New Testament,
but they also take the writings of the Koran and put it all together. They think that
Jesus Christ is the second most important Prophet ever to appear on earth.
Muhammad is the most important Prophet. Muhammad went to heaven on his horse
Beka [sometimes spelled Boraq] supposedly. Of course, he did not in my view, but
they say he did.

Jesus went to heaven also. There is one difference between the two. Jesus, Muslims
say, has to come back to earth to rule for 1,000 years. When He is here, He will build
a Temple and all people will have to submit to Him for 1,000 years, including the
Arabs, including the Muslims. Muhammad, they say, is more powerful. He does not
have to come back to this wretched earth. Do you see how they look at it?

How can a Temple be built in Jerusalem? If the Jews today tried to bomb the Dome
of the Rock (and they could do so), and if they tried to build a new Temple there [on
the false site of the Haram esh-Sharif], what do you think the Arabs, the Iranians,
the people of Afghanistan and other Muslim places would do? They would say this is
against everything taught in Islam. They would not like it at all. 21

But the people of Islam, all 750 million of them [1 billion in 2006] believe that Isa,
that is Jesus, is coming back to this earth. If a man could come back to this earth
with a false prophet to give miracle after miracle after miracle, Muslims would think
he was the Christ returned to this earth. The Ayatollah Khomeini believed this. [The
current Shia religious leaders of Iran believe this.] Most Muslims believe this.

If another man from Iran would come along who was anointed of God, a type of
Christ, and prove it with miracles, believe me the Muslims, most Christians, and
most people on this earth would submit to him to let that Temple be rebuilt. It says
in Isaiah 44:28 and then in chapter 45, that there is a man coming out of Iran, out
of Persia, who will permit this Temple to be built. He will be on the side of the Jews.
22
At the present time that is not the case with the rulers of Iran

Daniel says that the four kingdoms are coming back into existence in the Middle East
at the end of the age. Things are beginning to happen to show the emergence of this
very power that the Book of Daniel is talking about. The Middle East is where
prophecy will be fulfilled. Iran will play a major part. What we are seeing at the
present time is only a prelude to the end.

Who is this Cyrus? Some have said, well maybe it is a reference to Jesus Christ. No,
it is not, because when you go into chapter 45, though he has some qualities of
Christ upon him (he is actually called the anointed one, one who is anointed, but any
priest of prophet was anointed and he has a special role to play), 23 this mans
actions occur before the Second Coming of Christ:
Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held,
to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open
before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut.

Isaiah 45:1

These gates are holding in people that they cannot go back to their lands that they
have been taken from. This Cyrus will open the gates. Going on:

I will go before you [God says to this Cyrus], and make the crooked places
straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars
of iron.

Isaiah 45:2

This Cyrus (who will be a King of Persia, King of Iran, or another Shah if you want to
call him that) will actually have great power from God to do one thing, that is to
bring back the scattered Israelites who will survive the Great Tribulation.

And I will give you [Cyrus], the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of
secret places, that you may know that I, the Lord [YHWH], which call you by
your name, am the God of Israel. For Jacob my servants sake, and Israel
mine elect, I have even called you [Cyrus] by your name: I have surnamed
you, though you have not known me.

Isaiah 45:34

Remember he is actually named in advance. This person who will do these things in
the next few years in advance of us will come from Persia. So you see that could not
be a cipher for Jesus Christ. Christ Jesus has known the Father for a long time. This
man really is not even an Israelite. He will come from the area of Persia. There are
times coming in the near future when a man will be raised up from Persia, who shall
help the Israelis come out of the Great Tribulation, help rebuild Jerusalem and the
temple, and it will be this Iranian individual who is not even an Israelite. Going on it
says:

I am the Lord [Yahweh], and there is none else. There is no God beside me:
I girded you [Cyrus], though you have not known me.

Isaiah 45:5

See the point: you have not known me. Here is a man from the East, coming
from the North as well. He will do a marvelous work in restoring Israel, and God will
bring him into public notice, but he has not known God in the past. He is a Gentile.
But he will find out that the God of Israel is the God of the world, of the whole world,
and the creator. That is what it says:

I girded you, though you have not known me: That they may know from
the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am
the Lord, and there is none else.
 Isaiah 45:56

This man called Cyrus shall establish righteousness in the land of Israel just before
the second advent of our Lord back to this earth. This Cyrus is King of Persia, King of
Media, King of the area of Elam up in Iran at the present time.

Persia and Jeremiah

Now I will show you two chapters that deal with this same event of Isaiah. They are
Jeremiah chapters 50 and 51. Mark those down to read because I will only discuss a
few of about a hundred verses. These prophecies have never occurred in history. The
prophecies were given by Jeremiah in the 6th century before Christ. They talk about
the destruction of the Babylonian system (these ten toes that will be completely
overcome). It names the power that will be used by God to bring the Israelites back
from their great dispersal during the time of Jacobs trouble, the Great Tribulation,
which is future to us.

Persia will be a major power in the Middle East just before the return of Christ to this
earth. It will be instrumental in helping Israel in their endeavors. A strong man will
reform Persia into a power to be reckoned with. He will even aid the Israelis in
building a new Temple in Jerusalem. Though we do not know the exact time schedule
when this will occur, it looks probable that we will not have long to wait to see the
trends developing in that direction. In other words, all the prophecies of the Bible
require that a renewed Persia be on the political scene in the Middle East before the
Day of the Lord can commence.

The powers that will destroy Babylon are even named. The central power, leading a
group of other nations, will be the nation of Media, which is yet another name for
Persia or Iran today. That is what the 50th and 51st chapters of Jeremiah say.

The word that the Lord spoke against Babylon and against the land of the
Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet. Declare you among the nations, and
publish [sound, proclaim], and set up a standard; publish, and conceal not.

Jeremiah 50:12

A destruction is coming upon this Babylonian system.

For out of the north there comes up a nation against her [Babylon], which
shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall
remove, they shall depart, both man and beast.

Jeremiah 50:3

The nation that will destroy Babylon comes from the north. We will see that the
nation of Media or Persia is the one talked about. When this event happens
something will occur as far as Israel is concerned.

For lo, I will raise up and cause to come against Babylon an assembly of
great nations from the north country, and they shall set themselves in array
against her [Babylon] and from thence [from the north], she shall be taken,
their arrows shall be as mighty expert and none shall return in vain.

Jeremiah 50:9

Great nations will come and cut down the Babylonians to a destroyed condition. They
will do it because Israel shall be given a chance to not be scattered anymore, and the
Israelites will be able to leave Babylon. Read all the way through, where Israel was
scattered because of the Babylonian influence of this great beast power in existence
at the time of the Great Tribulation. It goes on to explain more in detail:

Behold a people shall come from the North, and a great nation, and many
kings shall be raised up from the coasts [sides] of the earth.

Jeremiah 50:41

It says later in the same prophecy:

Make bright [cleanse] the arrows; gather the shields: the Lord [YHWH
Himself] has raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes: for his device is
against Babylon, to destroy it; because it is the vengeance of the Lord, the
vengeance of his temple.

Jeremiah 51:11

He says in the next part of chapter 51 that the Israelites scattered during the time of
Jacobs trouble (the Great Tribulation) will be gathered. They will be able to depart
from Babylon and go back to Jerusalem. There the Second Coming of Christ will take
place and Israel then shall become the greatest nation on earth during the great
millennium. Jeremiah chapters 50 and 51 speak about the Medes from the north
helping to destroy the Babylonian image. This shows that a strong leader is yet to
emerge in Iran, with a name like Cyrus who will perform the deeds of his counterpart
of old. He and his people will also be responsible for destroying modern Babylon (the
area of Iraq). Read all of Jeremiah chapters 50 and 51. Some interesting things are
on the horizon in the Middle East. Let us keep our eyes open to prophecy. The stage
is being set for the restoration of former things.

Those ten kings that are with Babylon at the very end will be destroyed at the same
time. Much of the information that we read in these prophecies centers on Israel
being in a state of needing help. And who comes to their aid the very last moment?
The Medes, the Persians, and this Cyrus, this Gentile from the East. Yes we have
much to look forward to in the next few years in the history of the Middle East, and
Persia (that is, Iran) figures in very powerfully.

At the close of his ministry Christ left some specific instructions to his apostles.

The Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and
gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded
the porter to watch. Watch you therefore ... And what I say unto you [the
apostles] I say unto all, WATCH.
 Mark 13:3435

All of us (even today) should watch for the signs of events which will precede the end
of the age and the Day of the Lord! That is what we are trying to do and we hope
you are too!

Let us keep our eyes on what is happening in that area of the world at the present
time. What you will see is this: Israel soon will receive a spirit of grace and
supplication. They will turn to Yeshua. But that is not the end. There will be the Great
Tribulation, Jacobs trouble. But the Persians, the Medes, will come to aid of Israel,
and God will put it in their minds and in their hearts to destroy not only Babylon but
to bring Israel out of Jacobs trouble and back to the land of Gods promise. This is a
very interesting scenario of prophecy in the next few years. Let us keep our eyes on
the Middle East.

1 This article is from an audiotape by Dr. Martins material from August 1995. Some
material was drawn from a December 1979 audiotape and a January 1982
Prophetic Report. All words in [brackets] in regular text are mine. DWS

2 I am no prophet, nor do I have the slightest prophetic powers to tell anyone what
will happen in the near or remote future. I do not have visions or dreams or
voices out of the air to tell me the future. I hope most of us do not require those
things. What I have is a body of books called the Holy Scriptures. In those
Scriptures are prophecies which can be understood. If a person approaches the
prophecies from the historical point of view, reading them for what they actually
say (with proper translations), we can understand the major events prophesied to
occur a few years in advance of us. ELM

3 When he came to power in 1979 Khomeini was not the only Ayatollah of Iran.
There were six major Ayatollahs in the area. Khomeini was just the most
important at that time. Khomeini died in June 1989. "Ayatollah" is the title of a
high-ranking Shiite Muslim religious authority. They generally assume political
roles and are regarded as worthy of imitation by those of the Shiite sect of Islam.
The Shiite religious Islamic party has been the ruling power in the Iranian
Islamic republic ever since. DWS

4 Looking prophetically there are things which are far more important than what is
occurring in Iran at the present time. Many people wonder if what is happening
there is a part of prophetic involvement dealing with the End Times. Are we on
the threshold of the times of the end that Christ Jesus told His apostles about on
the Mount of Olives some 1900 years ago? Do events in Iran at present involve
these End Time affairs which Christ says will take place near His Second Coming
reflected in the Old Testament scriptures as well as the Book of Revelation? These
are the things we want to look at. No. What is occurring in Iran at present is only
a prelude to the momentous events leading up to the Second Coming of Christ.
Events occurring in Iran right now are NOT events leading up to the End Time per
se. They are just events, you might even say minor ones to begin with, that are
getting the area into a proper focus for the big things the Bible says will take
place just prior to Christs Second Coming. ELM
 5 The Book of Revelation is very important, and to combine Revelation with Daniel
with all the other Old Testament and New Testament scriptures is really the way
to come to a comprehensive understanding of the future. But if you just want to
pick one book to observe and look at very carefully to give you a pretty good idea
of what will occur in the 7, 8 or 10 years, or maybe a generation before the
Second Coming of Christ, the Book of Daniel gives the most profound
interpretation. ELM

6 I was in Babylon several years ago [in the 1970s] and I even picked up clay
tablets with Nebuchadnezzars name inscribed on them and others with his name
embossed on them. We know clearly where Nebuchadnezzar was at the time, and
here was Daniel talking to this King. ELM

7 This Babylonian system will someday be centralized and ruled from Jerusalem.
See the article Mystery Babylon the Great at
http://www.askelm.com/prophecy/p030901.htm. DWS

8 In the book of Revelation what do we find this whole system called? It is called
Mystery Babylon, and that is the kind of condition we are in today, though we live
in the United States of America, or in Britain, Australia, or in the Western part of
this world, the democratic countries. We love them, we feel they are the best
types of government that have ever been on earth, and I would agree with that
100 per cent. Still at the same time we are governed by Babylonian principles. We
are not being governed by the principles of the kingdom of God yet. That will
come when this image is destroyed. ELM

9 Verse 4 describes what happened to Nebuchadnezzar in the 4th chapter of Daniel,

when in his arrogance Nebuchadnezzar said that he ruled by his own power over
all the kingdoms of the world, after which God sent him into a 7-years madness.
He had hair that grew like eagles feathers and nails like a bird (Daniel 4:33).
Finally a mans heart was returned to Nebuchadnezzar. ELM

10 People have tried to interpret what those three ribs are. I have all types of
interpretations myself, but no one really knows what the three ribs were. Perhaps
one of these days we will. But none of us can know at the present time. ELM

11 These ten horns are analogous to the ten toes in Daniel chapter 2. The ten toes
are kingdoms that exist when the Kingdom of God is established on earth, but
they must be destroyed first. This kingdom is at first iron, but in Daniel chapter 2
we read that the ten kings themselves are iron mixed with miry clay. ELM

12 This is a throne of judgment. It also says the books will be opened and the
kingdoms of this world shall be judged for their crimes. ELM

13 See Dr. Martins article The Rebirth of Babylon at

http://www.askelm.com/prophecy/p021001.htm, and the accompanying article
Will Babylon be Rebuilt by F.E. Marsh at
http://www.askelm.com/prophecy/p021002.htm. DWS

14 Dr. Martin made this statement about these countries in 1979. As of April 2006
Egypt is still one of the poorest nations in the world, but we shall be able to see
 its resurgence to power in the future. Great petroleum reserves have recently
been discovered in Egypt. DWS

15 The brass portion is called Grecia in the KJV, but in the original Hebrew it is
Javan. This indicates an extensive area including Greece, but also the Balkans
region. Then it goes on to the fourth kingdom, and says in the latter part of
their kingdom, the latter part, right down to the ten toes and all of that, will
come this very terrible kingdom, which will be destroyed by Jesus Christ. You
must go through Daniel chapter 2, then chapter 7, and now in chapter 8, to get
an interpretation of exactly who was meant when it spoke about the head
portion, the arms portion, and body portion (of silver), the brass portion, the
iron, and so forth. The iron portion is never identified, nor are the ten toes at the
end times, at the bottom of the image identified. Nor are they identified in the
Book of Revelation, which is interesting. But the first three are identified. The
head of gold is Babylon, identified as Nebuchadnezzar and his kingdom. The
second portion of the silver is the bear portion. It is identified as two: Media and
Persia, two kings or kingdoms united together, something like England and
Scotland. The next one is identified as Grecia, but it means Javan. The rest are
not identified. ELM

16 This duality principle for the interpretation of prophecy is also shown in

Ecclesiastes 1:9, 3:1415; 1 Corinthians 10:11; Romans 15:4; 2 Peter 2:1
and in the teaching of Peter in Acts 3:1921 where he said that all that the
prophets said in the past would be restored just before Christ comes back to
earth. ELM

17 How many years we cannot be certain, but it would not surprise me if this began
to happen in 5, 7 to 10, 15 years from now certainly. These things have to start
happening and they are clearly described here in Zechariah. ELM

18 See the very relevant articles The Elijah to Come at

http://www.askelm.com/prophecy/p060201.htm, and The Coming Revolution in
Knowledge at http://www.askelm.com/prophecy/p060301.htm. DWS

19 Here is the sequence: Isaiah prophesied in the 8th century B.C.E. naming Cyrus
and telling of his future deeds. The Cyrus of history lived in the 6th century B.C.E.
He is a type of the Cyrus to appear at the end of the age before Christ returns (to
fulfill the prophecy about him in Isaiah). DWS

20 Some of them are Shia Muslims like the people of Iran, who are different than the
Sunni Muslims. The difference is something like the Protestants and Catholics, so
far as Christendom is concerned. Most Arabs are Sunni Muslims. Almost all of the
people of Iran [and some in Iraq] are Shia Muslims. The Ayatollah Khomeini who
was in charge in early December 1979 was a Shia Muslim. They frequently are at
odds with the Sunni Muslims. ELM

21 This portion was from 1979, over 15 years before Dr. Martin began his Temple
research (in 1995). In 1979 Dr. Martin (and everyone else) believed the Temple
at Jerusalem was near the Dome of the Rock, a Muslim shrine. Dr. Martins
research proves the Haram esh-Sharif is not the site of the Jewish Temples. DWS
22 The antichrist is not being discussed here. Remember that God says that this
Cyrus will be righteous (Isaiah 41:2). DWS

23 See my article Christ and Messiah at

http://www.askelm.com/doctrine/d051001.htm where the definition of messiah
or anointed is discussed. DWS
CHAPTER 2

The Balkans in Prophecy

By Ernest L. Martin, Ph.D., 1997

In geo-political circles it is recognized that the Second World War was an

outgrowth and an extension of the First World War which itself had its
beginnings with key events that took place in the Balkans region of Europe.
Throughout the history of Western Civilization the wars between Europe
and the hordes of migrating warriors coming from the hinterland of Asia
have had their connections with the Balkans. This is the easternmost
peninsula of Europe between the Adriatic, Black and Mediterranean Seas
(with the Danube River basin its main drainage area). From this region
Alexander conquered the Empire of Persia. Rome considered this region to
be the most strategic in its defense from the wild Germanic and Asiatic
throngs during the Empire. Today, we find the Balkan region back again in
its normal history-making role of being significant. And, prophecy shows
that from this region will soon emerge a powerful new influence in political
affairs that will affect all Europe, Asia and the world. It is time to focus on
this volatile region of the earth.

The word "Balkans" is a geographical term of modern Turkish origin. It simply means
"mountains." The Turks, when they became the possessors of this part of the earths
real estate during Ottoman times, began calling the region that of the "mountains."
Significantly, it was the Turks who brought the religion of Islam into this region of
Europe from the fifteenth century at the same time that Islam was being expelled in
the Iberian peninsula (Spain and Portugal). The Balkans (especially in the west and
along the Bosporus) represent today the greatest concentration of Islamic peoples
who claim as their native home the continent of Europe. And when Turkey began
withdrawing from the region in a step by step way, they left behind many people who
had been converted to Islam. This is one of the main problems in the area, but it will
be resolved by a ruler who is soon to emerge according to prophecy. Turkey, now,
has only the extreme southeast corner of the Balkans under its rule, while Greece
occupies its lower part. Islamic Albania is found in the southwest. Croats and
Slovenes (mainly Roman Catholics) are in the north and there are Croats and Serbs
in Bosnia/Herzegovena (with many Moslems living in this area). The Orthodox Serbs
are also in the eastern parts, with Bulgars further to the east, and Romanians in the
northeastern region. Other races are scattered in the area.

It is an area with a great deal of ethnic and religious diversity, and it is potentially a
powder keg of instability as far as world peace is concerned. Since this is the case,
just what does the Bible have to say about the various types of peoples who live in
this area of the world? What are the prophecies that relate to them and Turkey,
Israel and the Arab/Persian worlds? Indeed, some prophecies are just now beginning
to be understood that concern the people of the Balkans. It is looking more certain
from prophetic indications that from this very region will soon develop a very
powerful European influence which will wage a successful confrontation with Turkey,
Iraq and Iran. This political victory will be a fundamental factor in establishing a
central prophetic scenario that will introduce what the prophet Daniel called "the time
of the end." Out of a part of this region, we will witness the development of a major
power at this end-time which is called in prophecy the "kingdom of the north" which
is mentioned in Daniel 11:6. This end-time power will have great authority in matters
dealing with the Middle East and it will particularly affect political affairs in Israel, and
strangely, its focus of power will not be in the military sphere of influence. Its power
will be mainly economic and sociological, and there will be religious changes.

As for us in America and western Europe, it will be to our advantage if we pay close
attention to the prophecies about this area of the Balkans of which we are hearing so
much in the news today. But before it is possible for anyone to comprehend what
these prophetic indications represent and how they can be correctly understood, we
must be acutely aware of some essential prophetic principles which govern Biblical
interpretation. Let us now rehearse briefly some of these fundamental concepts of
interpretation which can help us to realize essential prophetic truths.

Basic Principles of Prophecy

The chief theme of the majority of prophecies both in the Old and the New
Testaments is the introduction of the Kingdom of God on earth. There is much
information about the close of the present age and the beginning of the next in which
full righteousness under the biblical Messiah will transpire on earth. It could be said
that a full three quarters of biblical prophecy pertain to these matters. The Book of
Daniel is no exception to this. Though in his prophecies, Daniel relies on the
interpretation of the image of chapter two which gives a thumbnail sketch of
historical events from the time of Nebuchadnezzar to the final events leading to the
development of the Kingdom of God on earth, Daniels main concern is the very
last generation of human history just before that Kingdom of God is established.
Other than a detailed prophecy about the arrival of the Messiah which he gave in
what is called the Seventy Weeks Prophecy (Daniel 9), the thrust of Daniels
prophetic discourses is about the final four powers to exercise rule on earth who will
reign until the last seven years of human history at the very end of this age. It is
important for all interpreters to understand this point if they ever hope to make any
sense out of Daniels prophetic teachings. And this applies to his major prophecies
which some modern scholars feel are only to be understood in a historical sense with
a view to events that occurred in the past and are not to be repeated in the future.
The scholars are right in one way. The events mentioned by Daniel are not to be
repeated in the future because the majority of Daniels prophecies have never yet
occurred. This is one of the most important principles to recognize if anyone hopes
to comprehend properly what Daniel was speaking about some 2500 years ago. It is
the first principle to acknowledge. Let us see an example of it in Daniels writings.

The final prophecy that Daniel was shown (and in great detail) was that called the
"Scripture of Truth" mentioned in Daniel 10:21. That prophecy is recorded for
posterity from Daniel 11:2 through Daniel 12:3. The whole of that prophecy was one
that was not to be fulfilled in Daniels time (nor would the prophecy even begin in the
age of Daniel). Daniel was told that "the time appointed was long [that is, it
would happen after a great deal of time had passed]" (Daniel 10:1). The angel
Gabriel told Daniel that "I am come to make you understand what shall befall
your people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days [hence]"
(Daniel 10:14).

Look at this prophecy called the "Scripture of Truth" in Daniel 10:21. It would begin
with four kings of Persia and followed by a mighty king from the region of Javan
(which some restrict to Greece). These were the first five kings mentioned in Daniel
11:2-4. But then in verse 5, the "Scripture of Truth" introduces the first of two (or,
maybe, three) kings who are called "the kings of the south." These kings of the south
rule in succession to one another. Yet in verse 6 is introduced a "king of the north"
who rules as a single king for several years until his death as recorded in verse 19.
In verse 20 is mentioned the second "king of the north" whose reign is very short.
Then is recorded the third "king of the north" who is the vile person who will have a
marvelous career of success to the extent that he is only destroyed at the time the
archangel Michael stands up on behalf of Daniels people Israel (Daniel 11:45) and
the resurrection of the dead takes place (Daniel 12:1-3) which we know from other
scriptures occurs at the Second Advent of Christ.

If one counts the kings in the "Scripture of Truth" successively (as one should) by
enumerating the four kings of Persia, one king of Javan, and then the three "kings of
the north" which culminate in the emergence of the Kingdom of God on earth, there
are exactly eight kings who rule in succession (with the seventh king of verse 21
ruling only a few days). Now note this. When the apostle John was given the vision
recorded in the Book of Revelation (Revelation 17:9-18), he was also shown exactly
eight kings (with the seventh king of verse 10 ruling only a short space). The
precision of this agreement between the two accounts from Daniel and the Book of
Revelation cannot be coincidental. And since we are told by John that the Kingdom of
God under Christ Jesus begins to reign on earth just after his eighth king is deposed
(just like we have in Daniels "Scripture of Truth"), there can be no doubt that John
was simply giving a later commentary on what Daniel had recorded. In other words,
the "Scripture of Truth" in Daniel 11:2 to Daniel 12:3 dovetails with the account
given by John in Revelation 17:9-18. They are not intended to be similar to each
other, they were intended to be identical! These eight kings rule at the end-
time.

What this means is that Johns first six kings are fully identified in the Book of Daniel,
though John gives no ethnic or national identities to show who they were. But the
first four of Johns kings were the four Persian kings of Daniel 11:2 and Johns fifth
king was "the mighty king" who would come from Javan. And John said his sixth king
was then living at the time when his vision was meant to be applied
(Revelation 17:10, John said "one is"). This means that John was taken in vision into
the time of the first "king of the north" (who was the sixth king mentioned in the
"Scripture of Truth"). This king will live in the generation just before the time of the
end. His prophetic history is recorded in Daniel 11:6-19. During this very period,
which will last a few years, we are told in Daniel 11:14 that this is when some
robbers of Daniels people will try to bring to pass the final historical actions recorded
in the visionary experiences of Daniel which are designed to lead to the Kingdom of
God on earth. And this is the precise time into which the apostle John was taken
forward in history to observe what would happen in that last generation before the
end of the age.

The apostle John wrote in Revelation 17 that after the sixth king there would
remain two more kings (with the seventh of those kings ruling only "a short space" --
verse 10). And Daniel wrote in the "Scripture of Truth" that there would also be two
more kings after his sixth king -- the first "king of the north" (with the seventh of
those kings ruling only for a "few days" -- verse 21). The individuals mentioned in
these verses of Daniel and in Revelation (as I have said) are all identical.

Let us now look at a prophetic truth which most interpreters today and of the past
have not understood. Almost all people who look at this prophecy of the "Scripture of
Truth" of Daniel (and without the slightest doubt entering their minds) state that the
first four Persian kings mentioned by Daniel are those who lived in the sixth and fifth
centuries B.C. and that "the mighty king" (the fifth king) of verses 2-4 was Alexander
the Great. Nothing could be farther from the truth. All the eight kings recorded in
the "Scripture of Truth" (the four Persian ones, the one from Javan, and the three
"kings of the north") all live in the period just preceding the Second Advent of Christ.
They are the same eight kings mentioned in Revelation 17:9-18. It is time to
abandon the nonsense of most prophetic interpreters that there is a historical basis
to at least the first seven kings of Daniels "Scripture of Truth," and that the eighth
king is Antiochus IV Epiphanes (who is described up to verse 34).

Such interpretation is pure and utter tomfoolery of the highest order and I do not
care what the rank happens to be of the scholar, theologian or preacher who says
such absurdity. Why, even a superficial study of Persian history from the time of
Cyrus (when Daniel received the vision of the "Scripture of Truth") shows there were
not four more kings of Persia up to the arrival of Alexander the Great. Indeed, there
were four kings up to Darius I the Great, and then followed six more kings to Darius
III and there were three more kings in the ruling line of Artaxerxes II (Mnemnon).
See the New Bible Dictionary, page 915, for a table showing these fourteen kings
of Persia (not simply the four kings that the "Scripture of Truth" states). Daniel is
not even referring to any of those fourteen kings of history that governed Persia! He
is speaking about four future Persian kings who will reign as the first four kings in a
series of eight kings who will altogether represent the last prophetic kings of
importance until the Kingdom of God is established on earth. Clearly, the fifth king
of the "Scripture of Truth" is NOT Alexander the Great! He is a future king of Javan
who will succeed the four Persian kings of the prophecy.

And there is more. Scholars are prone to say that the "kings of the north" whom
Daniel had reference to were the Seleucid kings who followed Alexander the Great. It
is pure nonsense to state such a thing. Indeed, starting in verse 6 of the "Scripture
of Truth" there is only one king of the north being discussed up to verse 19. But
what do the scholars and preachers do today? They count all the Seleucid kings from
Seleucis I Nicator to Antiochus IV Epiphanes (from 301 B.C. to 165 B.C.) which
history shows represent nine kings (not three kings like the "Scripture of Truth"
tells us), and then they have the gall to say that Daniel mistakenly leaves out some
of these important kings. So certain are the majority of historians that they are right
(who have a theological bent) that they often accuse Daniel in his "Scripture of
Truth" of falsifying some of the accounts of these Seleucid kings to make his story
complete. The truth is, the "Scripture of Truth" is not even talking about a single one
of those nine kings of the Seleucids who ruled from 301 B.C. to 165 B.C. The
"Scripture of Truth" mentions only three "kings of the north," so why dont the
scholars and preachers believe what it says rather than making up historical
"corrections" of their own of what they think Daniel should have said in order to keep
Daniel from being erroneous? Their reasonings are not only absurd, such judgments
are not fair with the text. The apostle John, however, knew that such a thing would
happen (such an interpretation was already occurring in his day), so he wrote
Revelation 17 which showed that the eight kings of the "Scripture of Truth" were
the same as his eight kings of the end-time. John made all of these eight kings to
be in existence in the period just before the Kingdom of God would be established on
earth with the Second Advent of Christ. The apostle John verifies Daniel.

Where Do the Balkans and Prophecy Fit Into All This?

Let us now look at an important point that almost everyone else in the field of
prophecy is overlooking except you readers of A.S.K. material. We believe it is
important for biblical commentators to recognize and take into account.

Look at the fifth king of Daniels "Scripture of Truth" who is mentioned in Daniel
11:2-4. This is the king who is prophesied to arise from the area of Javan (which the
King James translation reckons as Greece). The KJV is partially correct in using the
restrictive sense of the word "Javan," but we must look at all meanings of the word
"Javan" found in the biblical revelation. It may be that the term is more expansive
than many people imagine. As a matter of fact, in the Table of Nations shown in
Genesis 10, we find that "Javan" embraces in the greater sense an inclusion of all
southern regions of Europe from Greece, the Balkans and Western Asia Minor
(Elishah), over to Spain (Tarshish), Kittim (Italy), the island of Rhodes and all its
adjacent regions (Dodanim or Rodanim), plus most of the islands of the
Mediterranean (Genesis 10:4,5). Possibly, by the time of Daniel, the term "Javan"
appears to be applied more restrictively in scope and it meant Greece Proper,
Macedonia, the southern Balkans and western Asia Minor. For the restricted meaning,
see Joel 3:6 and maybe Zechariah 9:13. But even here, we must be careful in our
interpretation. In contrast, the restricted meaning of "Persia" also limits its location
to modern "Iran," but in Daniels time "Persia" in an unrestricted sense meant all the
land east to the Indus River, and it even included Egypt. So, maybe "Javan" is to be
understood in the same unrestricted way. It is not the context itself which makes the
word "Javan" to be restrictive. It could have the wider meaning even in Joel and
Zechariah, so we should keep open minds on the interpretation of the prophecies in
Daniel about a possible "Greater Javan."

Now note this point. Since the fifth king of the "Scripture of Truth" is not Alexander
the Great as is normally taught by most scholars and preachers, this "mighty king" is
yet to arise and just before the first "king of the north" (Johns sixth king into whose
period of time John was taken to see his visions of the time of the end). We should
be looking for some powerful human being to emerge from this area of "Javan" (or
some major angelic power to control it) who will put down the realm of Persia
(modern day Iran) and humiliate that realm. Now, before we start thinking that the
king who will do this will be like Alexander the Great, let us remember that this fifth
king of the end-time is not Alexander, nor do we have any hints that Alexander was
a type of him. That brings us to the next principle of interpretation regarding
prophecy about the end-time that is often overlooked today by the scholars and
preachers. Most people today simply think that the wars of the end-time will be the
same kind of old-fashioned wars that the world has always been familiar with. But
the prophecies of Daniel state that the conflicts at the very end will involve different
types of warfare.
End-Time Prophecies To Be Very Different From Previous Ones

The apostle John showed us that the last eight kings which he mentioned in
Revelation 17 (which dovetail with the eight kings of the "Scripture of Truth" in
Daniel) are all carried by a Beast with a Harlot Woman sitting on all of them
(Revelation 17:1-9). Since Johns fifth king is the same as Daniels fifth king in
Daniel 11:2-4, then this king (and kingdom) will be governed by all that the apostle
John relates will motivate and permeate the philosophy of this Harlot Woman. And in
this matter, the apostle John could hardly be plainer. In chapter 18 he describes the
full character and motivation of this Harlot Woman who controls all these eight
kings. The principal philosophy of this "Mystery Babylon" will be that it acts like the
city and empire of Tyre of old (the great commercial, trading and manufacturing
center of the ancient world). John devotes almost the whole of chapter 18 telling us
the essential character of this end-time group of kings (eight of them) which will
exist just before the Second Advent of Christ. It reflects the activity of Daniels
Fourth Beast who is described in Daniel as being very diverse from the previous
beasts (or civilizations) that existed on earth (Daniel 7:7,19). It will be a "warring"
kingdom, but in a very different (or diverse) way. Most people will not even realize
that it will be a warring power (that is, in the traditional way of war). Remember, it is
Satan the Devil who deceives the whole world. The world will actually believe that
this power is bringing about world government through peaceful means.

Back in April, 1990 in an article titled "Coming -- the New World Order," I mentioned
about this diversification of this end-time realm. I showed that it (the final Beast
power) will be so clever that it will take over control of the world without the type of
war that the world has been used to in the past. He will astound the world with his
new tactics. Indeed, he will do so primarily (as the apostle John tells us) by "warring"
economically. He will also bring in social and religious changes that will pacify the
world in coming to terms with him. And God will allow it.
The diversity that Daniel spoke about will be in its manner of conducting war. Among
other things, the new "armies" will be composed of bankers, merchants, managers of
services, educators, and all people who control the economic institutions in local,
national and international affairs. As a matter of fact, his new army will be those not
in military uniforms but in business suits. His army will be those who control
economic affairs in all areas of the world. It is just that simple. It will be a global
economic and social control that the final world order will be implementing. And
believe me, we Americans are the very ones in modern history who have been the
most vigorous of peoples in advocating these principles and procedures that the final
Beast power will adopt and that he will implement to a fine art. As a matter of fact,
there is really nothing wrong with these tactics on the surface, but if people use
them to gain wealth and to control a world government without the principles of
Christ Jesus being at the forefront of their civilization, such an economic and social
system will finally result in disaster. And this is prophesied to happen in the end.

Now let us look at the brand new type of "warfare" that will emerge in regard to
these eight kings (starting with the four Persian kings) who will rule successively
at the end-time. Look at the fifth king of Daniels "Scripture of Truth." This fifth
king will war with the fourth Persian king. The "conquering" that the fifth king
will accomplish against the fourth king of Persia (Iran, but "Persia" was much
larger in meaning in Daniels time) may not be conquering with outward military
forces at all. It could well be an economic war that Daniel and John mean, because
that is the type of "warring" that will be more in evidence at the very end of the age
than the old fashioned type of butchery and mass killings of soldiers and civilians
that we have been used to up to now.

Whatever the case, this fifth king of Daniels "Scripture of Truth" and the fifth king
of the apostle Johns chapter 17 are precisely the same king and he will come from
"Javan." This king will exist in the generation just before the Second Advent. He is
NOT Alexander the Great who lived over 2300 years ago. This end-time king will no
doubt be revealed very soon for out of him will come four divisions (analogous with
the four directions of the winds) and out of the north quarter of this quadriform
prophetic division will emerge the sixth king (who is the first "king of the north" of
Daniels "Scripture of Truth"). And it was into the period of this sixth king that John
was taken in vision to start the prophecies in the Book of Revelation.

This sixth king we know will reign several years, but the seventh king who follows
will rule only a few days and he will be succeeded by the final eighth king who will
have a career lasting seven or so years of human history just before the Second
Advent of Christ. We right now are heading in for the homestretch which is the last
generation before the end of the age. We wont have long to wait until the Kingdom
of God will be on earth in all its glory under the rule of Christ Jesus.

Another Prophetic Principle to Consider

There is one final point that each of us who loves the biblical revelation and its
prophecies must take into account if one hopes to understand the events of the end-
time. Remember, the Book of Daniel and its prophecies have been closed and sealed
and they are only destined to be opened up (and this means even to our
comprehension) at that crucial generation which introduces the end-time to the
world (Daniel 12:4,9). Even we cannot know with precision what Daniel and the Book
of Revelation are telling us until we get closer to that time when Christ says he will
reveal these matters to his elect (Matthew 24:24).

One of the main reasons we have difficulty in precisely recognizing what the
prophecies of Daniel and Revelation are telling us is because much of the information
reveals events that are conducted between the angelic powers in heaven and not all
those events in these significant prophecies are those between humans on earth.
This is an important principle to realize, but if we do not, then we are going to
misunderstand what the prophecies themselves are all about. Let me explain what I
mean.

Note that the whole of the "Scripture of Truth" is a revelation given by the angel
Gabriel (Daniel 10). Indeed, the first thing Daniel was told was that the angelic
power called the Prince of Persia hindered Gabriel from telling Daniel the contents of
the "Scripture of Truth" (Daniel 10:13). This "hindering" lasted until the archangel
Michael came to help Gabriel. That did not end the matter because the angel Gabriel
said he still had to fight with the angelic Prince of Persia and then would come the
angelic Prince of Javan. The implication of the text shows that the Javanic angelic
Prince would also "hinder" Gabriel. This reminds one of the apostle Pauls statement
in Second Thessalonians that there were various "hinderers" (or "withholders") who
were in power and preventing the Roman Empire from being destroyed in order to
bring in the final prophesied kingdoms on earth before the Kingdom of God (II
Thessalonians 2:6,7). In Daniel, these were certain angelic powers whom God has
given temporary powers in heaven and on earth and they can exercise great
authority among human beings.

Note that the "Scripture of Truth" in Daniel is given a prologue about two of these
angelic powers (the Princes of Persia and of Javan) who could "hinder" (or
"withhold") even the angel Gabriel until Michael the archangel applied his power to
help Gabriel. And then, at the very end of the "Scripture of Truth," again we have
Michael helping at the time of the resurrection of the dead (Daniel 12:1-3). This
same Michael also figures in importance in the war in heaven that takes place at the
end of the age in which Satan and his angels are expelled from heaven and then
come to earth (Revelation 12:7-17). Now note this. Sometimes, it is difficult for us to
understand when the prophecies are speaking about human kings or the angelic
kings who govern and control human kings. Clearly, the King of Tyre in Ezekiel
28:11-19 is an angelic power (often identified with Satan, but this is not so, since
Satan has more power than the King of Tyre). Also, the King of Babylon in Isaiah
14:4-23 is an angelic power (often identified with Satan, but this is not so, since
Satan also has more power than this King).

The simple truth is, it is possible that many (but not all) of the kings who are
mentioned in the visions of Daniel (especially those of chapter seven, eight and those
of the "Scripture of Truth") may well be the angelic powers who control some earthly
kings. Indeed, we are told that the "little horn" of Daniel 8 will have such extensive
powers that he "waxed great, even to [engage] the host [the army] of heaven; and
it [he] cast down some of the host [the heavenly army] to the ground, and stamped
[in superior stance] upon them. Yea, he magnified himself even to the Prince of the
host [even the angelic Prince in charge of the heavenly army]" (Daniel 8:10,11). One
has to admit that no human king on earth could of himself have such power so that
he can conquer even the army of heaven in this engagement that Daniel describes.
This "little horn" could hardly be Antiochus IV Epiphanes in the second century B.C.
who did no such thing.

But there is to be war in heaven at the end of the age and the outcome of it will have
some profound effects on earth (Revelation 12:7-17). Now, when Jesus spoke about
violence in heaven between the angels from the time of John the Baptist till that of
Jesus statement, there was in fact peace on earth in Palestine (Matthew 11:12). It
appears that only after the wars in heaven are ended do their consequences find a
fulfillment on earth.

So, what is Daniel trying to tell us in his prophecies? We will not have long to wait to
comprehend just what Daniel and the Book of Revelation are trying to tell us. So, let
us keep our eyes on the Balkans region. The fifth king of the "Scripture of Truth" as
well as the fifth king of Revelation 17 happen to be the same king (either he is a
human king or an angelic power) connected with "Javan" which includes the Balkans
in its area of influence. We will have some interesting things to witness concerning
human kings and the angelic powers in the next few years. Let us watch carefully
these things that are prophesied.

The Importance of
Kosovo in Prophecy
We have all heard of the country called Yugoslavia. It was a modern country
created after the First World War out of provinces that once comprised the
old Austro-Hungarian Empire that then ceased to exist. It was ruled after
the Second World War by Marshal Tito who died in 1980. Since then, the
name became somewhat famous to us in the United States with the
introduction of the automobile called the Yugo. It attained fame (or rather
infamy) as being the worst engineered automobile in the world. And then
the nation becomes more in the news when civil war broke out among its
various provinces. The Croates and the Slovens in the north and west
segregated to form their own independent countries. Then Bosnia and
Herzegovina began to revolt with ethnic cleansing between Serbs, Croates
and Albanian Muslims (or other Islamic sects). That conflict was partially
resolved when the Serbs (the central people of former Yugoslavia) began a
campaign to drive all Islamic peoples from the southern province of Kosovo.
This province was of such insignificance to most Europeans that the Oxford
Illustrated Dictionary and The Larousse Desk Reference Encyclopaedia did
not even have an entry in their main texts to describe the province. But, all
of a sudden, that province became so important (because of the Serbs
trying to eliminate all or most of the Islamic peoples from the area) that the
whole of NATO (including the United States) entered a bombing campaign
against the Serbs that has caused the whole world to be involved in its
outcome. Even the possibility of ground troops from the NATO countries
may have to be used to solve the civil war that has now involved all of the
former provinces of Yugoslavia and has also brought into the conflict (by
absorbing refugees) Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro and even Greece. The
problem has the potential of igniting world prejudices once again like those
that happened at the beginning of the First World War. Indeed, it was in this
very region that the first shots of World War One commenced. All politicians
are well aware that the region is a powder keg of political, religious and
social instability. It is important that the whole world pay attention to what
is presently happening in Kosovo and the region of the Balkans.

What must be realized is the fact that in geo-political circles it is recognized that the
Second World War was an outgrowth and an extension of the First World War that
itself had its beginnings with key events that took place in the Balkans region of
Europe. Throughout the history of Western Civilization the wars between Europe and
the hordes of migrating warriors coming from the hinterland of Asia have had their
connections with the Balkans. This is the easternmost peninsula of Europe between
the Adriatic, Black and Mediterranean Seas (with the Danube River basin its main
drainage area).

From this region Alexander conquered the Empire of Persia. Rome considered this
region to be the most strategic in its defense from the wild Germanic and Asiatic
throngs during the Empire. Today, we find the Balkan region back again in its normal
history making role of being significant. And, prophecy shows that from this region
will soon emerge a powerful new influence in political affairs that will affect all
Europe, Asia and the world. It is time to focus on this volatile region of the earth.

The word "Balkans" is a geographical term of modern Turkish origin. It simply means
"mountains." The Turks, when they became the possessors of this part of the earth's
real estate during Ottoman times, began calling the region that of the "mountains."
Significantly, it was the Turks who brought the religion of Islam into this region of
Europe from the fifteenth century at the same time that Islam was being expelled in
the Iberian peninsula (Spain and Portugal). The Balkans (especially in the west and
along the Bosporus) represent today the greatest concentration of Islamic peoples
who claim as their native home the continent of Europe. And when Turkey began
withdrawing from the region in a step by step way, they left behind many people who
had been converted to Islam. This is one of the main problems in the area, but it will
be resolved by a ruler who is soon to emerge according to prophecy.

Turkey, now, has only the extreme southeast corner of the Balkans under its rule,
while Greece occupies its lower part. Islamic Albania is found in the southwest.
Croats and Slovenes (mainly Roman Catholics) are in the north and there are Croats
and Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina (with many Moslems living in this area). The
Orthodox Serbs are also in the eastern parts, with Bulgars further to the east, and
Romanians in the northeastern region. Other races are scattered in the area. The
Serbs are now trying to drive all Muslims (or as many as they can) out of the
southern province of Kosovo, and this is what has caused NATO to intervene with its
bombing phase.

It is an area with a great deal of ethnic and religious diversity, and it is potentially a
powder keg of instability as far as world peace is concerned. Since this is the case,
just what does the Bible have to say about the various types of peoples who live in
this area of the world? What are the prophecies that relate to them and Turkey,
Israel and the Arab/Persian worlds? Indeed, some prophecies are just now beginning
to be understood that concern the people of the Balkans. It is looking more certain
from prophetic indications that from this very region will soon develop a very
powerful European influence that will wage a successful confrontation with Turkey,
Iraq and Iran. This political victory will be a fundamental factor in establishing a
central prophetic scenario that will introduce what the prophet Daniel called "the
time of the end." Out of a part of this region, we will witness the development of a
major power at this end-time that is called in prophecy the "kingdom of the north"
that is mentioned in Daniel 11:6.

This end-time power will have great authority in matters dealing with the Middle East
and it will particularly affect political affairs in Israel, and strangely, its focus of power
will not be solely in the military sphere of influence. The Book of Revelation (chapters
17 and 18) shows its power will be mainly economic and sociological, and there will
be religious changes in the people who live there.

Principles of Prophecy

As for us in America and western Europe, it will be to our advantage if we pay close
attention to the prophecies about this area of the Balkans of which we are hearing so
much in the news today. But before it is possible for anyone to comprehend what
these prophetic indications represent and how they can be correctly understood, we
must be acutely aware of some essential prophetic principles that govern biblical
interpretation. Let us now rehearse briefly some of these fundamental concepts of
interpretation that can help us to realize essential prophetic truths.

The chief theme of the majority of prophecies both in the Old and the New
Testaments is the introduction of the Kingdom of God on earth. There is much
information about the close of the present age and the beginning of the next in which
full righteousness under the biblical Messiah will transpire on earth. It could be said
that a full three quarters' of biblical prophecy pertain to these matters. The Book of
Daniel is no exception to this. Though in his prophecies, Daniel relies on the
interpretation of the image of chapter two that gives a thumbnail sketch of historical
events from the time of Nebuchadnezzar to the final events leading to the
development of the Kingdom of God on earth, Daniel's main concern is the very last
generation of human history just before that Kingdom of God is established. Other
than a detailed prophecy about the arrival of the Messiah that he gave in what is
called the Seventy Weeks' Prophecy (Daniel 9), the thrust of Daniel's prophetic
discourses is about the final four powers to exercise rule on earth who will reign until
the last seven years of human history at the very end of this age. It is important for
all interpreters to understand this point if they ever hope to make any sense out of
Daniel's prophetic teachings. And this applies to his major prophecies that some
modern scholars feel are only to be understood in a historical sense with a view to
events that occurred in the past and are not to be repeated in the future. The
scholars are right in one way. The events mentioned by Daniel are not to be repeated
in the future but this is because the majority of Daniel's prophecies have never yet
occurred. This is one of the most important principles to recognize if anyone hopes to
comprehend properly what Daniel was speaking about some 2500 years ago. It is the
first principle to acknowledge. Let us see an example of it in Daniel's writings.

The final prophecy that Daniel was shown (and in great detail) was that called the
"Scripture of Truth" mentioned in Daniel 10:21. That prophecy is recorded for
posterity from Daniel 11:2 through Daniel 12:3. The whole of that prophecy was one
that was not to be fulfilled in Daniel's time (nor would the prophecy even begin in the
age of Daniel). Daniel was told that "the time appointed was long [that is, it would
happen after a great deal of time had passed]" (Daniel 10:1). The angel Gabriel told
Daniel that "I am come to make you understand what shall befall your people
in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days [hence]" (Daniel 10:14).

Look at this prophecy called the "Scripture of Truth" in Daniel 10:21. It would begin
with four kings of Persia and followed by a mighty king from the region of Javan (that
some restrict to Greece). These were the first five kings mentioned in Daniel 11:2-4.
But then in verse 5, the "Scripture of Truth" introduces the first of two (or, maybe,
three) kings who are called "the kings of the south." These kings of the south rule in
succession to one another. Yet in verse 6 is introduced a "king of the north" who
rules as a single king for several years until his death as recorded in verse 19. In
verse 20 is mentioned the second "king of the north" whose reign is very short. Then
is recorded the third "king of the north" who is the vile person who will have a
marvelous career of success to the extent that he is only destroyed at the time the
archangel Michael stands up on behalf of Daniel's people Israel (Daniel 11:45) and
the resurrection of the dead takes place (Daniel 12:1-3). We know from other
scriptures that the resurrection occurs at the Second Advent of Christ.

If one counts the kings in the "Scripture of Truth" successively (as one should) by
enumerating the four kings of Persia, one king of Javan, and then the three "kings of
the north" that culminate in the emergence of the Kingdom of God on earth, there
are exactly eight kings who rule in succession (with the seventh king of verse 21
ruling only a few days). Now note this. When the apostle John was given the vision
recorded in the Book of Revelation (Revelation 17:9-18), he was also shown exactly
eight kings (with the seventh king of verse 10 ruling only a short space). The
precision of this agreement between the two accounts from Daniel and the Book of
Revelation cannot be coincidental. And since we are told by John that the Kingdom of
God under Christ Jesus begins to reign on earth just after his eighth king is deposed
(just like we have in Daniel's "Scripture of Truth"), there can be no doubt that John
was simply giving a later commentary on what Daniel had recorded. In other words,
the "Scripture of Truth" in Daniel 11:2 to Daniel 12:3 dovetails with the account
given by John in Revelation 17:9-18. They are not simply intended to be similar to
each other, they were intended to be identical! Those eight kings of Daniel and
Revelation rule at the end-time and they are identical to each other. This should not
be ignored. Indeed, this is a central key interpretation that helps make Daniel and
Revelation compatible.

Let us now look at a prophetic truth that most interpreters today and of the past
have not understood. Almost all people who look at this prophecy of the "Scripture of
Truth" of Daniel (and without the slightest doubt entering their minds) state that the
first four Persian kings mentioned by Daniel are those who lived in the sixth and fifth
centuries B.C. and that "the mighty king" (the fifth king) of verses 2-4 was Alexander
the Great. Nothing could be farther from the truth. All the eight kings recorded in the
"Scripture of Truth" (the four Persian ones, the one from Javan, and the three "kings
of the north") all live in the period just preceding the Second Advent of Christ. They
are the same eight kings mentioned in Revelation 17:9-18. It is time to abandon the
nonsense of most prophetic interpreters that there is a historical basis to at least the
first seven kings of Daniel's "Scripture of Truth," and that the eighth king is
Antiochus IV Epiphanes (who is described up to verse 34).
Such interpretation is pure and utter tomfoolery of the highest order and I do not
care what the rank happens to be of the scholar, theologian or preacher who says
such absurdity. Why, even a superficial study of Persian history from the time of
Cyrus (when Daniel received the vision of the "Scripture of Truth") shows there were
not four more kings of Persia up to the arrival of Alexander the Great. Indeed, there
were four kings up to Darius I the Great, and then followed six more kings to Darius
III and there were three more kings in the ruling line of Artaxerxes II (Mnemnon).
See the New Bible Dictionary, page 915, for a table showing these fourteen kings of
Persia (not simply the four kings that the "Scripture of Truth" states). Daniel is not
even referring to any of those fourteen kings of history that governed Persia! He is
speaking about four future Persian kings who will reign as the first four kings in a
series of eight kings who will altogether represent the last prophetic kings of
importance until the Kingdom of God is established on earth. Clearly, the fifth king of
the "Scripture of Truth" is NOT Alexander the Great! He is a future king of Javan who
will succeed the four Persian kings of the prophecy. Just who is the King of Javan?
Where is the geographical location of Javan?

Where Do the Balkans and Prophecy Fit Into All This?

Let us now look at an important point that almost everyone else in the field of
prophecy is overlooking except you readers of A.S.K. material. We believe it is
important for biblical commentators to recognize and take into account.

Look at the fifth king of Daniel's "Scripture of Truth" who is mentioned in Daniel
11:2-4. This is the king who is prophesied to arise from the area of Javan (that the
King James translation interprets as Greece). The KJV is partially correct in using the
restrictive sense of the word "Javan," but we must look at all meanings of the word
"Javan" found in the biblical revelation. It may be that the term is more expansive
than many people imagine. As a matter of fact, in the Table of Nations shown in
Genesis 10, we find that "Javan" embraces in the greater sense an inclusion of all
southern regions of Europe from Greece, the Balkans and Western Asia Minor
(Elishah), over to Spain (Tarshish), Kittim (Italy), the island of Rhodes and all its
adjacent regions (Dodanim or Rodanim), plus most of the islands of the
Mediterranean (Genesis 10:4,5). Possibly, by the time of Daniel, the term "Javan
appears to be applied more restrictively in scope and it meant Greece Proper,
Macedonia, the southern Balkans and western Asia Minor. For this restricted
meaning, see Joel 3:6 and perhaps Zechariah 9:13. But even here, we must be
careful in our interpretation. In contrast, the restricted meaning of "Persia" also
limits its location to modern "Iran," but in Daniel's time "Persia" in an unrestricted
sense meant all the land east to the Indus River, and it even included Egypt. So,
maybe "Javan is to be understood in the same unrestricted way. It is not the context
itself that makes the word "Javan" to be restrictive. It could have the wider meaning
even in Joel and Zechariah, so we should keep open minds on the interpretation of
the prophecies in Daniel about a possible "Greater Javan." And what of "Kosovo?" It
is located directly in this area of Daniels fifth king in the "Scripture of Truth." Will
this area provide this king? Let us keep our eyes open. Prophecy will soon make it
plain.
CHAPTER 3

Egypt shall return to power, greatness, and wealth before Christ returns. How this
will happen no one knows. At present Egypt is one of the poorest countries in the
world with an unemployment rate of 1525% composed of mostly young people.
This is a highly volatile situation for any society, and Egypt is anything but stable. In
fact, it is a country plagued by great popular unrest. Egypts population is growing
rapidly and the median age of that population is increasingly younger.

Yet Egypts return to wealth and greatness will happen according to Gods ordained
timetable. The Coming Splendor of Egypt is the title of this months article from a
taped lecture Dr. Martin gave in 1981. In this presentation, he gives the biblical
prophecies about Egypts future. Egypts return to greatness did not occur in 1977. It
did not begin strongly in 1981. Indeed, things have continued as they always have
with the current situation that Egypt is one of the poorest nations on earth with a
tremendously large number of people in abject poverty. In fact, more people are
poor in Egypt than probably any time in the past 200 years.

Not Yet Happening

How can this be when Egypt is prophesied to be wealthy, prosperous, and powerful in
the future? Well, the prophecies have not yet begun to happen. However, it may be
that the process has begun, leading to the prophesied time of prosperity and wealth
for many if not most people in Egypt. We may be seeing that beginning at the
present time.

One source of wealth in Egypt has been oil and gas production. Egypt has oil and gas
reserves both in the Western Desert of Egypt but also in the Sinai Peninsula, which
Israel seized from Egypt in the 1967 war. The Sinai was returned to Egypt as part of
the Camp David Accords signed on September 17, 1978 between Anwar Sadat of
Egypt and Menachim Begin of Israel. Violent opposition by Egyptian groups to these
Accords with Israel that led to Sadats assassination in 1981, as Dr. Martin discusses
in the article.

A U.S. Department of Energy Country Analysis Brief of July 2006 about Egypts
energy resources, shows that Egypts oil production is actually decreasing while its
natural gas production is increasing
(http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/Egypt/Background.html). Egypt is also
beginning deep-water oil prospecting off its Mediterranean coast.

American companies recently made substantial finds of natural gas and oil, which
may substantially improve Egypts energy prospects. 1 Egypt has one of the most
advanced facilities to condense and ship LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) which will likely
flow in tankers to Europe. A LNG pipeline to Europe under the Mediterranean Sea is
also being considered. Egypt also realizes substantial income from trade through the
Suez Canal, a vitally important transit corridor. It is creating a pipeline for oil
transport from Suez to the Mediterranean Sea. This is an alternative to large bulk
crude oil tankers too large to transit the Suez Canal.
Whether for these or other reasons, Egypt will become a great nation again as Dr.
Martin explains:

The prophecies indicate that a confederation of nations in North Africa is to

arise, and it will be under the domination of Egypt. How and when this will
occur is not shown in the Bible. We have constantly said in our literature
that one should be wary of setting dates relative to prophetic interpretation.
It is far better to watch events! Even in this matter, however, a needed
chronology should enter the picture if one hopes to understand the
prophecies thoroughly. While the coming greatness of Egypt is something
that will occur before the Second Advent of our Lord, we cannot be sure of
an exact time schedule when the important prophetic events will take
place.

Dr. Martin, The Assassination of Anwar Sadat, FBR, 1981

After this period of achieving economic and political greatness, the destruction of
Egypt and her riches will take place.

Egypt is like a very fair heifer, but destruction comes; it comes out of the
north.

The daughter of Egypt shall be confounded; she shall be delivered into the
hand of the people of the north.

Jeremiah 46:20, 24

For thus says the Lord YHWH; The sword of the king of Babylon shall come
upon you. By the swords of the mighty will I cause your multitude to fall,
the terrible of the nations, all of them: and they shall spoil the pomp of
Egypt, and all the multitude thereof shall be destroyed.

Ezekiel 32:1112

The Importance of Egyptian History

by Ernest L. Martin, Ph.D, 1981
Transcribed and edited by David Sielaff, July 2003

Read the accompanying Newsletter for July 2003

One of the most significant Gentile nations on earth, as far as the Bible is
concerned, was and is Egypt. It was once a powerful and influential
government. Anyone traveling to Egypt and viewing its ruins, today, will
find out that fewer than 10% of the ruins still remain. When you look at
these ruins you find that they were amazing feats of energy and expertise
going into building the ancient monuments and temples of ancient Egypt.
One is awestruck by the grandeur that once graced that country.
We went with 51 other people to the Middle East and what a profitable trip it was in
helping us to comprehend the past history of the countries we visited. Even to realize
what is prophesied to occur in the next few years ahead of us is very important to
every one of us.

We spent some time there in Upper Egypt, that is in the southern part, and also in
northern Egypt in the delta region. We were able to see many things that some of us
have wanted to look at for a long time. None of us was disappointed. It was a trip
that was absolutely beautiful and very informative.

Egypt had a prominent part to play in the history of the Old Testament and its
prophecies. It soon again will have that same type of role to play according to the
Bible, if we look at the scriptures very carefully. In fact, the Bible says that coming in
the future, in Isaiah 19 verse 23, speaking about a time when Christ Jesus is back
here on this earth, the time when the Kingdom of God will be fulfilled here.

"In that day there shall be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the
Assyrians shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the
Egyptian shall serve with the Assyrians."

Isaiah 19:23

The Assyrians were up north of Israel in Mesopotamia. The Egyptians were down
south of Israel in the Nile River valley. This verse says there will be a highway
between those two countries and exactly where will it go? It will go right through
Israel. In fact it is geographically in the middle between Mesopotamia and the Nile
River in Egypt. Going on,

"In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a
blessing in the midst of the land."

Isaiah 19:24

In the past Assyria and Egypt have often been enemies of ancient Israel or modern
Israel, but they will not be in the future when Jesus Christ is back here on this earth.
They will be a blessing along with Israel.

In this discussion on the importance of Egyptian history I will show that if you want
to know Egyptian history, concentrate on biblical history, the history of Palestine, of
Israel, because it is in the central part of that area of the world. The ancient Medieval
scholars used to say that Jerusalem or Israel was the navel of the world, the center
of the world. That is what the Bible is saying here, Israel is in the middle between
these powerful nations. In the future Israel will be a third with Egypt and Assyria,

"Whom the Lord of Hosts shall bless, saying, "Blessed be Egypt, my people,
and Assyria, the work of my hands, and Israel, my inheritance."

Isaiah 19:25
So you see, there are the three-thirds making up the whole, right in the central part
of the world. Israel will be controlling it later on, along with Egypt and Assyria, once
these Gentile nations learn their lesson.

The Importance of History

I have said a long time ago, and many scholars have said this too, that if you want to
understand the present and even the future, you had better understand the past,
because our present situation is highly dependent upon the foundational historical
events by which we have arrived at the place we are at the present time. That is why
the study of history is very important. I have been very blessed, I feel, to be able to
study history and to teach history in England for many years and also here in the
United States, as well as producing many writings on history.

Let me tell you we are just beginning to scratch the surface on the history of the
past. We can all have a part in the restoration of major truths of the Bible dealing
with history, dealing with geography, dealing with doctrine or whatever. We are just
on the threshold of something very, very big and very great. The Bible says there will
be a restoration of all things prior to the 2nd coming of Christ. Peter called it the
"restitution of all things" (Acts 3:21). I do not have any doubt that there will be a
great deal of knowledge emerging very shortly. It already has started, but it will
come very shortly and we will see some of these things with our own eyes. They will
come out of the Middle East.

Modern people will be able to say that there is nothing new under the sun. The
people of ancient times were able to do as much as we are able to do today except
they directed their energies in a different way than we do at present. One of these
days we will find that these prophecies in Isaiah and other places will be fulfilled and
that Egypt plays a very prominent part along with Assyria and certainly with Israel in
the middle of the world.

It is important that we understand the history of Egypt. There are several prophecies
in the Old Testament about Egypt. The history of the nation of Israel with the
descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the 12 tribes, have prominent
connections with Egypt. You might say that the nation of Israel had its infant
development in the nation of Egypt and by coming out from Egypt in the Exodus
under the hand of Moses, the nation of Israel was finally born. After 40 years of
wandering in the Wilderness they went into the land of Canaan. They had a great
experience behind them up to that time. That experience was primarily Egyptian.
That is why it is very important to understand Egyptian history for that reason alone.
Egypt has given a tremendous amount of prestige and power and social customs and
politics to Israel. Not all of it has been bad. Some of their experiences have been
good. Of course, there has been some bad as well.

The Challenge of Egyptian History

The way to come to a proper knowledge of the history of Egypt, in my view, is to first
of all to be certain that we understand what was happening in Palestine, in the land
of Canaan from the time of the flood of Noah right on through until historical times
come along which we can be pretty well assured of. If you can understand the
history of central Palestine, and Isaiah said Israel is placed in the middle of
everything, then we should be able to understand what is happening on the flanks of
Israel. 1

We have lots of ruins and lots of ancient records that have come down to us about
ancient Egypt, but many scholars today who study ancient Egypt (and Mesopotamia
for that matter, but we will concentrate on Egypt) are not quite sure how to place
some of these ancient records. They are unsure when the kings, the Pharaohs,
actually reigned and whether some of them were reigning contemporaneously with
one another, that is one reigning in lower Egypt at a place called Memphis or in upper
Egypt in a place called Thebes. They is no absolute certainty about this, though
many people feel they have a general outline of the under-standing of Egyptian
history.

I will go into some Egyptian history which might be a little technical. Pay close
attention to it. I think I can give a general understanding of Egyptian history as
understood by the ancient records that scholars evaluate, and I will also be able to
correlate some of those ancient records in Egypt by looking primarily at the biblical
revelation.

The Key to Egyptian History, the Bible

What I want to call your attention to first of all is what happened in Palestine. Let me
repeat this because it is very important to the comprehension of ancient Egyptian
history. If a person can understand and recognize what was happening in central
Palestine, then the history of Egypt can be understood. I mean where Jerusalem is,
and Samaria and Galilee and areas like that, from the time of the flood of Noah
coming down to the time of Abraham. Of course, Abraham was the first one
introduced into the land of Canaan from a biblical point of view. Then he had Isaac,
his son, who lived in Palestine. Then Isaac had Jacob and Esau. Jacob had 12 sons,
the sons of Israel. They grew up in Palestine. Remember how they all had to go to
Egypt at the time that Joseph was down there, and they became very great in Egypt.

Egypt at the time of Joseph must have been very powerful. Indeed, we know
absolutely that it was. Remember the dream that Joseph had. There were going to
be 7 full years when they would have lots of crops and harvest them, and they were
to take some of the crops and put them in silos. This was done because there were
going to be 7 lean years as well, when probably the Nile River would not overflow
and the people would be in destitution as far as getting food was concerned. The
wisdom of Joseph, with Gods Spirit directing him, enabled Pharaoh and the rest of
the Egyptians to put aside enough food for the 7 years of plenty to be able to carry
them over in the 7 years when there was not very much.

You know who was down there at the time of all of this? The Israelites, the 12
nations of Israel were beginning at this time. Joseph had a part in all of this. He sat
next to Pharaoh right at that time. It says that all the people of the world, because of
the great drought that took place during that 7 years, had to come up to Egypt and
buy grain and help Egypt in their building of monuments.

"And the seven years of plenteousness, that was in the land of Egypt, were
ended. And the seven years of dearth began to come, according as Joseph
had said: and the dearth was in all lands; but in all the land of Egypt there
was bread.
And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh
for bread: and Pharaoh said unto all the Egyptians, Go unto Joseph; what
he says to you, do. And the famine was over all the face of the earth: And
Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold unto the Egyptians; and the
famine waxed sore in the land of Egypt. And all countries came into Egypt to
Joseph for to buy corn; because that the famine was so sore in all lands.

Genesis 41:5357

As a result of those actions, guided by Joseph, Egypt was the number one country in
all the earth in the central Eurasian and African areas. Clearly at the time of Joseph
there must have been great enterprises going on at that time.

We know that the Israelites began to greatly expand their population in Egypt. They
stayed there for some 200 years, and then came out by a great Exodus from Egypt
and then into the land of Canaan. Maybe I am going a little ahead of myself here,
but I am just introducing this to show you that the biblical revelation can be the
major key to help us straighten out the overall understanding of Egyptian history.
Once that overall understanding of Egyptian history is made clear, then the
prophecies dealing with Egypt and other countries surrounding Israel will make
better sense to us, not only from the sense of understanding the past, but also
understanding the present and the near-future that you and I are coming into.

Make a Chart

I have already given you the key to Egyptian history, but now I will elaborate on it
just a little bit. If any of you are really interested in history and the history of Egypt,
here is what I suggest you do.

Take a sheet of paper and then draw a line at the top of that paper all the way across
and say that that line represents the time of the flood of Noah. Then draw a central
line down the middle of the page, carrying it down to the bottom. To the left of that
central line right at the top put "Palestine" or "Israel" or "the People of God" near the
top. Information from the Bible and the history of Israel will be on the left, and the
history of Gentile nations will be on the right.

You should let the Bible be the key to understanding of Mesopotamia up north or
Egypt in the south, by taking the nation of Israel or what was happening in Palestine,
and put down all of the general history from the time of the flood down to the time of
Alexander the Great about 330 B.C. This is a little bit technical, but from then on it
becomes pretty clear what was happening in the Middle East. We have plenty of
historical records from that time.

If you go before the time of Alexander the Great and go farther back and approach
the flood of Noah, it is very confusing and historians are not absolutely sure which
direction to take on some issues. Once you get Israel in the middle, remember that it
is centered between Mesopotamia and Egypt. The people of Israel will come in
contact with Assyria up north and with Egypt in the south. If you can understand the
central history of Israel, you will be able to comprehend events generally in Egypt
and also Assyria. It is very clear if we take this matter into account.
What you should do then is to take the history of Palestine as the Bible gives it to us.
Who was the first one (as far the Bible is concerned) of importance to go down to
Palestine? He left Ur of the Chaldees, left his fathers country, and went on down with
his wife Sarah and with him his nephew Lot. I am talking about Abraham. This is
introduced in Genesis chapter 12 about 1,800 years before the birth of Christ.

Abraham in Palestine

What was happening in Palestine at this time? Was there a major central government
in Palestine? The answer is absolutely no. There were little cities here and there
scattered around. Abraham could go from one area to another and he did not need
to have a passport with him. He could just raise up an altar wherever he wanted to.
It seemed like the land was open and free. They had property boundaries and things
like that, but no central government of any kind. Abraham could go from Haran in
the north (Genesis 11:3132, 12:45), to Shechem (Genesis 12:6), to Beersheba in
the south (Genesis 21:14, 3133, 22:19). He could build an altar in Bethel (originally
called Luz, Genesis 12:8, 13:3, 28:19). He could even live in Hebron (Genesis 13:18,
23:2, 19, 35:27). He could go where he wanted to go. He came into contact with the
Canaanites that is quite true (Genesis 12:6, 13:7, 24:3, 37), but they were in
villages and little cities here and there scattered around.

Even the archaeology of the time showed that the cities of Palestine in the time of
Abraham were very, very small and they did not have any centralized government at
all. You can detect this very easily if you just study Genesis chapters 12, 13, 14, 15,
16 and 17, those areas and times dealing with Abraham. You will see that there was
no central government. Most people were pastoral. They had their sheep, their goats,
their camels and things like that. The city-states had a little bit of government here,
a little bit of government there, but not too much going on.

Abraham in Egypt

What happened after Abraham got into the land of Palestine? He stayed there just a
few years and a great famine came along. So what did Abraham have to do? This is
the first mention of Egypt. Abraham went down to the land of Egypt. We do not know
how long he stayed down there, but somewhere around 5, 7 or 10 years, something
of that nature, because he was back in Palestine when he is 86 years of age.

Notice something. He went to Egypt to escape the famine in Palestine. Why was
that? Because the River Nile in Egypt was not influenced by the same weather
patterns that Palestine had. Abraham stayed there with Lot for a few years. When he
came out he possessed great riches. Is it not interesting also that Abraham, a
nobody going from area to area in Palestine, when he got to Egypt he was able to go
directly to Pharaoh and speak with him. Who ever heard such a thing?

If there was a vast nation of say a million people in Egypt at the time of Abraham
and if they had a vast government, you would think it would have been most difficult
for a shepherd coming out of Palestine to get an audience with the Pharaoh. But
Abraham met with Pharaoh. That shows that Egypt was not that big either. Do you
see the point I am showing here?
What you can do here is over on the right of this piece of paper you have Israel in
the center. Now you have Abraham down there underneath, the time of Abraham.
Put Egypt over on the right and say "able to meet Pharaoh without too much
difficulty." You get the idea here that Egypt was not as big and powerful as it became
later on. That gives you a hint.

Abraham with Lot come out of Egypt and they settle back in Palestine. The story
goes on. The city-state system continued in Palestine without any central
government at the time of Isaac, and then Jacob comes along. Jacob goes up north
to obtain a wife and comes back with two wives and two concubines. But it is
interesting that he still was able to travel, even in the time of Jacob, the 3rd
generation from Abraham, without crossing national boundaries of any kind.

National Boundaries

Do you know when the first national boundary that we have any record of in the
Bible comes along? It is when Jacob leaves Laban, his relative up north and he got
the two daughters of Laban and came down to Palestine with Rachel and Leah, his
wives. The first national boundary is when Laban saw that his boundary gods, as he
called them, or boundary stones had been taken away. They were in Rachels
baggage. He did not know that. When Laban finally caught up with Jacob as he was
leaving Mesopotamia to go down into Palestine, they had a little argument, and
finally settled it when Laban said, we will make a cairn of stones, a little pile of
stones and write on it that everything north of this territory is mine and everything
south of this territory, Jacob, is yours.

Laban got the north part of the territory and Jacob got the south part of the territory.
Since that very day the north part of that has been known as "Labans Land" or we
call it today, Lebanon. You might say that national boundaries began to be
established in Palestine about the time of Jacob. What happens in Jacobs time?
Jacob has 12 sons.

Joseph

One of those sons was Joseph. Joseph was very wise as we know. Jacob was able to
go with his 12 sons throughout Palestine wherever they wanted to go. We finally find
some of the sons of Jacob way up in north Palestine in southern Galilee in a place
called Dothan. Joseph goes to meet these brothers and tells them a dream he had
that one of these days the sun and the moon and the 11 stars would bow before
him. He was the 12th star. They interpreted this, in symbol of course, as meaning
that Jacob (his father) was the sun, the moon being Rachel, his mother (who was
dead at this time, but the symbol still holds) and the 11 stars meant the other 11
brothers who all would bow before Joseph one day. They did not like it.

They found a camel train coming from the north part from Damascus, no doubt on
the way to Egypt and they sold Joseph into slavery. Joseph was taken to Egypt. He
stayed there about 13 years and you know the story of Joseph. He was falsely
accused of committing adultery with Potiphars wife. 2 That was wrong, Joseph had
not done that. Two years after he was accused of that and put in the dungeon, he
was brought out of that dungeon and made to sit, in one day, next to Pharaoh. The
reason for this was because of the dream that Pharaoh had of 7 fat cattle and 7 lean
cattle. Joseph told him what they had to do for Egypt to survive, and not only that,
but the entirety of the world.

Joseph was then told by Pharaoh, there is no man more wise than you. You are a
wise man. The Spirit of God is within you, so now I want you to get busy and
construct all the silos so we can begin to gather all the extra harvest so that when
the lean years come, we will have enough not only to give to the Egyptians but also
the rest of the people in the world. That is exactly what happened.

World Leadership

The interesting thing is that at the time of Joseph, all of the world finally had to come
to Egypt to buy grain. Not only that, when people find a country that is very
prosperous, the most prosperous country in the world, do you know what this does
with scholars and craftsmen and people who have knowledge in other areas of the
world? Almost always they come to the region where there is prosperity, where a
country is leading the world, more or less. Look at the United States of America
today or Great Britain in the last century. In the last 50 years when things happened
in Europe that were not very good, all types of people flocked into the United States,
top scholars, top craftsmen, people who knew what they were doing. Do you know
what happened to the United States, along with our own natural people we had
here? We developed into the strongest nation that the world has ever seen up to
now.

The same thing happened in the time of Joseph. All the top people from around the
world came into Egypt. At that time great monuments must have been built in Egypt.
There can hardly be any doubt that this is the case.

I want to show you how wise Joseph was. During the time when the 7 years of plenty
were taking place, all the land was harvesting the crops, that is quite true. But when
the first year of the drought began and there was no more food, how many people
would there have been in Egypt? We do not know, but lets put a number on it. Lets
say 1 million (we do not know), but that is possible.

When you have 1 million people out of work because they cannot work on the farms,
what is the thing to do? Joseph was very wise. He told people, we are going to build
monuments and things like that in honor of God, in some cases, Who was the one to
reveal all of this in order to save the world. All types of monuments began to be
built.

One thing I learned, and I learned this very carefully down in Egypt, almost none of
those monuments in ancient Egypt were built by slaves. They were built by people
who wanted to build them, there is hardly any doubt. The artistry that went into
some of those monuments is absolutely fantastic. They had to be built by people who
wanted to do them. They no doubt gathered artists from all over the world at the
times of prosperity, and the time of Joseph was a time of great prosperity in Egypt. It
has to be.

They brought these people in, gave them grain to eat, and to keep them from
twiddling their thumbs, he put people to work. If people have nothing to do, there
will be rebellion, disturbance, and all sort of difficulties. Joseph was very wise. He put
the people to work building grand edifices, buildings and things like that, throughout
all of Egypt. This lasted until the Israelites left Egypt at the time of the Exodus.

One thing is for certain, the Bible makes it clear that from the time of Joseph up until
the Exodus period about 200 and some years, that period of time must have been
very prosperous for Egypt. Many things that we see in Egypt today must have been
built in the time of great prosperity. No question about it at all.

Slavery and Exodus

But then what happens? Joseph dies. Then others die and then the Israelites begin to
get greater in power and numbers. It says that a new Pharaoh comes along, "a new
king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph" (Exodus 1:8). What it means in the
actual Hebrew is, he did not recognize Joseph. Do you know what this Pharaoh did?
He took the descendants of Joseph, the Israelites, and he made slaves out of them.
They had to build bricks. They built them with straw. Then to make sure that they
would be under greater servitude, Pharaoh even took the straw away. When you
start to make people slaves they get edgy. They do not like it. They want to get out.

Disturbances began to occur in the country, especially when Moses was called to lead
the children of Israel out of Egypt. What happened before the Israelites left Egypt?
Ten major plagues occurred that practically wiped out Egypt from a high degree of
prosperity that Egypt experienced from the time of Joseph down to the Exodus.
Those 10 plagues absolutely devastated Egypt.

Do you know what the last plague was? It was killing Pharaoh and most of the
Egyptian army in the Red Sea. That meant that all of the people who ruled Egypt, the
prosperous people, the business people, the army, plus all of the plagues that had
gone on before, it just reduced Egypt down to nothing.

The Bible says that Egypt was left in desolation, going from a period of high
prosperity in just a matter of weeks or certainly no more than months.

"And Pharaoh's servants said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare
unto us? let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God: know you
not yet that Egypt is destroyed?"

Exodus 10:7

The Israelites went into the Mount Sinai region, stayed there for a short while and
then they were told by God that they would have to wander 40 years in the
wilderness. They wandered for those 40 years and then went to the land of Canaan.
Even 40 years later Moses said that Egypt was still devastated,

"I speak not with your children which have not known, and which have not
seen the chastisement of the Lord your God, his greatness, his mighty hand,
and his stretched out arm, And his miracles, and his acts, which he did in
the midst of Egypt unto Pharaoh the king of Egypt, and unto all his land;
And what he did unto the army of Egypt , and how the Lord hath destroyed
them unto this day."
 Deuteronomy 11:24

They finally conquered most of the land of Canaan. But I will tell you something that
is most interesting. You have this piece of paper, you have the line of the flood at the
top. You have the line in the middle going down with Israel, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,
Joseph, and on the side you can put Egypt, what was happening there, then come
down to the Exodus and draw a horizontal like line. What happened there at the
Exodus was that devastation came into Egypt, devastation that wiped it out.

The Time of Judges in Israel

Then the Israelites went into the land of Canaan. They conquered the land, partially.
From that time down to the time of King Saul, a period of about 300+ years, you
read hardly of anything occurring in Egypt of any importance, or anything occurring
up in Mesopotamia and Assyria of any importance. But you know what you do find
occurring in the Bible? That was the period of the Judges. If you want to read of
great chaos going on in the world, in economics, in government (or lack of
government), of difficulties, read that pathetic story in the Bible during the time of
the Judges.

It is quite true that God allowed certain judges to come up like Samuel, Jephthah
and Othniel, and others to rescue Israel from their enemies from time to time, it was
a time of chaos, but it was a time when there was no real united nation, even of
Israel.

If Egypt would have been powerful or influential at that time, there would have been
some reference to that in the book of Judges. Do you know there is not one mention
of current affairs in Egypt in the entire period? The 2 or 3 times that Egypt is
mentioned, it refers to the past time of the Exodus, with no contemporary
information that Egypt had any prominence, power or even contact with the people
of Israel, not one word. Do you know what that shows? It shows that Palestine
during the some 300 years of the Judges was also in economic chaos, with social
disturbances, in difficulty, and not a united nation. It also shows that Egypt must
have been in the same condition as Israel. Indeed, if you want to carry it up to
Assyria and Mesopotamia, it must have been the same thing there.

The United Kingdom

Then what happens? King Saul finally comes along at the time of Samuel. He is
crowned king over Israel and unites the country. After King Saul comes King David.
He extends the boundaries of Israel down to Egypt and up to the River Euphrates. 3
He becomes very powerful at the end of his 40 years of reign. So powerful was he
that at the end of his reign he was able to attract all types of artisans, builders,
laborers and material to prepare to build the great Temple of God at Jerusalem. We
have this in the Bible, do we not? Put that down in the middle part of this paper of
what is happening in Palestine.

As soon as David dies, then who comes on? His son Solomon. Solomon was noted for
being a rich man, richest in all the world. He built the great Temple of God and many,
many other structures throughout Israel. Israel was very powerful as a united nation
at that time. The great Temple of God in Jerusalem was filled with gold and silver and
precious woods and furniture. It says "all the kings of the world came up to hear
Solomon in his great wisdom." 4 Even the Queen of Sheba came up from the
Egyptian area.

But if Israel was very great and powerful at that time, you would think also that
maybe Egypt had come back to a great power as well as Assyria. What happens
when one nation becomes powerful; and if it is in the central region of the world, it
tends to bring up others economically as well. This is the general principle. If a major
nation goes down to rock bottom, everything else goes to rock bottom. When ancient
Rome fell, all of Europe went down with it. All of North Africa went down with it.
When another nation comes up in Europe, like Great Britain, all of the other nations
seem to be brought up with it. It is normal. At the time of David, and particularly
that of Solomon, great wisdom and riches for 80 years were in Palestine. The same
thing is reflected in Egypt.

Israel Divided

After Solomon dies the Kingdom of Israel breaks into two. At this time in Egypt
read it in Isaiah 19 which speaks of Egypt at that time also breaking up into
several kingdoms. It says,

"The burden of Egypt. Behold, the Lord rides upon a swift cloud, and shall
come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and
the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it. And I will set the Egyptians
against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother,
and every one against his neighbor; city against city, and kingdom against
kingdom."

Isaiah 19:12

Even in Egypt, it seems that what was happening in central Palestine by Israel
splitting into two nations, the Kingdom of Israel up north and the Kingdom of Judah
in the south, the same thing was happening in other areas of the world. It is most
remarkable how things seem to dovetail around Israel, around central Palestine.

After about 200 and some odd years the northern 10 tribes of Israel were taken
captive by the Assyrians up north. That left only the Jews and those associated with
them around Jerusalem. From around 721 B.C.E. onward, that was all that was in
Palestine, the Jews and other Israelitish peoples that gathered around Jerusalem.
About 130 years later, around 586 B.C.E. even the Jews were taken captive up to
Babylon (not to Egypt). But at the time we read of Judah being taken captive, there
were Pharaohs mentioned in the Bible that we can identify with certain Pharaohs in
Egyptian history. We can begin to gain a good knowledge of what was happening in
Egypt from the ancient records that we have available.

Then after Judah was taken captive we find the Persians taking over, and then after
the Persians, finally the Greeks come along at the time of Alexander the Great. Then
we can know generally what happened in Egypt from that time forward.

Suggestions for Study

I have just given you a very brief overview. What you have to do, and this takes a lot
of effort, you must fill in all the history of that central region called Palestine, dealing
with Israel. Then go over on the side and meticulously, not only with biblical
references, but with references in the historical records, ancient monumental records
and archaeological records, try to fill in what was happening in Egypt, or if you go up
north, in Assyria, or Babylon, or places like that, and see if it dovetails in with the
central teaching about Israel. Once you do that you will find that the Bible can be the
main key to straighten out ancient Egypt.

All too briefly, I want to give you something here that will put you on the right track
in understanding ancient Egyptian history. All you have to do is take a chronological
trip down to Egypt and see these ancient monuments that come from certain periods
of time and if you can dovetail them into the biblical time periods, it will not only
make Egypt plainer, but it will make the Old Testament and the history of Israel more
comprehendible.

Manethos Dynastic List

Here is what the ancient records have brought down to us from about the 3rd century
before the birth of Christ. A man called Manetho, a priest of Egypt, wrote in Greek
the history of ancient Egypt. He said that from the first period of recorded history,
from a king known as Menes, supposedly the first recorded king of ancient Egypt,
from Menes time down to Alexander the Great, about 332 B.C.E., there were 31
different dynasties.

The word "dynasty" means a particular house or a family of kings or pharaohs. The
1st Dynasty was of one family and there were several pharaohs in that dynasty. Then
that family died out or married into some other and then a 2nd Dynasty came along,
and so many kings ruled there. Then a 3rd Dynasty and a 4th, and Manetho carries it
all the way down from the first pharaoh, Menes of the 1st Dynasty, to the time of
Alexander the Great, 31 dynasties total in ancient Egypt.

The interesting thing about this is that the first two dynasties was a time when Egypt
was not very powerful, obviously. They were just repopulating the earth after the
flood, if we take the biblical reports into account. There are not many records from
those first two dynasties. Do you know where Manetho, this Egyptian priest put the
first two dynasties? He said they had their authority and their government at a place
called Thebes, near Abydos, which is in Upper Egypt. That is where Egypt had its
beginning, according to Manetho. The ancient biblical name for this region was
Pathros. If a person would go to Ezekiel 29, Ezekiel himself says the place where
Egypt sought its nativity was in Pathros.

"And I will bring again the captivity of Egypt, and will cause them to return
into the land of Pathros, into the land of their habitation [birth]; and they
shall be there a base kingdom."

Ezekiel 29:14

Again we see that the Bible can help us understand Egyptian history better.

Pyramid Building
The 3rd Dynasty and the 4th, 5th and 6th dynasties were all, according to the ancient
records, pyramid building dynasties. The 1st and the 2nd dynasties were not. It
started out with a minimal type of pyramid building of a different type than we think
of when the word "pyramid" is mentioned. The first pyramid is called the Step
Pyramid of Zozer from the 3rd Dynasty. It was not a straight up and down pyramid. It
goes in steps finally coming up to more or less of a peak.

There is a most interesting thing in the ancient records about this Zozer. It says that
in his time the River Nile failed to come up for 7 years not 8 years, not 9 years,
not 6 years, not 5 but 7 years. Have you ever read anything in the Bible about 7
years that they did not have any food in Egypt, 7 lean years? You have it in Genesis
41 at the time of Joseph.

Joseph and Zozer phonetically almost sound alike. (I am not identifying the two
necessarily, but it is close to a biblical correlation.) At the time of Joseph, in the 7
lean years when people had no agriculture to work at, he would put them to building
things, monuments to God. The Great Pyramid was built in the 4th Dynasty by
Cheops. It was supposed to be built by a shepherd. You know who were noted for
being shepherds, do you not? People in Palestine. There could have been Israelites at
the time, helping Cheops to build the Great Pyramid.

Other pyramids were built after that, all the way up to the 6th Dynasty. When the 6th
Dynasty comes to an end, all of a sudden Egypt seems to go into complete oblivion,
into a sudden dark age. That blends in perfectly well with the Exodus period. Before
the Exodus the 10 plagues came along and just about wiped out Egypt. Interestingly,
when the 7th and the 8th dynasties proceeded after that, there are hardly any records
of them. The records that are available show that the land of Egypt was torn up in
chaos, invaders coming from the east. The great pyramid time had ended. That fits
in beautifully from the time of Joseph down to the Exodus period.

Those pyramids were built no doubt in the time when the Israelites were in Egypt.
However, most scholars would not agree with this. They would say that is much,
much too late. I want to tell you this, in this brief survey I am giving, it might even
sound ridiculous to say that, if you have studied ancient Egyptian history. We need a
book on this subject, I realize that we do, with maps and diagrams and things like
that, and a full co-relationship between Egyptian history and the biblical history
mentioned. We will get this book out one of these days, 5 and I do not think people
will be laughing so much at that, when they can finally see some co-relationships.

The Bible is Key

What I am giving you in this lecture is just a brief, brief survey of what was
happening in history. But I contend most strongly that the biblical revelation is the
key to the understanding of Egyptian history as well as it is to understanding
Assyrian and Babylonian history. This is because once you master the central area of
Palestine, you can then have the others. The 3rd, the 4th, the 5th, the 6th dynasties
were pyramid building dynasties. The 7th and 8th dynasties were time of great
oblivion, hardly anything going on. This continued on to the 9th and the 10th
dynasties.

With the 11th and the 12th dynasties located in Thebes in Upper Egypt (not down near
Cairo, but in Upper Egypt), during that time great engineering works were going on.
People have wondered if that was possibly in the time of King Solomon when things
were happening up in Israel? Well it might be, but the thing is, this time of chaos,
the 7th and 8th dynasties could dovetail very well with the Judges period of chaos and
difficulty in central Palestine. The interesting thing is that soon after the 12th Dynasty
of great glory, then great chaos comes along again. The 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th and 17th
dynasties were a time when Hyksos or people of the desert were coming into Egypt.
It could be that we have parallel dynasties, I do not know exactly. 6

But when you come to the 18th and 19th dynasties you have times there which could
parallel very well with the time of King Solomon. The 20th to the 25th Dynasty, there
are difficulties, showing several kingdoms in ancient Egypt. That is exactly what
Isaiah 19 says that Egypt was like at that time. When you come to the 26th Dynasty,
Pharaoh Necho is mentioned in the ancient records. Pharaoh Necho is also mentioned
in Jeremiah and in the book of Kings. So we can then dovetail that very well indeed.
From there on down to the time of Alexander the Great, there is no problem with the
understanding of Egyptian history.

So when you take all these 31 dynasties that Manetho mentioned, and get the
dynasties where pyramids were being built, when great monuments and temples
were being constructed and a great deal of wisdom literature was coming out, in
other words when society and culture was at a high level. Try to dovetail that with
biblical events that we are assured occurred when certain things were recorded.
Then when you have times in ancient Egypt mentioned by Manetho of great difficulty,
a dark age, invaders coming from other places and so forth, it will dovetail with the
biblical period.

Remember this, Isaiah 19 speaks about "kingdom against kingdom" in ancient

Egypt. Some of the dynasties are at different areas. The first two dynasties were at
Thebes. That was near Abydos in Upper Egypt. The 3rd, 4th and 6th dynasties were at
Memphis. That was in the Delta near Cairo. The 5th Dynasty was at Elephantine way
up the River Nile. Some of these dynasties that are mentioned by Manetho the Priest
could have been contemporaneous to one another and not successive to each other.

In actual fact if you will see Psalm 105:30, it says that at the time of the Exodus
from ancient Egypt there were kings, in the plural, pharaohs in the plural in ancient
Egypt. But we meet with only one pharaoh in the book of Exodus, but there were
other pharaohs at that time as well. We might find that there were contemporaneous
dynasties. In actual fact it looks very plain that the 5th Dynasty and the 6th Dynasty
mentioned by Manetho were not successive to one another but they were
contemporaneous with each other. They existed alongside one another at the same
time.

Once you get that into account then you can deflate some of these dynasties of
Egypt instead of making them go way back to 3,000, 4,000 B.C.E. They fit right into
the biblical period in most cases without any problem.

Contemporaneous Dynasties

It looks very plain that the 7th Dynasty and the 8th Dynasty, which was a time of
chaos and dark age in ancient Egypt, could very well parallel dynasties 13, 14, 15
and 16. You might say, how could that be? The thing is that we need a book on this
subject, and some have been written already that have started to straighten out
some of these things. What we have to do is to see if that parallels with the time of
the Judges. And it does marvelously well, as a matter of fact.

Then take the 11th and 12th dynasties which are very similar in some ways with what
was happening in the 3rd and 4th and 6th dynasties which were at Memphis in the
north. Do you know where the 11th and 12th were? They were at Thebes in the south.
So you see, perhaps even they could be contemporaneous with some of these
northern dynasties at that time. Then we come to Dynasty 17, that is the time of the
Hyksos when they were expelled from ancient Egypt. Then followed the mighty and
powerful 18th Dynasty and the 19th Dynasty successive to that. These could parallel
very well the time of King Solomon. Things were actually produced in the 18th
Dynasty in ancient Egypt that appear, the buildings for example, to look very similar
in design and architecture to what was occurring in Palestine at the time of King
Solomon.

What we have to do then is to realize that the Bible does say that there were kings
or different pharaohs in different parts, no doubt, of Egypt at various times. In Isaiah
19 it speaks about Egypt as a united country, that is true, but it had various
kingdoms in that united country.

To this very day we have Great Britain, called the United Kingdom. Since the last part
of the 18th century Wales and Scotland and Ireland and England, all kingdoms of
their own anciently, collectively became known as the United Kingdom. But you could
still talk about the Kingdom of Scotland, you could talk about the people in Wales
and they have the ancient kings of Ireland. That goes back many years. But you
have a united nation with various areas of that united nation with their own
traditions, with their own simple governments to a certain extent, collaborating with
a central main government. In the case of the United Kingdom it would be in
Whitehall, in London.

That is not a precise parallel, I know. But it gives you an idea of what could have
been happening in Egypt at some of these times. Some of these dynasties mentioned
by Manetho could be contemporaneous with one another, and they could blend in
very well with the overall biblical revelation.

Relevance

To make a long story short and to come down to our time right now, history can help
us understand prophecy. This is a most important thing. What we should do is get
the history of central Palestine in mind. Let the Bible be our guide on that. On the
side we can then put down information about Egypt, we can put down information
about Assyria and Babylon, and let the Bible, which we consider as Gods word, be
the general guide it will then be the main key to help us understand the past as far
as Egypt and these other nations are concerned. Once that is the case, then we can
look at prophecies that Isaiah wrote, Jeremiah wrote, Ezekiel wrote and the 12 Minor
Prophets wrote about a future Egypt. They wrote about things to occur at the end of
the age, about a period of time just before the Kingdom of God emerges on earth.
They were written in the language of the 8th or 7th or 6th centuries B.C.E., that is quite
true. But speaking of our time today, once we get the history of Egypt straightened
out, with the Bible being the key, we will then have the basis to comprehend what
the prophecies of Israel and Assyria and Egypt are for the future.
What will happen with Egypt, must be based upon the history. History is the basis for
the present and for the future. I hope that all of you will appreciate the history of
ancient Israel as the central key, but also Egypt and other countries, and with Gods
blessing and help to each of us, we can all gather in as much understanding as we
can on these things because I tell you there will come a reinstitution of events and
knowledge and understanding. Understanding of prophecy will be increased.

I cannot help but believe that we are just on the threshold of understanding many
new things of ancient history which will help illumine our present and also the future.
Let us keep our eyes on the Middle East. Keep our eyes on history. Keep our eyes on
the biblical revelation, because it is as up-to-date today as it ever has been. If we
hope to understand the next few years in advance of us, let us understand the last
few thousand in Israel, in Assyria, in Babylon and let us not forget Egypt, one of the
most grand and beautiful countries you will ever want to see.

If you want to see periods of time, mentioned no doubt in the Bible, in which the
people of God in some cases, help to build beautiful and wonderful monuments,
some of them bad as time went on, some of them very, very good. Take a trip to
ancient Egypt and you will see what the glory of man can be with God backing him
up and what the future of man can be if we can only learn to solve our problems and
learn to love one another, start respecting each other and apply the principles of
Jesus Christ.

When the great millennium comes, we will have that in our grasp. Egypt and Assyria
will be a third with Israel (Isaiah 19:24). I look forward to that time.

Ernest L. Martin, 1981

Edited by David Sielaff, June 2003

1
By "flanks" I mean on one side of Israel and on the other side of Israel.
Mesopotamia in the north with Babylon and Assyria and then down in the
southern quarter where we have Egypt. ELM

2 Potiphar was, "an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian"

(Genesis 39:1).

3
See 2 Samuel 27:8 and 2 Samuel 7:29.

4
See 1 Kings 4:2034.

5
Unfortunately, no book on this subject was written by Dr. Martin. One book has
made considerable progress accomplishing what Dr. Martin recommends in this
article. It is Synchronized Chronology: Rethinking Middle East Antiquity by Roger
Henry (New York: Algora Publishing, 2003). It offers a correction to Egyptian
chronology and resolves major problems in biblical and Greek archaeology, where
discrepancies often occur between findings of archaeology and literary history.
DWS
6
Some have wondered whether dynasties were duplicated, one dynasty with Greek
names and the same dynasty listed with Egyptian names. This is possible in some
cases.

1 One such contractor company is Apache Oil, which has made substantial
discoveries in the Egyptian Western Desert. Production has begun on those oil
and gas reserves at a time when oil prices are at all time historical highs. See
Apaches News Release of October 2007 at
http://investor.apachecorp.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=271304

Egypts Past
Abraham sojourned in Egypt before Israel became a nation from Abrahams
descendants. Egypt played a significant role in Israels early existence when a
small number of Israelites came to the land of Egypt to escape famine during
the time of Joseph, his brothers, and their father Jacob. The land was rich
and lush for the Israelites to be prosperous in Egypt. The few members of
Israel grew and multiplied in Egypt (Acts 7:17) to a great number, so that
the people of Israel were perceived as a threat by the Egyptian king,
endangering native Egyptian control over their own land:
Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. And he
said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more
and mightier than we: Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they
multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there fall out any war, they join
also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the
land.
Exodus 1:810
In spite of its pagan roots, there was great wisdom in Egypt, as there is in
every human society, culture, and people. But the wisdom of Egypt is
lacking. It does not come from Gods revelation. Moses was fully taught and
knew all that Egypt could teach:
Learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and
deeds.
Acts 7:22
Gods judgment upon Egypt came by the plagues that crushed the power of
Egypt, denigrated Egyptian gods, and forced Pharaoh to let Gods people
depart for the Promised Land. Still later, Gods judgment was pronounced
upon Egypt by Jeremiah the prophet (Jeremiah 46:126). That judgment was
partially accomplished by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon who conquered Egypt
and all of North Africa. The Babylonian system was imposed upon Egypt, just
as it was imposed upon all nations of the world. Read Dr. Martins article
Prophetic Birth of Our Civilization which shows from Scripture that the
entire world came under the Babylonian rule of king Nebuchadnezzar (see
Jeremiah 25:1719). That Babylonian system is with us to this present day.
I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, ...
and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me. And now have I
given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon,
my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him.
And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son, until the very
time of his land come: and then many nations and great kings shall serve
themselves of him.
Jeremiah 27:57
Not only did biblical texts predict that Nebuchadnezzar would force Egypt to
submit to its power, but Josephus states that it actually occurred. See
Antiquities 10.219227 where Josephus cites the 4th century BC Greek
author Megasthenes that Nebuchadnezzar conquests went to Libya and as far
as present day Spain (10.227). In other words, he conquered all of North
Africa. Daniel confirms that Nebuchadnezzars dominion was indeed
worldwide:
It is you, O king, that are grown and become strong: for your greatness is
grown, and reaches unto heaven, and your dominion to the end of the
earth.
Daniel 4:22
As Dr. Martin makes clear in this months article, large portions of the
prophecies in Jeremiah and Ezekiel have not yet been fulfilled. Another
Nebuchadnezzar shall arise, the antichrist, who will complete the unfulfilled
prophecies spoken against Egypt by the prophets.

There is much work to be done to study, discover, and understand which

parts of those prophecies regarding Egypt are yet to have a future fulfillment,
and in what manner they will be fulfilled. It will take time, perhaps decades,
to learn, synthesize, and teach to the world the sequence of events,
separating past from future fulfillments.
Egypts Present and Near Future
The condition of the land and people of Egypt at present is that of extreme
poverty. That will change, as Dr. Martins presentation relates, to a period of
great prosperity just before Christs Second Coming. That poverty will soon
change. Once prosperity begins in Egypt, the many expatriates (who are
employed around the Middle East, in Europe, in America and in wealthy parts
of Asia) will return to their Egyptian homeland to partake of the increasing
affluence through hard work and productivity, using skills learned in foreign
lands.
Egypts Farther Future
Besides Jeremiah 46:126 noted earlier, look carefully at Ezekiel chapters
2932. Some portions of Ezekiels prophecies have occurred, other portions
have not occurred. They are yet future to us.
After Christs Second Coming, and after the end of 40 years of great
devastation and desolation of the land when all of Egypt will be unoccupied
(beginning near the time of Christs return), after that time period, Egypts
future is to be glorious. It will become one of the three top nations of the
world in prosperity, power, and influence along with Assyria, and the top
nation of all, Israel (Isaiah 19:2225).

The Coming Splendor of Egypt

 by Ernest L. Martin, Ph.D., 1981
Edited and expanded by David Sielaff, December 2007

Some 5 years ago in 1977, we published a special Prophetic Report titled Egypts
Return to Greatness. 1 We started that article with this statement:

How could a nation with 35 million people and a mere $175 per capita
annual income ever rise to greatness? Yet the Bible says this most populous
country of the Arab world 2 is destined to become one of the great nations of
the world in the years ahead of us. Egypt is prophesied to become a major
commercial, financial, political, and military power with a significant role to
play in end-time prophecy. Riches are coming and the Bible foretells it. The
story of how this somewhat backward nation will be able to make these
drastic advances is extremely fascinating.

That is what the introduction was back in that 1977 article. I say now in 1981 the
same thing. It is a fascinating story and biblical prophecy is going to come alive in
the next few years to show just exactly what will be occurring with this nation called
Egypt, this ancient nation that has been there for millennia. It is going to come back
into prominence according to biblical prophecy.

Here we are in 1981. We see no reason for changing our minds on that evaluation
which we made five years ago. There is no doubt to us that Egypt is destined to
control much more territory in Africa, and come to relative riches and certainly much
more political prestige and importance in the years ahead of us. According to the
Bible, Egypt is destined to control or to head an alliance with Ethiopia and Sudan in
the south, Libya in the west, and likely all the countries of North Africa almost to the
Atlantic Ocean. If you would include all that territory into what might be called a new
United States of North Africa under the leadership of Egypt, it would embrace more
territory than the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii.

We may be getting ready to see Egypts move toward the west to fulfill some of
these prophecies where it shows its leadership and dominance in this North African
territory. The shooting down of two Libyan jets by elements of the United States 6 th
Fleet has caused tempers to flare in that area, not only between the United States
and Libya, but also between Egypt and Libya. Anwar Sadat 3 publicly stated that Col.
Qadhafi, the dictator of Libya deserves to be executed for that and other acts of
barbarism. There are thousands of Egyptian and Libyan troops facing each other on
the border between the two nations at the present time. 4

What Does Prophecy Show?

Prophecy shows a league of peoples directed by Egypt, extending about 2,000 miles
southward into the area of Sudan and Ethiopia (including those two countries), and
westward some 2,000 miles to include Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and perhaps even
Morocco. The new confederation could possibly be Egypt, the New Egypt, or the
United States of North Africa, whatever. It will be a combination of nations that will
have great influence not only in the Middle East but also throughout Europe and the
world. It will vitally affect the United States and everybody else when this huge
confederation comes to pass.

5
Figure 1. Approximate Area Under Discussion (maybe larger)
The biggest obstacle to securing this landmass for Egypt at the present time is Libya
just to the west of Egypt. What about Qadhafi himself? Perhaps he could bring about
this confederation of nations if he could take over Egypt. But it is very unlikely from
prophecy that the nation of Libya could seize Egypt. On the other hand, it seems
most likely that Egypt will finally take over Libya. Once that is accomplished we will
find that from then on it will be like a domino effect throughout North Africa and into
the south, including almost the totality of the Sahara, that great desert region of the
world. It will all come under Egypts control, according to prophecy.

Let us not sell that region short. It is bigger than the United States of America. Do
you realize that underneath those sands are great quantities of oil? Great power,
prestige, and political significance would be found by any nation that can control
almost half of the African continent. It would be a very powerful political unit in the
world today, and the Bible says these things will happen.

I ask all of you, how many of you have ever heard any prophetic interpreters say
such a thing that we have been talking about in the last few minutes? Hardly anyone.
They think about a United States of Europe. They maybe think of a United States of
North America or something like that, they even think perhaps of Southeast Asia
coming together. But how many people ever thought that the whole of North Africa,
with great oil wealth and other minerals in the region, some of which are yet
untapped, how many of us have heard of that before?

It is time we begin to look at some of these prophecies of the Bible that show Egypt
is coming back into power and great prominence. Egypt will control much of this
area. It will start occurring in the next few years because we know that these things
have to take place according to the Bible not long before the Second Advent of our
Lord back to this earth. I do not think we have very long to wait to see Egypt starting
to make her moves. Let us watch Egypt. It is very weak, it looks like at the present
time, but Egypt, headed by Anwar Sadat (whether he will be here at the time when
this takes place or not) we do not know, but whoever leads, Egypt will play a
prominent role. It looks like it will be the number one Arab country in the world to
bring stability to the area of the Southern Mediterranean basin.

Daniels Prophecies

How can we know that all of these things that I have been talking about will occur?
The Bible has some specific prophecies about these matters. Many people have
overlooked them in the past. What we ought to do first is to look at the basis to
these prophecies that we find in the number one prophetical book of the Old
Testament. This book is the number one chronological sequence book of the entirety
of the Bible. This book is Daniel. I want to take you to Daniel chapter 11. This is the
longest chronological prophecy that you will find in the Bible. Daniel wrote it in the
6th century before Christ, about 600 years (not quite) before the birth of Christ.

What Daniel has to give us here are some very interesting prophecies. We do not
have time to go into that at present, but I want to take you to the overall prophecy
of Daniel chapters 11 and 12. It speaks about the history of the world as it existed in
the time Daniel gave this prophecy near the beginning of the 6th century BC, about
534 BC or somewhere in that time.

We find in Daniel 11:2 the angel Gabriel coming to Daniel and telling him this long
prophecy and Daniel recorded it: And now will I show you the truth. This
truth is about a book mentioned in the previous chapter of Daniel. It is a book of
prophecy. This book of prophecy has the truth of what will occur future to Daniel,
going all the way out to the resurrection of the dead and the time that Gods
kingdom appears here on earth. It is a grand prophecy that gives an overview, a
prophetic scenario from the time of the Babylonian and Persian empires all the way
through until the Time of the End. So Gabriel is saying:

And now will I show you the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three
kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they all: and by his
strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia.
And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and
do according to his will. And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be
broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven;

Daniel 11:24

EXCURSUS: From this point I cut out the equivalent of 7 paragraphs of text. In
those paragraphs Dr. Martin describes how the prophecy of the Book of Truth was
historical until Daniel 11:36, then it referred to a prophetic time future to us.

Years after Dr. Martin gave this lecture further research required that he modify this
view and he came to understand that ALL of the Book of Truth dealt prophetically
with a time still future to us today. Therefore, Dr. Martins later understanding of this
prophecy was that none of the Book of Truth (Daniel 11:212:3) is history.
This means that the entire Book of Truth (alternately called the Scripture of Truth)
has yet to be fulfilled. See Dr. Martins 1989 article New Discoveries in History and
Prophecy at http://www.askelm.com/prophecy/p021102.htm, and also his 1997
Balkans in Prophecy article at http://www.askelm.com/prophecy/p971103.htm.

Even more surprising is what Dr. Martin wrote in 1999 about these events of this
prophecy in his article The Geography of Heaven
(http://www.askelm.com/doctrine/d990501.htm):

Indeed, virtually all of the prophetic teaching about Persia, Javan, the King
of the North and the King of the South in what we call the Scripture [or,
Book] of Truth (Daniel 10:21 and recorded in Daniel chapter 11 to 12:4) is
describing WARS IN HEAVEN and NOT on earth! These wars in part are
between the archangels Gabriel and Michael and the angelic Prince of Persia
and the angelic Prince of Javan, with the angelic powers called the Kings of
the North and the Kings of the South.

Underlining mine, DWS

I find this statement by Dr. Martin difficult to understand how this works out,
although he explains that repercussions will occur to physical nations on earth from
the heavenly events. You will do well to review the article. Much work needs to be
done to sort out heavenly and terrestrial distinctions of prophecy, and particularly in
Daniels Book of Truth prophecy. Does this heavenly fulfillment apply to any other
prophecies? If so, then strong proofs should be shown.

I will now move to the portion of this presentation (originally a taped lecture)
beginning in Daniel 11:36 describing the interaction of the king of the north with a
revitalized and prosperous Egypt. Other prophecies than just Daniel chapters 11 and
12 describe Egypts wealth and power at the time of the end just before Christs
Second Coming. They will be considered after dealing with Daniel chapters 11 and 12

DWS

The King of the North

It says in Daniel 11:36 that a king will come up from the kingdom of the north who:

And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and
magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvelous things against
the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for
that that is determined shall be done. Neither shall he regard the God of his
fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify
himself above all.

Daniel 11:3637

Note the details about what this king shall do:

 He shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods, and shall
prosper till the indignation be accomplished (Daniel 11:36).

He will not regard the God of his fathers.

He will not regard the desire of women, which is Tammuz, the ancient
god referred to by women. 6

He will not regard any god; for he shall magnify himself above all
(Daniel 11:37).

When you put this all together you will find that this king is none other than the
Beast, or the antichrist mentioned in the New Testament. But it also speaks about
him becoming very great. This is at the end of the age because this king finally will
establish his capital, as it says in verse 45, between the two seas, meaning the
Mediterranean and the Dead Sea, which is Jerusalem. He will have a world kingdom.
This is also shown in the Book of Revelation chapter 13. 7

Immediately after Michael and his angels stand up and a great time of trouble takes
place. That is in Daniel chapter 12. Then suddenly there is an introduction of God
into the picture and the resurrection of the dead takes place and the Kingdom of God
emerges on earth. There can be no doubt that from Daniel 11:36 through 12:4, this
last part of this prophecy has to do with the End Time.

The King of the North Attacks Egypt

Look specifically at verse 40 of chapter 11 of Daniel. It brings us right down to the

End Time, according to Daniel. It says that this king of the north, now called this
great king who is none other than the Beast or the antichrist, what is he going to do
right near the end of the age?

And at the time of the end shall the king of the south [Egypt] push at him:
and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with
chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into
the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. 8

Daniel 11:40

He is not only coming with cavalry, which means land forces, but he is also coming
with naval power. With land and sea power, he will go into the area of the kingdom of
the south.

He shall enter also into the glorious land [meaning Palestine and Israel], and
many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand,
even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.

Daniel 11:41

These last three are the areas east of the Jordan River apparently will not come
under the grasp of this king at this particular time. Then it goes on to say that this
northern king:
He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries [those just
mentioned]: and the land of Egypt shall not escape. But he shall have power

Daniel 11:4243

Verse 43 is the reason I want to bring you to this prophecy, to show you that at the
end of the age, just prior to the time that Michael stands up for his people, and the
resurrection of the dead takes place, which is future to us, just before that time this
northern king comes through Palestine but then he attacks Egypt. Notice the state
that Egypt will be in very near the Second Coming of our Lord. It says:

But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over
all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be
at his steps.

Daniel 11:43

That is most interesting. Egypt today is a land impoverished, as I read from our 1976
article Egypts Return to Greatness. That is a prophecy that comes from the Bible.
But at present Egypt is a nation that does not have many people of wealth at all.
Most people are poor. In fact, Egypt is one of the poorest countries in the world. It is
interesting that it says when this northern king comes into Egypt very near the end
of the age he will have power over the treasures of gold and of silver in
Egypt.

I wonder how in the world Egypt acquires all of that treasure, because it must be a
relative thing. This man from the north must be going into Egypt to get these
treasures, this gold and silver, from the point of view that he must have lots of it
himself, and he seeks to gain more. It is a relative thing. It shows that we will soon
see Egypt coming into greatness. Where are they going to get that money? Where is
it going to come from? From where is that power and prestige going to originate? 9

Let us go on. It says one other thing in the middle part of verse 43: and the
Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps. This king is not only going to
take over Egypt, he is taking over Libya and Ethiopia. Ethiopia in the Old Testament
period included the Sudan as well as Ethiopia today. It really embraces almost all of
the River Nile area, going 2,000 miles south of the Mediterranean Sea, way down
into central Africa. This area of Ethiopia is also going to be taken over by this
northern king.

It also says Libya here, Lubim, as it is in the Hebrew. The word Lubim has been
found on the Egyptian monuments. It means the people who lived to the west. That
land goes way out into the west. It could mean even farther west than our present
day Libya, which is an artificial country, as we know. 10 But Libya is there and Col.
Qadhafi is presently in charge of it. Libya has a large amount of oil underneath those
sands.

When this northern king takes over Egypt, at the same time Ethiopia and Libya shall
fall. It seems to show that they are in an alliance with one another the time. As soon
as he takes over this North African area, this area of great riches with treasures of
gold and silver, then this northern king redirects his direction.

It says in Daniel 11:44: But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall
trouble him. This king has his headquarters in Syria and in Babylon, in Iraq and
parts of Iran and eastern Turkey at that time. That is where he will have the central
part of his kingdom. At that time however, he gets tidings out of the east and
out of the north. What is east and north of Iraq and Syria? Just look at a
global map. You have Russia to the north, you have farther to the east China and
India. It says that from the north and from the east, tidings are going to come about
that will disturb him.

You know what many people have said? They have said that the Russian hordes are
going to come down and destroy him. What nonsense! They do not even read what it
says. Do you know what the last part of verse 44 says? After he has taken over the
United States of North Africa, if we can call it that, the Egyptian confederation of
nations larger than the United States of America (which I shall show you in a
moment from another prophecy), then he gets these tidings from the north and the
east.

The rest of the world is beginning to say that this king is taking over too much
territory. He is getting too much influence and prestige. We have to do something
about it.

But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him [this
beast]: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to
make away many.

Daniel 11:44

He will conquer the north and the east. It is not the north and east conquering him.
He is going out to conquer them. Do you know what he will do? He will succeed. That
is what the prophecy says. He takes over the entire Eurasian continent, and he
already has the North African part of the African continent. If you get the North
African, you have the southern part of Africa. If you have the north and the east of
the Eurasian hinterland, you have the rest of it practically. Once he gets all of that,
and it says that is what he is going to do with great fury to destroy, and utterly
to make away many, he will have control of the world right in his grasp. The
United States of America and Canada and the South American countries are not
mentioned in this prophecy, but we would not have a chance in the world of trying to
overcome him at this time, as other prophecies show in the Bible.

Once he conquers the Eurasian continent, notice what happens in verse 45:

And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the
glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help
him.

Daniel 11:45
Again, between the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean, he will put his palace. Do you
know where that is? That is Jerusalem. His palace will be the Temple. Paul says there
shall come a man who will go into the Temple calling himself God, which is a
reference to this king here from verse 36 down to verse 38. There is no question who
is being talked about here. It is the Beast. It is the antichrist. Once he establishes his
tabernacles in Jerusalem, he will call himself the Christ returned to the earth.

There will be at that time a great exodus of spiritual powers from heaven described
in the 12th chapter of Revelation. Satan and his angels will be expelled at that time.
Most people will think that is none other than Christ Jesus and His angels coming
back at the Second Coming.

The point I am trying to show in verses 42 and 43 is that the last two things this king
has to do to finalize his world domination are going to take over:

1. Egypt and the North African countries, and then

2. the countries north and east of his own central territory which means the
landmass of Eurasia.

Once he accomplishes these tasks he is able then to set up his tabernacles at

Jerusalem. Then he shall claim himself to be king of the world, the great Messiah
that the world has been expecting for so long.

I say though that the last part of verse 45 says that when this king does this: yet
he shall come to his end, and none shall help him because in chapter 12 of
Daniel it says:

And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which stands for
the children of your people: and there shall be a time of trouble,

Daniel 12:1

Deliverance will come. The resurrection from the dead will occur soon afterward. The
Kingdom of God will soon emerge when this individual is finally put down and the
true Messiah, Jesus Christ, comes on the earth and establishes His kingdom over the
world in Jerusalem.

This all shows that Egypt and North Africa will be very rich, relatively so, at the end
time. However, another prophecy speaks about the end time, and it also shows the
extension of Egyptian territory.

Ezekiels Prophecies about Egypt

Look at some prophecies in the Book of Ezekiel which have never yet happened in
history. Some men who lived in ancient history are mentioned in a few of these
prophecies, but the events themselves have never yet occurred. There is no question
about it.

In the article we wrote some 5 years ago, we mentioned several prophecies in the
Book of Ezekiel that were never fulfilled. Several of them refer to modern Egypt at
the end of the age. One of these prophecies is found in Ezekiel chapters 29 and 30.
God is speaking to Ezekiel about 600 years before Christ:

The word of the YHWH came again unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy
and say, Thus says the Lord YHWH; Howl you, Woe worth [alas] the day!

Ezekiel 30:12

This is a great woe, a great dirge that is being given out here. It is a prophecy by
God against the nations. Which nations? You will see in a moment.

For the day is near, even the day of YHWH is near, a cloudy day; it shall be
the time of the heathen [the nations].

Ezekiel 30:3

This is when God is coming against the nations of the world in judgment. Recall this
is the Day of the Lord (YHWH). Now this phrase itself may not give a person
confidence to believe that it means the future, just prior to the Second Coming of
Christ. However, when you put Ezekiel chapters 29 and 30 altogether and study the
two chapters together as a unit (and you should do that extensively), you will find
that there are things here that have never happened in ancient history before, but
they will happen in the Day of the Lord just prior to the Second Coming of Christ.
There is hardly any doubt about that if you are going to look on the Scripture as
giving reliable information.

It talks about the Day of the Lord. This day is also mentioned in Revelation 1:10.
That is when John the apostle was taken forward in spirit into the Day of the Lord
and he saw certain things that he was told by Christ to write down. He wrote them
down and as a result we have all 22 chapters of the Book of Revelation. What are
those chapters about? Anyone with any sense ought to know they have to do with
the End Time, the time of the great holocaust, the time of the Beast and the
antichrist, and finally the Second Coming of Christ and the judgment on the nations
of the world. We find all that in the Book of Revelation.

In Revelation 1:10 John was taken forward into the Day of the Lord to see these
things occur. Ezekiel is saying the same thing about the Day of the Lord.

For the day is near, even the day of YHWH is near, a cloudy day [a dark
day]; it shall be the time of the heathen [when God will start judging the Gentile
nations of the world]. And the sword shall come upon Egypt, and great pain
shall be in Ethiopia [south of Egypt, including the Sudan, as in Daniel], when the
slain shall fall in Egypt, and they shall take away her multitude, and her
foundations shall be broken down.

Ezekiel 30:34

Notice verse 5 below. Along with this downfall of Egypt and Ethiopia, it mentions an
entire string of nations that almost all the commentators, including Jewish and
Gentile, recognize as referring to nations that stretch out west of Egypt, all the way
no doubt to the Atlantic Ocean.
Ethiopia, and Libya, and Lydia, and all the mingled people, and Chub, and
the men of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword.

Ezekiel 30:5

The first nation is Ethiopia. That is south up the Nile. Notice the next, and Libya.
Notice the next, Lydia. This Lydia here is not the Lydia in Asia Minor, but it is in North
Africa. It says and all the mingled people. The word in the Hebrew is Arab.
Arab means dark. It means like sundown, after the sun goes down. Even the Arab
peoples are named after this phrase here the mingled people. It means Arab
peoples that live west of Egypt and going toward the Atlantic Ocean. It is most
interesting that the very phrase Arab has to do with what we might call through the
Greek Hesperia. Hesperia means the western part, the dark part where the sun
goes down. 11 It is known today in North Africa as the Maghreb. That is what they
call it. Maghreb means the place of mingled peoples, the Arab peoples, the dark. 12

Here is a reference. You might not see it too well in the King James Version, but that
is the mistake of the translators. It is talking about people west of Egypt, going
farther west than Libya. Now we are coming into the present area of Algeria. It also
mentions Chub. No one knows exactly where this was located, but most recognize
that it certainly is a North African area that was well known by Ezekiel. 13 Then it
says and the men of the land that is in league, shall fall with them [with
Egypt] by the sword (Ezekiel 30:5). All of these nations are with Egypt. They are
in confederation with Egypt. You could take it to mean that they are under the
control of Egypt because when Egypt falls, all these nations fall. That is most
interesting when you think about it.

It says in the King James Version and the men of the land that is in league,
shall fall with them. If you translate that from the original Hebrew, it actually
says and the men of the covenant land shall fall. Whoever heard of a
covenant land way out in North Africa, somewhere that Ezekiel must have known
about? Ezekiels covenant land must have been Israel, you would have thought, the
land given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

We know from history, and I do not have time to give this right now, but it shows
that in the time of Ezekiel and going back to the time of Solomon, there were many
Jewish and Israelite settlements in North Africa in the region that we call Morocco
today. 14 It was so filled with Jews that they sent representatives to Solomon to pay
their taxes. I am not talking about any British Israelite theory or anything of that
nature. I am talking about real information that the Jews of North Africa and of
southern Spain in the old days have maintained for themselves.

It is clear that this Covenant land that is mentioned is not the Covenant land of Israel
that you would think Ezekiel would be talking about, but it is a land west of Egypt,
west of Libya, west of the mingled people, west of Chub; and there it is the Covenant
Land, North Africa. It could very well be speaking about Morocco itself. I know that is
interpretation, but I am giving you the interpretation from what the people of ancient
times believed.

A sword will come upon Egypt (Ezekiel 30:5). That is what it says. And a great
difficulty will occur to them. The king of the north will take them over. Ezekiel chapter
29 speaks of the same overthrow. It says there that Egypt itself will be so desolated
 it even says from the northern part of Egypt down to the third cataract of the Nile
(that is about where the Aswan Dam is at the present time) all that region will be
so desolated that for 40 years it will not be inhabited by man. That has never
occurred in history.

Most people have felt that the 40 years desolation of Egypt that Ezekiel talks about
took place back there in the 6th century BC when Nebuchadnezzar came in and
supposedly destroyed Egypt. That is a bunch of nonsense. That was the time of the
26th dynasty of Egypt. We have absolute records by a Greek historian who lived no
longer than 100 years after that event, Herodotus by name. Herodotus said the
Egyptian priests, and the monuments constructed in the 26th Dynasty, indicate that
Egypt was more prosperous than it had ever been in history with over 20,000 cities
over the land. That is in the 6th century BC. 15 That 40 years desolation of Egypt
mentioned in Ezekiel chapter 29 did not take place back in the 6th century. It is for a
fulfillment future to us. This is one of the reasons why you can know it is for the
future, because that prophecy has never yet been fulfilled.

Followed right on by that is chapter 30 of Ezekiel, the one I have been telling you
about, where the whole of North Africa including south to the Sudan and Ethiopia still
further in the south, this vast territory of North Africa, that encompasses an area
greater than the United States of America, is going to fall when Egypt falls. It will fall
by a new Nebuchadnezzar who will come along, a new king of Babylon called the
king of the north.

It goes on to say in chapter 30 of Ezekiel that after this war is over, when Egypt and
the rest of these nations in league with it fall, there will no longer be a descendant of
Egypt that will be allowed to rule Egypt.

Many people have said again that this was back in the 6th century BC when that was
supposed to take place. But the 29th and 30th dynasties of Egypt, just prior to the
time of Alexander the Great (4th century BC) were both dynasties ruled by native
Egyptians. That prophecy of Ezekiel chapter 30 has not happened yet. In fact it may
be a surprise to you but the former ruler of Egypt, Gamal Abdel Nasser and the
present ruler [in 1981] Anwar Sadat, are both from a group of Egyptians known as
the Farooni people 16 who claim to be, and there are good historical records to show,
that they are the descendants of the ancient Pharaohs themselves (Farooni people =
Pharaohs). They are Egyptian people ruling over Egypt. That prophecy in Ezekiel
chapter 30 has not yet occurred.

I will tell you this: in my opinion these chapters 29 and 30 of Ezekiel are yet to take
place just prior to the Second Coming of our Lord. It is not very much in advance of
us as far as I am concerned. It means that Egyptian influence will come to an end,
that is quite true, but not until Egypt has developed a complex of nations and a
control over nations that embraces the entirety of the North African continent.

It is no wonder it will have great riches and great gold and silver because underneath
those sands there, though it may be hostile on the surface, those sands contain
great wealth, oil wells 17 and all of that. Egypt is prophesied to be Israels friend at
this time at the end of the age. Did you know that? That is most interesting.

Egypts Absence in Psalm 83

I want you to look at Psalm 83. You will find ten nations mentioned in Psalm 83 that
will come against Israel. This has never happened in history. All of those nations who
are against Israel are to the north of Israel with the exception of the Philistines just
in the Gaza Strip. It is most remarkable that Egypt is conspicuous for its absence. At
the end of the age Israel and Egypt will be in league with one another.

Am I interpreting this from hindsight? Because in the last 5 years there has been a
league between the two. We know that. But you can study every single one of the
major prophecies dealing with the End Time and you will find of them show that
Judah will be in some kind of an alliance with Egypt. That is exactly what we have at
the present time. 18

In the past Judah trusted in Egypt as its ally. In fact, look at Ezekiel chapter 29. It
says that Judah was depending too much upon Egypt, but when this new king of the
north comes, this new Nebuchadnezzar:

And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am YHWH, because they
[Egypt] have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel. When they took hold
of you by your hand, you did break, and rend all their shoulder: and when
they leaned upon you, you broke, and made all their loins to be at a stand.

Ezekiel 29:67

Though it is a little complicated to understand right on the surface, read Ezekiel

29:67 carefully. It shows that at the end of the age Israel or Judah will be relying
on a league with Egypt. When Israel falls with this king of the north coming through,
then Egypt will fall soon after.

Isaiahs Prophecies of Egypt

There are several other prophecies of the Bible that show the same thing. Isaiah
chapter 19:17 shows that at that time Judah will be very, very powerful and that
Egypt will actually be afraid of Judah, but they will be in general league with one
another.

In that day shall Egypt be like unto women: and it shall be afraid and fear
because of the shaking of the hand of YHWH of hosts, which he shakes over
it. And the land of Judah shall be a terror unto Egypt, every one that makes
mention thereof shall be afraid in himself, because of the counsel of YHWH
of hosts, which he has determined against it [Egypt].

Isaiah 19:1617

Zechariah Prophecies of Egypt

Zechariah 12:16 says that at the End Time just prior to the Second Coming of
Christ, a few years before He sets His feet down on the Mount of Olives, it says that
all the nations around Jerusalem will fear the people of Israel or the people of Judah.

The burden of the word of YHWH for Israel, says YHWH, which stretches
forth the heavens, and lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit
of man within him. Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all
the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah
and against Jerusalem.

And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all
that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people
of the earth be gathered together against it.

In that day, says YHWH, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his
rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and
will smite every horse of the people with blindness. And the governors of
Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my
strength in YHWH of hosts their God.

In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among
the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the
people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall
be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.

Zechariah 12:16

What happens is this: at this time there will be a continuation of the league and
covenant between Egypt and Israel. There may be some falling out at times, that is
true, but at the very end, in a few years from now, Judah (Israel) will start relying
upon this power of the south called Egypt, this new United States of North Africa,
with all the oil wealth and things of that nature. It will begin relying on Egypt. God
says do not do it because both will be destroyed when the king of the north, the
antichrist, sets up his kingdom in Jerusalem.

Egypt could possibly take over Libya peaceably in the next few months or in the next
few years without a war. In my view that is highly unlikely. All of the signs show that
Egypt will take over Libya. If it takes over Libya and that wealth of oil there, it is
easy to take over Tunisia and Algeria. It is a little more difficult with Morocco
perhaps; it is far away. It is easier to take Sudan and Ethiopia. All we know is that
these nations will be in league together near to and right at the end of the age. They
will present a great power to the world. It will not only affect the Middle East, but
Asia, Europe, and the United States. 19

I think that it is time we watch what is happening in the Middle East. All of the
Biblical prophecies focus in on that area. We must keep our minds sharp and realize
that the majority of these prophecies in Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the ones I have been
referring to in Ezekiel, have never had a historical fulfillment or relevance in the past.
Some of them have, but not the ones to which I have been referring. They have
something to do with the future.

The prophetic scenario is now beginning to take place. Daniel chapter 11 will come
alive as never before. Let us keep our eyes on the Middle East, and also North Africa,
realizing that we will see some vast geopolitical changes taking place in the world in
the next few years. Watch Egypt. It will come back in a way you cannot imagine. I
tell you this, the Middle East is the place to watch.
 Ernest L. Martin, 1981
Edited by David Sielaff, December 2007

Addendum: Egypts Future

by David Sielaff

Egypt will never again be the leading nation on earth as it once was in ancient
history. However, it will achieve a place in power and prestige during the millennium.
Egypt will be a nation third in power after Israel, which will be first, and Assyria.
These three nations will dominate the world in the future.

Egypt will also develop wealth by the productive capacity and brilliance of their own
population, exploiting the natural resources under the earth. As their people struggle
out of poverty, the natural brilliance of the Egyptian people will burst forth. 20

Egypts Near-time Future

Egypt will experience a taste of the greatness she will experience in the millennium
just prior to the Second Coming of Christ. It is beginning already. Reread my
Commentary of April 11, 2004, Economic and Population Trends
(http://www.askelm.com/news/n040411.htm) where I discussed significant trends
around the world, but also mentioned important activities taking place in Egypt that
are continuing in their nascent stages in 2007. Steve Forbes discussed these freedom
and prosperity issues of Egypt in an article Mideast Miracle at
http://www.forbes.com/business/free_forbes/2004/0216/027.html:

Yet in coming months Egypt will be initiating reforms that should

dramatically transform its economy into a wealth-creating, wealth-
distributing dynamo that will lead millions of Egyptians into a vibrant,
increasingly democratic middle class. The country is set to become an
economic miracle rivaling Ireland or Hong Kong.

Steve Forbes, Mideast Miracle

There is evidence that the Egyptian economic reforms are progressing with positive
results. Egyptian banks are undergoing a process of privatization. 21 In a November
2007 Guardian article Egypt Slides into Danger
(http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/meera_selva/2007/11/egypt_slides_into_danger.html) author Meera
Selva emphasizes the problems, but admits to substantial progress being made:

Egypt's economic growth has been a miracle. Prime minister Ahmed Nazif
has, with the president's blessing, 22 embarked on a radical liberalization of
Egypt's once clunking socialist economy in 2004, with near miraculous
results.
 Meera Selva, Egypt Slides into Danger

The potential that Steve Forbes talked about in April of 2004 has borne fruit because
the productive capacity and ingenuity of the Egyptian people has been set free
economically. If the government releases economic controls further, then prosperity
will trickle down to the lower classes and push more of them into the middle class.
Hopefully political freedom will follow which will still further Egyptian prosperity. It
shall happen and we can watch that occur. Egypt will grow rich and dominate North
and East Africa as prophesied. Great problems continue for Egypt, for her people and
for her economy.

Egypts Farther Future

We have the unique opportunity to observe month by month, year by year, the
growth of Egyptian prosperity and power, fulfilling Gods prophecies about Egypt. It
appears that the beginning of that prosperity is happening now, and the rate of
growth will increase. Monies held by Egyptians working overseas will return to Egypt.
As those workers employed in Europe and the Middle East come back to their
homeland the shall bring their prosperity and skills with them. The Egyptian economy
and the economy of the region will expand even more. It will be an energetic,
wonderful, and even a glorious time to be an Egyptian citizen.

When Egypt gains control (whether by direct or indirect control is not clear) of North
African and East African nations, the prosperity of Egypt will really increase still
more. Greater Egypt will become a vortex of investment, money, and power, just like
the rebuilt Babylon will be, and as will Israel and the ten surrounding nations of
Psalm 83 surrounding her. All will be prosperous.

God used the United States to be the engine of prosperity for the world after World
War II to help Europe and Japan recover from that devastating conflict. He used
Great Britain to be the engine of prosperity to lead the world into the Industrial
Revolution. God had the Roman Empire be the economic engine of prosperity during
the Pax Romana which included the time of Christ and the apostles. That was past.
In the near future Israel, the Ten Nations, Babylon, Assyria, Greece, and Greater
Egypt (or a United States of Egypt) together will be the engine of prosperity during
the time before Christs return. The United States, Europe and the rest of the world
will provide the finished goods for the growing Middle East mega-boom that will
come.

All of this indicates a worldwide prosperity that will stun the world. The rising tide will
raise all nations to levels of prosperity undreamed of at present. The prosperity of
the United States, Europe, Japan, China, India will all increase, but it is likely that
the greatest rate of increased prosperity will be those countries mentioned in the
prophecies of the Bible in the endtime.

Before the Second Coming of Christ Egypt shall again become a nation of great
wealth, power, and even some military might. With the wealth that it will have, Egypt
will have the political and economic power to struggle (with Israels help) back and
forth with the several kings of the north, finally to be utterly defeated by the
antichrist king of the north, as Dr. Martin describes in his article.
Egypts Millennial Future

God has the king of the north attack the end-time empire of greater Egypt. This
punishment that God inflicts upon Egypt for her sins and betrayal of Israel is so
severe and devastating that:

[1] No foot of man shall pass through it, [2] nor foot of beast shall pass
through it, [3] neither shall it be inhabited forty years. And I will make the
land of Egypt desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and
her cities among the cities that are laid waste shall be desolate forty years:
and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them
through the countries.

Yet thus says the Lord YHWH; At the end of forty years will I gather the
Egyptians from the people whither they were scattered: And I will bring
again the captivity of Egypt, and will cause them to return into the land of
Pathros, into the land of their habitation; and they shall be there a base
kingdom.

Ezekiel 29:1114

As Dr. Martin notes, this complete desolation of Egypt has never happened in history.

After Christ returns, in the millennium after the 40 years of desolation are ended,
God will again bless Egypt to make her great again:

And YHWH shall smite Egypt: he shall smite and heal it: and they shall
return even to YHWH, and he shall be intreated of them, and shall heal
them.

In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the
Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the
Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians. In that day shall Israel be the
third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land:
Whom YHWH of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and
Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance.

Isaiah 19:2225

The highway described indicates free passage of trade between Egypt and Assyria
through Israel. This tripart trade will be the basis for worldwide prosperity. It will be
the economic engine that will bring the millenial blessings to all nations of the world.

So too Egypt, Israel, and Assyria will lead the world to prosperity during the 1,000
year rule of Christ. It will not be a Babylonian system of rule, economy, and life.
Israel shall be first among the three equals, but each will benefit the other. The
government of the nations shall be by the direct intervention and rule of God through
Jesus Christ. Egypt shall benefit, and so will all other nations of the world.

David Sielaff, December 2007

1 This article was published by the Foundation for Biblical Research, Pasadena, CA in
1977 and was written by Gary Arvidson. Dr. Martin was the Director of FBR at
that time. This article is not available. DWS

2 CIA 2007 estimates (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-

factbook/geos/eg.html) show that Egypt has 80 million people. It is the most
populous Arab country and it possesses the second largest economy of Arab
nations after Saudi Arabia. The most populous Muslim (non-Arab) nations are
Indonesia with some 234 million people, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Turkey, and
Iran in that order. All have non-Arab Muslim populations larger than Egypts Arab
Muslim populations. Egypts total population has more than doubled in 25 years
since the original 1976 article Dr. Martin referred to was published. DWS

3 Sadat was the president of Egypt in 1981. Sadat was assassinated in October
1981 by Islamic radicals after a fatwa approving the assassination was declared
by Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman, a cleric later convicted in the U.S. for his role in
the February 26, 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Over 300 co-conspirators
were rounded up in the Sadat assassination plot. It was the first time in the
history of Egypt that a head of state had been assassinated by native Egyptians.
See the Wikipedia article and sources at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anwar_Sadat. Sadat was succeeded as President by
Hosni Mubarik, a military officer who is still President in December 2007, although
suffering from deteriorating health. DWS

4 Col. Mu'ammar Al-Qadhafi (sometimes spelled Khadafi, I use the U.S. State
Department spelling here) still rules Libya as I write, and his relations with the
United States, Egypt, and Europe have improved since 1981. Recently Qadhafi
renounced any attempt to build or acquire nuclear weapons and is currently
cooperating closely with the United States to dismantle all of its nuclear weapons
production activity and facilities, as well as agreeing to close monitoring and
verification by international agencies. See his Wikipedia article at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muammar_al-Gaddafi. DWS

5 The area indicated may be larger or smaller depending where valuable resources
are located. Perhaps the nations of Chad, Niger or perhaps even the oil-rich
nation of Nigeria may be included. CIA 2007 figures show a population of 242
million people contained within the approximate enclosed area
(https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html). The
nation of Nigeria (below Libya and Algeria) has the largest population in Africa
with 135 million people. If Nigeria is included within the prosperity area, the total
population would be 377 million people, larger than the United States and double
the population of Russia. DWS

6 I cannot imagine how Tammuz, the desire of women, could have any
application in heaven. However, there are many things we do not know about the
heavenly realm. We can only know what Scripture reveals. The Geography of
Heaven article is certainly a one of the most provocative and controversial
prophetic articles that Dr. Martin ever wrote. DWS

7 See also 2 Thessalonians 2:312. DWS

 8 This appears to be the time when, when God punishes Egypt and when Egyptian
forces move north, are repulsed, and the military forces of the king of the north
strike back, going all the way to conquer Egypt, Ethiopia, and Libya (see Ezekiel
30:5 in the text below). Jeremiah 46:910:

Come up, you horses; and rage, you chariots; and let the mighty men come
forth; the Ethiopians and the Libyans, that handle the shield; and the
Lydians, that handle and bend the bow. For this is the day of the Lord YHWH
of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries:
and the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with
their blood: for the Lord YHWH of hosts has a sacrifice in the north country
by the river Euphrates.

This had a partial fulfillment in the time of Nebuchadnezzar, but this will have a
later fulfillment in a day of vengeance. DWS

9 It takes time to (1) discover wealth; (2) access wealth; (3) produce wealth; (4)
protect wealth with armies, police, and a justice system; (5) accumulate wealth
after infrastructure investment; and (6) distribute wealth by enlarging the middle
and upper classes through free markets and the flow of economic activity. Such
things do not happen quickly. Raising and training armies alone takes time, at
least 5 to 10 years in this modern world, although Dr. Martin believed that armies
as we know them today will not exist near the time of Christs return. (See his
The Geography of Heaven article cited in the Excursus above.) Nonetheless,
each of these numbered elements takes time to accomplish before moving on to
the next step. This wealth of Egypt, and the wealth of the countries associated
with Egypt, must be of sufficient value for the antichrist to desire to conquer,
seize, and have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over
all the precious things of Egypt. DWS

10 By artificial Dr. Martin correctly indicates that Libya has no natural boundaries
separating it from Egypt to the east or Algeria to the west. In ancient times,
borders between nations and peoples were determined by natural boundaries,
usually mountain ranges. In modern times, national borders are frequently
determined by rivers. Neither relate to Libyas present national boundaries with
its neighbors. DWS

11 Hesperia according to my computer American Heritage Dictionary has the

following definition: Hesperian (h-spr-n) adj. Of or relating to the
west. [From Latin Hesperius, from Greek hesperios, from hesperos, evening.]
DWS

12 Maghreb, again according to my computer American Heritage Dictionary:

Maghreb or Maghrib (mgrb) A region of northwest Africa
comprising the coastlands and the Atlas Mountains of Morocco, Algeria,
and Tunisia. DWS

13 The name Chub occurs only one time in the Old Testament in Ezekiel 30:5. The
literal New American Standard translation has this translation of Ezekiel 30:5:

Ethiopia, Put, Lud, all Arabia, Libya [Chub] and the people of the land that is
in league will fall with them by the sword.
 If this translation is correct, then Egypt will also have control of, or allegiance with,
Arabia with all its wealth. DWS

14 Dr. Martin never fully developed this information about Jewish settlements in
Morocco and North Africa during Solomons day. Wherever the Phoenician people
went, Israelites went also. For a partial reference, see Dr. Martins article Ancient
Nations of the Middle East, Part 2 at
http://www.askelm.com/prophecy/p900702.htm. DWS

15 Pharaoh Amasis of the 26th Dynasty ruled Egypt during the time of Ezekiel. See
Herodotus, Histories book 2.177. G.C. Macaulay translation, The History of
Herodotus (Macmillan, London [1890]):

In the reign of Amasis it is said that Egypt became more prosperous than
at any other time before, both in regard to that which comes to the land
from the river and in regard to that which comes from the land to its
inhabitants. DWS

16 The correct spelling is Farooni. See "Names of the Egyptians" at

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptians#_note-6. DWS

17 There are also considerable natural gas deposits in Egypt under development.
DWS

18 As of November 2007, the relationship of Egypt and Israel is one of polite but
watchful neighbors, not as allies. This will change to a much closer relationship.
DWS

19 The days of overt conquest by invasion are largely over, like Iraqs disastrous
invasion of Kuwait in 1991 in the First Gulf War. That invasion resulted in a
disaster for Iraq and the later overthrow of the Iraqi government. This new mode
of conquest in the latter days appears will be more by political pressure,
accommodation, agreement, alliance, and association of economies. Out of this
grows political alliance and dependence, then military cooperation if not outright
political union. There will indeed be wars, meaning armed conflict, as well as
rumors of wars (Matthew 24:67 and Mark 13:78). Only at the end when the
king of the north destroys Egypt will the destruction be massive. DWS

20 All population groups that God has placed on earth have its own unique talents
that can, and shall, bring them prosperity. DWS

21 The July 2007 Economist article Going Private in Egypt

(http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?story_id=9499509 tells the
progress of privatizing banking in Egypt. This will make legitimate the huge
underground economy in Egypt that is flourishing, energetic, and maintaining the
Egyptian miracle. But see the January 2007 Economist article Not Too Happy:
http://www.exonomist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=8558408

If a surging economy could solve all ills, Egypt might be the brightest spot
in an increasingly grim Middle East. Its GDP is growing by 7% a year.
Foreign direct investment is up sixfold since 2003. In the year to last June,
the value of Egypt's commodity exports, excluding energy, leapt by nearly a
half. With a capable team now running economic policy, a gear-shift
towards the kind of sustained performance may lift the most populous Arab
country, with its 79m-odd people, into mild prosperity.

DWS

22 Selva is referring to President Mubarik. Egypt has a Parlimentary governmental

system. DWS
CHAPTER 4

This months article is "The Prophetic Future of Iraq," a timely subject given present
world circumstances. Dr. Ernest Martin gave it as a taped lecture in 1991. The
subject of Babylon, its activities and eventual destruction are the topics of the
lecture.

Keep in mind while you read the article, that what will be occurring in the Middle
East, in Iraq, in Israel, and what will happen in the future reconstruction of Babylon,
all revolves around the worlds participation and final culmination of the Babylonian
system. This Babylonian structure is basically a system of commerce. The "new world
order" of the ancient world that Jeremiah the prophet foretold was inaugurated by
God through Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, the Head of Gold of the Babylonian
image. The main difference between the old system and the new was that the
Babylonian system was a commercial system that greatly strengthened rulers in their
subjugation of native and foreign peoples.

How can I say that? It is simple. Read Zechariah 5:111 (where the ephah is a
commercial measure of trade), combine that passage with the two distinct views of
Babylon in Revelation chapter 17 and chapter 18, along with the verses mentioned in
this article. Clearly Babylon is a system controlling the kings of the earth by
commercial factors, as well as being a moral, religious system. The great whore will
not only commit fornication with the kings of the earth (Revelation 17:2 and 18:3,
compare with Jeremiah 25:1516 & 51:7 and Zechariah 5:611) but, "The woman
which thou saw is that great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth"
(Revelation 17:18). The kings of the earth will be ruled by some aspect of this
woman who represents commerce unbridled by law. This will be made plain in this
and other ASK articles. 1 Note what B.W. Newton wrote some 150 years ago,

"Let commerce be supreme. Its influences are benign and gentle. It gives
scope to the energies of man. It ennobles and enriches. It cherishes
science; it encourages art; it stimulates research. It diffuses wealth and
banishes penury. It breathes of peace and concord. It is the panacea for our
ills. Who, then, will condemn commerce? Who will say that the ephah [of
Zechariah chapter 5] can be the harbinger of anything but good? [I]f the
material interests of the human family are to be made the supreme object
of pursuit, it is no wonder that God and revealed Truth should be excluded
from such consolidation. Such will be the result of the new germinant
principles of this rising age of commercial greatness."

Newton, Thoughts on the Apocalypse, p. 278279, 2

emphasis mine

When economic success and prosperity is great, and worldwide in benefit, then
people are seduced away to things other than God. Satan seduces more successfully
with prosperity and order than with persecution and chaos. Truth, honesty and
righteousness are set aside when prosperity abounds. The reconstruction of Babylon
will be no small matter. It will be called a "great city" seven times (Revelation 14:8,
16:19, 17:18, 18:10, 16, 19 and 21) and "great Babylon" once (Revelation 16:19).
The greatest commercial nation in the history of the world, the United States, at
present seeks to "liberate" Iraq. This will result eventually in the transformation
of Iraq (and Babylon) into a great commercial center. While we cannot understand
when it will take place, we can know for certain that it will take place. Also, while we
cannot know the outcome of the present confrontation we can be assured that great
prosperity and success will attend Babylon and the region, parallel to the conversion
and reconciliation in Jerusalem. See Zechariah the sequence of events in chapters
1214. As B.W. Newton wrote,

"But this system, it must be remembered, is in the fullest sense to be a

ruling system; that is, it will not be merely a morally influential system
which kings and governors may be glad to use; but it will be a system that
will use them, and make them subservient to its will. The beast having ten
horns carries the woman. This willing subjection of the executive organs of
government is a peculiarly distinguishing feature in the Babylonian period."

Newton, Thoughts, p. 274, emphasis Newtons

As you read this article refer to the timeline of events under discussion to gain
perspective of time:

Date of
Topic
Presenter Presentation
Isaiah 8th century B.C.E. Prophecies of Babylons destruction
Jeremiah 6th century B.C.E. Prophecies of Babylons destruction
Daniel 6th century B.C.E. Prophecies of Babylons destruction
Revelation 1st century C.E. Prophecies of Babylons destruction
B.W.
19th century C.E. Wrote on Iraq & Babylon
Newton
Ernest
1970 Trip to Iraq
Martin
Ernest
1975 Wrote "Rebirth of Babylon" article
Martin
Ernest
February 1991 Date of this lecture
Martin
Ernest
April 2003 Date of this transcript
Martin

Will Babylon be Rebuilt?

A 1925 article written by F.E. Marsh D.D, 1
edited for brevity by David Sielaff, October 2002
 Read The Rebirth of Babylon

This writer believes Babylonan actual citywill be rebuilt. We now give

some reasons why we believe there will be a rebuilt Babylon. 2

I. The Babylon of the past has never been devastated and

destroyed, as Babylon of the future is predicted will be.

The clarion note of prophecy is clear, definite, and concise. The Spirit through Isaiah
predicts:

"And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldeans pride,
shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be
inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither
shall the Arabian pitch tent there: neither shall shepherds make their flocks
to lie down there. But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their
houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and ostriches shall dwell there, and
wild goats shall dance there. And wolves shall cry in their castles, and
jackals in the pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days
shall not be prolonged."

Isaiah 13:1922, American Revised Version

In Jeremiah 51:8, 2526, 58, 6364, we read further of Babylon and its doom.

"Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: wail for her, take balm for her
pain, if so be she may be healed. ... 25 Behold, I am against thee, O
destroying mountain, saith Jehovah, which destroyest all the earth; and I
will stretch out My hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and
will make thee a burnt mountain. And they shall not take of thee a stone for
a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but thou shalt be desolate for ever,
saith Jehovah. ... 58 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: The broad walls of
Babylon shall be utterly overthrown, and her high gates shall be burned
with fire; and the peoples shall labor for vanity, and the nations for the fire;
and they shall be weary. ... 63 And it shall be, when thou hast made an end
of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the
midst of the Euphrates: And thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and
shall not rise again because of the evil that I will bring upon her; and they
shall be weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah."

When we turn to the New Testament we find the overthrow of Babylon equally
emphatic.

"Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death and mourning and
famine, and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is Jehovah who
judgeth her. And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and
cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon
be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all."

Revelation 18:8, 21
These statements of Holy Writ concisely proclaim the character of the judgment upon
the City of Babylon.

This judgment will be direct in its act. Jehovah is the One Who acts. "Behold, I am
against thee," He says, as He calls attention to what He is about to do. Then as to
the certainty of His action, He declares, "I will stretch out My hand against
thee," and "The evil that I will bring upon her." And lest any should think He is
not able to perform, He proclaims, "For strong is Jehovah that judgeth her."

This judgment is specified as to time. The time when the judgment will be meted out
is said to be "In the day of the Lord," which means the period of the Millennium,
which is frequently said to begin with "wrath and fierce anger," and as a
"destruction from the Almighty" (Isaiah 13:6, 9).

This judgment will be peculiar in its character. It is by the action of fire from Heaven.
Babylon "shall be utterly burned with fire" (Revelation 18:8); and in this the city
will be like to what came to Sodom and Gomorrah, for God will overthrow it as He did
those cities (Isaiah 13:19); and the result will be, the city in its ruin will be like "a
burnt mountain" (Jeremiah 51:25). ...

This judgment will be thorough in its consequence. Babylon is "never to be

inhabited" again (Isaiah 13:2022). It is to be "destroyed," "desolate for ever,"
"utterly broken," "shall not rise from the evil" brought upon it, "utterly
burned," and like a stone dropped into the sea (Jeremiah 51:8, 26, 58, 6264;
Revelation 18:8, 21). Metaphorical language could not be more expressive, and
words more explicit to denote the thoroughness of an action.

This judgment will be certain in its accomplishment. Evidently there will be an

attempt to stay the ravages and the rage of the fire as the city is being consumed,
for we read, "The peoples shall labor in vain, and the folk in the fire and they
shall be weary" (Jeremiah 51:58). As the American Revised Version indicates, "the
folk" are the nations, and "the peoples" denote a cosmopolitan city, but all their
efforts will be futile, for "vanity" is the outcome of their labor, and they are "weary"
to exhaustion to stay the conflagration.

This judgment will excite acuteness in feeling. The men of Babylon will be filled with
fear, contorted with pain as a woman in birth pangs, they will be amazed, their faces
fired as with flames, and acts of cruelty will be prevalent (Isaiah 13:78, 12, 1416).

This judgment will be terrible in its carnage. A power will come against Babylon like
the Medes which came and conquered the city in the past, but unlike the conquest of
the past, for that victory was bloodless. The capture of Babylon by Cyrus was not
attended by destruction, so far from this being the case, Alexander the Great, two
hundred years after, intended to make the city the capital of his empire. In the future
judgment, Jeremiah speaks of its complete destruction (Jeremiah 50:15), and it will
be anything but bloodless, for the young men will be dashed in pieces, and children
and babes will not be spared (Isaiah 13:1718).

This judgment will be universal in influence. The whole land of Babylon was not
destroyed in the past, but at that time Jehovah will come in His indignation to
destroy the whole land, yea, the whole earth will feel the effects of this judgment,
and the heavens themselves will be shaken, for Jehovah declares, "I will shake the
heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, ... in the day of His
fierce anger" (Isaiah 13:13).

This judgment will be associated with the nation of Israel. The time when Jehovah
will deal with Babylon is described as the period when He will deliver Jacob, and
cause Judah and Israel to be one nation again. The restored nation will not be made
captive to Babylon and Assyria, but shall take captive those who once took them
captive (Isaiah 14:13).

This judgment is connected with a future monarchy of Babylon. The King of Babylon,
who is yet to be destroyed, is a greater personage than ever in the past. He is
coupled in his arrogance and pride with Satan, and so thorough is his overthrow that
not even a relative of his is spared, but all are "cut off" (Isaiah 14:4, 12, 22). This
King of Babylon is so inflated with pride, godlessness and blasphemy, that he
assumes and assays to affront God to His face, which causes God to cast him down
to the lowest hell, and causes all hell to give him a special ovation of derision and
contempt (Isaiah 14:921). Further, the Lord is so moved with indignation, that He
deals with the City of Babylon and its King, as He has never dealt with any city and
king before (Isaiah 14:2327).

This judgment will be sudden in its action. The judgment is summarized as follows,
as the City comes under the scorching flame of God from heaven,

"Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death and mourning, and
famine, and she shall be utterly burned with fire; for strong is the Lord God
Who judgeth her. ... 18 In one hour so great riches is come to naught. ... 19
in one hour she is made desolate. ... 21 And a mighty angel took up a stone
like a great millstone and cast it into the sea saying, thus with violence shall
that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all."

Revelation 18:8, 17, 19, 21

... This judgment must be future in its deed. In the past, Babylon was never utterly
destroyed, and never has it been without inhabitant. B.W. Newton has tersely given
us in his book on Babylon, the history of Babylon from the time of Isaiahs
prophecies till comparatively recent times.

759 B.C.E. Isaiah prophecies.

626 B.C.E. Nabopulassar takes Nineveh, and makes himself King of Babylon.
607 B.C.E. Nebuchadnezzar associated with his father.
541 B.C.E. Cyrus takes Babylon.
516 B.C.E. Recaptured after a siege of twenty months by Darius Hystaspes.
478 B.C.E. Ravaged by Xerses.
330 B.C.E. Visited by Alexander.
293 B.C.E. Seleucia founded.
64 C.E. St. Peter wrote his Epistle from Babylon.
460 C.E. Babylon mentioned by Theodoret as still habited by some Jews.
500 C.E. Babylonian Talmud promulgated.
917 C.E. Babel, mentioned by Ibn Hankal as a small village on the site of
Babylon.
 1100 C.E. The village of Hillah, on the same site, enlarged and fortified by
Seif ud Dowlah.
1811 C.E. Described by Rich as containing six or seven thousand inhabitants.
1833 C.E. Mentioned by Major Skinner, with population of twelve thousand
inhabitants.

... These unfulfilled prophecies and facts of history point to a city that is yet to be
rebuilt and destroyed.

II. The time when Babylon is destroyed is associated with the

restoration of Judah and Israel to Jehovah 3

That restoration has not taken place, and cannot be, until the day of the Lord is
inaugurated. Through the Prophet Jeremiah, we have a wonderful and detailed
prophecy about Babylon, and in looking forward to the time when the judgment will
fall upon that city and Chaldea, we read,

"In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, the children of Israel shall
come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping: they
shall go, and seek the Lord their God. They shall ask the way to Zion with
their faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let us join ourselves to the Lord
in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten."

Jeremiah 50:45

There are four things to recognize in the above scripture:

1. The separation of the parties mentioned, namely, the children of Israel as the
ten tribes, who were carried into captivity by Assyrian power; and the children
of Judah who were carried into captivity by the Babylonian power.
2. In the restoration of Judah under Cyrus only a comparatively few returned
from Babylon to Palestine.
3. A general return of Judah and Israel to Zion as predicted.
4. The period when this restoration takes place is "In those days" when the
two sections of the nation seek the Lord, which is, "In that time" when
Jehovah is dealing with Babylon. ...

III. The physical phenomena described in Isaiah 13:1013

have not been in any history of Babylons past, and as they
take place at the time of its judgment, the city must be in
existence, therefore it must have been rebuilt.

The phenomena is described as follows:

"For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their
light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not
cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world for their evil, and the
wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to
cease, and I will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. I will make a man
more precious than fine gold, even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her
place, in the wrath of the Lord of Hosts, and in the day of His fierce anger."

Isaiah 13:1013

Like all the Word of God, the language here is emphatic, minute, and specific. This is
seen in the two "shall nots," the two "shalls," and the five "I wills."

The "shall not" of obscuration of the stars and the constellations.

The "shall not" of the extinguishing of the light of the moon.
The "shall" of the failure of the sun to shine.
The "shall" of the removal of the earth out of its place.
The "I will" of judgment upon the world and the wicked for their evil and
iniquity.
The "I will" in causing the proud to cease in their arrogancy.
The "I will" of humiliation to lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
The "I will" of extermination of the majority of men ("more precious than
fine gold").
And the "I will" of the shaking of the heavens in an unusual and startling
manner.

This is not the only passage where the time of the day of the Lord is accompanied by
the reeling of the earth, the shaking of the heavens, and the sun, moon and stars
being affected by Gods judgment. (Isaiah 24:1623; Ezekiel 32:78; Joel 2:3032;
3:1516; Haggai 2:6) These Old Testament prophecies are confirmed by New
Testament ones also. Christ, in Matthew 24:29, describes the same phenomena. ...
Peter at Pentecost enunciates the same as a mark of the last days. (Acts 2:1920)
The Spirit in Hebrews 12:2627 cites the shaking of the heavens and the earth as a
future event; and in the Book of The Revelation we have in detail what takes place
under the seventh seal. All this phenomena associated with the overthrow of the City
of Babylon demonstrates that the city will be in existence, and therefore must be
rebuilt. ... 4

V. The probability of Babylon being rebuilt is found in the

fertility of the land of Shinar.

We have many modern evidences of the power of irrigation in Egypt, and on the
Pacific Coast in the U.S.A. Modern travelers recognize the natural capabilities of the
Land of Chaldea. Here are a few testimonies:

"The soil is extremely fertile, producing great quantities of rice, dates, and
grain of different kinds, although it is not cultivated to above half the
degree of which it is susceptible."

"The soil is rich, not less bountiful than that on the Banks of the Egyptian
Nile."

"Of all the countries with which we are acquainted," says Herodotus, "it is the
most fruitful in grain, being 200 and 300 fold."
Strabo [a 1st century geographer] wrote,

"Five hundred years after the country produces barley on a scale not known
elsewhere, for the return is said to be three hundredfold. All other wants
are supplied by the palm, which furnishes, not only bread, but wine,
vinegar, honey and meal."

... All that was said and is said of Babylon in its excellence for situation, in its
wickedness, in its superstition, in its demonism, in its superficiality in its
merchandise, in its traffic, and in its godlessness, finds its counterpart in the
description of the Babylon of Revelation 18. If a modern City can arise and answer to
the Divine Word in such a short space of time, why cannot a City on the Euphrates
be built with up-to-date contrivances, in a less period. 5

The certainty of the rebuilding of Babylon is proclaimed in the sure Word of Prophecy,
because we are therein told it will become a great commercial center. There is a
wonderful and suggestive prophecy in Zechariah 5:511, in which we have the
following sevenfold vision:

1. An ephah is seen going forth.

2. A woman is seen in the ephah.
3. A lid of lead is on the ephah.
4. The lid is lifted up.
5. The woman is shut up in the ephah by the lid of lead.
6. Two flying women are described as carrying off the ephah with the woman in
it.
7. The ephah is carried to Babylon by the flying women, that a house may be
built for it there.

... We suggest what is meant by the different metaphors which are used, and would
also draw attention to a correspondence found in 2 Thessalonians 2 in connected
with lawlessness and the lawless one.

The ephah, a symbol of commerce suggested in Leviticus 19:36, contains a

little more than our bushel.

The woman represents a moral system, as Christ indicates in the woman of

the parable of the leaven. 6

The lid of lead suggests the thought of a power keeping the woman and
lawlessness down in the ephah of commerce, and corresponds to what the
Apostle says, when he refers to a hindering influence which keeps back the
manifestation of evil in its final form (2 Thessalonians 2:8). We would suggest
that hindering power is not the Holy Spirit in the Church, but the
administrative powers in the governmental authority of the nations which
keeps back, for the time being, the manifestation of evil in its last great
outbreak.

It is difficult to say absolutely what is represented by the two flying women

carrying off the woman and the ephah to the land of Shinar. There will be
undoubtedly some concurrent agency to establish an order of things, in
 antagonism to God, in that land where Nimrod rose in the long ago (Genesis
10:811:9).

... That rebuilt city will be a combination of religiousness and lawlessness, of

commercialism and demonism, of earthly glory mixed with hateful lust, of luxury and
wantonness, of greed and gold, identified with the Name of God and yet devoid of
vital godliness, and with a veneer of outward worship, and yet lacking the Christ Who
alone can make life worth living.

[Professor] Seiss has summarized the whole situation in the following words,

"Zealous and earnest worship ... concentrated on the ephah and the talent;
a worship which makes temples of banks, and warehouse, and exchanges,
and pleasure-parks; a worship not of the sun, or moon, or stars, or
emperors, or popes, but pounds, and francs, and piastres, and dollars; the
worship of greed, epicurean luxury; the worship of mammon perfected, and
over-riding and supplanting all other devotions; ... Covetousness is idolatry,
and a form of it which is the root of all evil, and here will be
covetousness, ... in the embracing arms of its god, and dazzling and defiling
the world with the glory and grandeur of its abominations."

What is the practical lesson for us? Is it not to beware of the "wedge of gold" which
may catch our eyes and heart, and the Babylonish garment of the worlds attractive
livery, lest we should find the latter in its covering, like habit, eating into the vitals of
our Christian experience and robbing us of the clothing of the Spirits power? Beware
of the gold of earths commerce which diverts from the Christ Whom we are called to
follow to His cross and selflessness. Babylon in its pride and arrogance warns us of
the hatefulness of that lust which esteems itself so high, that no place is found for
Him, Who is meek and lowly in heart. The Babylon of the worlds system we are to
avoid, as the Holy Spirit commands, "Come out of her My people, that ye be not
partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not her plagues" (Revelation 18:4).

------- -- -------

1 NOTE: I have not always put ellipses when I have cut the text. See the original for
the full article. This article comes from The Millennial City & Temple and Will
Babylon be Rebuilt?(London: Chas. J. Thynne & Jarvis, 1925). DWS

2 We assume that a difference is recognized between the mystical Babylon of

Revelation 17 which represents a corrupt Christendom; and the City of Babylon
which points to an actual cosmopolitan center. We recognize there is a close
affiliation and association between the two. Satan is a great mimic. Gods realities
are counterfeited by the god of this age. The Great Dragon mimics the Great God
in His actions. The Antichrist is the Man of Sin, seeking to act in the place of the
Man of Sorrows, the Christ of God. The reason of man with its satanic doubt,
"Yea, hath God said," is exalted to the exclusion of Gods Word. The harlot of a
corrupt and corrupting system as represented in the whore of a sin-impregnated
woman, is the opposite of the true body of Christ, the Church, which is His body.
The False Prophet, the second beast of Revelation 13 is the travesty of the person
and work of the Holy Spirit. The miracles, powers, and lying wonders which the
Man of Sin performs by the power of Satan, is the imitation of the "miracles,
powers, and wonders," which Christ performed by the power of the Holy Spirit;
 and the modern city of Babylon, built on the Euphrates, will be in opposition to
the Jerusalem, which Jehovah has determined shall be a "Praise in the earth."

3 By "restoration" Marsh means repentance. DWS

4 Item IV. omitted. DWS

5 Marsh, "We have an illustration of the possibility and the probability of the rise of
the city of Los Angeles on the Pacific Coast. Within living memory that city has
arisen from the brush and sand to be a cosmopolitan city and the very garden of
the Lord in its surroundings." [That is before 1925, when Marsh gave this
presentation.]

6 Newton suggests that something was cast into the ephah with the woman, which
he described as "wickedness" or lawlessness. "There is no doubt that lawlessness
is identified with the woman as the text indicates, and is suggested by the
Apostle [Paul] when he speaks of the mystery of iniquity or lawlessness seething
in its working to a final issue."

The Rebirth of Babylon

A 1975 Special Prophetic Report
by Dr. Ernest L. Martin, Ph.D.
revised by David Sielaff, October 2002

The rebirth of Babylon is destined to play one of the leading roles in the end-time
fulfillment of Bible prophecy. Its influence will be worldwideaffecting all people. Yet the
majority of people today have little conception of the prophecies concerning the
rebuilding of Babylon. The Bible not only shows that a literal Babylon will exist at the end
of our age in majestic glory, but it will be resurrected in the same location as its ancient
predecessor in the Middle East.

Rome Not Babylon

The city of Rome is not the Babylon of prophecy. Rome has wrongly been associated
with Babylon because of an erroneous identification of Daniels fourth beast with the
Roman Empire. The Book of Daniel contains very little information about the Roman
Empire as many theologians and historians in the top universities know. The fourth
beast of Daniel is clearly shown to be an extension of the Greek Empire of Alexander
the Great. It is particularly identified with the Seleucid Empire which existed from
312 to 165 B.C.E. Those who claim that the Babylon of prophecy represents Rome
make a fundamental mistake in interpretation. There is not any evidence in the Book
of Daniel which will remotely substantiate their claim.

A Significant Prophecy

Many people feel the prophecies about Babylon in Isaiah 13 and Jeremiah 5051
pertain only to the ancient city. However, not one of those prophecies was fulfilled in
the 6th century B.C.E. when the empire of Babylon handed over power to the Medes
and Persians. These prophecies will happen at the end of our age. There must be a
new, rebuilt Babylon on the Euphrates in order for God to bring those prophecies to
pass. There is much proof to demonstrate this fact. Notice the second chapter of
Daniel.

The dream of Nebuchadnezzar recorded in Daniel 2 should be reviewed carefully.

When Daniel interpreted the dream for the king, he recounted the image whose
"head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his
thighs of brass, and his legs of iron, but his feet part of iron and part clay"
(verses 3233). Daniel further told the king that he witnessed a stone cut from the
top of a mountain, which rolled down its slope hitting the image on its ten toeson
the base of the image. It "brake them [the ten toes] to pieces" (verse 34). But
not only that, the stone went on to accomplish something else.

"Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to
pieces TOGETHER, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors;
and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the
stone that smote the image became a great mountain [the Kingdom of God],
and filled the whole earth."

Daniel 2:35

Notice a significant point overlooked by so many. Daniel said that the parts of the
image (from the gold down to the iron and clay) were all destroyed TOGETHER. This
needs to be emphasized!

Daniel said that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, represented the head of gold, and
another kingdom (silver) would arise after Babylon, followed by a third kingdom
(brass), then a fourth (iron), and finally there would be a fifth kingdom of iron and
miry clay (the ten toes). Yet Daniel said all these kingdoms would be destroyed at
the same time. How could this be if ancient Babylon was destroyed in 539 B.C.E.,
Persia in 330 B.C.E., Greece in 323 B.C.E., and Daniels fourth empire of the
Seleucids in 165 B.C.E.? Still, Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar that all the kingdoms
would be destroyed together as anyone can plainly read in the Bible. "It [the stone]
shall break in pieces and consume ALL THESE KINGDOMS [represented by the
composite image], and it shall stand forever" (verse 44). How can the stone
destroy the empires of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and that of the Seleucids, if all
of them were successively destroyed and obliterated centuries ago? This factor has
always been a problem with prophetic commentators over the years, but it need not
be if one will simply believe all the teachings of Scripture.

More Information from Daniel

Look at Daniel 7. The prophet in that chapter is given a vision of four great beasts.
The first is like an eagle, the next like a bear, the third a leopard, and the fourth is a
non-descript beast "dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly" (verse 7).
Daniel refers the eagle to Babylon, the bear to Medo-Persia, the leopard to Greece,
and the non-descript beast to the Seleucid Empire which existed from 312 to 165
B.C.E. The ten horns are equated with the ten toes of Daniel Two and they will be in
existence at the end of the age.

Daniel describes a "little horn" which will arise among the final ten horns. He beholds
this little horn prospering "till thrones were cast down, and the ancient of days
did sit, whose garment was white as snow" (verse 9). This "little horn" exists
(along with the other ten horns) up to the establishment of Gods Kingdom on this
earth under Christ. The "little horn" will be destroyed by Christ. "I beheld then
because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld till
the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning
flame" (verse 11). The "little horn" and the ten horns (kings) which came from the
fourth beast, are destroyed by Christ at His coming (2 Thessalonians 2:810).

Now notice a very significant statement by Daniel in the verse immediately after the
verses speaking about the "little horns" destruction at the Second Coming. Notice
verse 12:

"As concerning the rest of the beasts [Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and the
Seleucid Empire], they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were
prolonged for a season and a time."

Daniel categorically states that all these beasts in Daniel 7 will be in existence at the
Second Coming of Christ! Their dominion was taken away (and this is a fact of
history), but their existence is somehow prolonged! Indeed, in the interpretation
Daniel gave, he distinctly prophesied the existence of these four kingdoms in a time
prior to him.

"These great beasts, which are four, are four kings [representing four
kingdoms], which SHALL ARISE out of the earth."

Daniel 7:17

Daniel saw this vision in the first year of Belshazzar, king of Babylon (Daniel 7:1).
The ancient Babylonian kingdom (which was the head of gold) was already a fact
when Daniel said all fourincluding Babylonwere to arise sometime in the future
(verse 17).

The eagle (Babylon), bear (Medo-Persia), leopard (Greece) and the non-descript
beast (Seleucid), are prophesied to be in existence at the end of the age. Babylon
must emerge once again. "Their dominion was taken away. yet their lives
were prolonged for a season and a time" (verse 12). Though ancient Babylon,
Medo-Persia, Greece, and the Seleucid Empire had their dominions taken away
generations ago, they have been subliminally in existence, hidden among the political
states of the Middle East and Greece from 165 B.C.E. until the time just prior to the
Second Coming of Christ. All four of these kingdoms will once again arise in the
areas of their ancient glories.

Jeremiah Prophesies the Same Thing

The prophecies about the destruction of a literal Babylon on the River Euphrates
mentioned in the Bible have never yet occurred. People who say they have, are
avoiding all the truth of history. Ancient Babylon was in no way destroyed as the
Scriptures prophesy that Babylon must. However, the prophecies of God have not
failed. They refer to a Babylon destined to exist at the end of the age. This is shown
by Jeremiah the prophet.
In Jeremiah 25 are his prophecies about the destruction of various kingdoms which
occurred in the 6th century B.C.E. He begins in verse 17 by saying that Judah would
become a desolation and an astonishment. This exactly occurred about six hundred
years before Christ. Egypt was to experience the same desolation (verse 19) and
according to Ezekiel 29:812 the desolation was severe. Jeremiah then mentions
that the Philistines would also drink the wine cup of desolation (verse 20), as well as
the kingdoms east of the Dead Sea (verse 21), the Phoenicians of Tyre and Sidon
(verse 22), the Arabians (verse 24), all the kings of Elam and finally the Medes
(verse 25). All of these kingdoms lost their independent rule back in the 6th century
B.C.E. As history makes clear, the Medes and the others became dominated by the
Persians. Actually, not only did Middle Eastern nations see the overthrow of their
governments, but Jeremiahs prophecy of destruction reached out to "all kings of
the north, far and near, and all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon
the face of the earth." All earthly nations were to drink of the wine cup of
desolation by the hand of God (verse 26). A worldwide political disruption was
prophesied to occur in the 6th century B.C.E., and it happened. 1

There was only one kingdom on earth which was not then judged with fierce
punishment. That kingdom was Babylon. Though Jeremiah mentioned that all the
kingdoms of the world would be in desolation by drinking of Gods wine-cup of
judgment, yet he prophesied that "the king of Sheshach shall drink AFTER
them" (verse 26). 2

A Brief History of Babylon

The city of Babylon in the 6th century B.C.E. was the queen city of the world. Its
hanging gardens and multitude of buildings and temples were the envy of all. Yet
Isaiah had prophesied its utter destruction (Isaiah 13). Jeremiah living about 150
years after Isaiah at the time of Babylons greatest ascendancy, also said it would
have a sudden, violent, and total destruction (Jeremiah 5051). Yet none of those
prophecies were accomplished in the 6th century B.C.E. Nor did they happen in the 5th
century, or the 4thindeed, Isaiahs and Jeremiahs prophecies have never yet been
fulfilled!

When Babylon was taken over by Cyrus the Persian in 539 B.C.E., he did not destroy
the city as some thought might happen. In fact, he restored many of the temples
which had been proscribed from functioning near the close of the Neo-Babylonian
period. 3 In the ensuing years, Babylon was furnished with even more important
buildings. 4 When Herodotus, the Greek historian, visited the city in the 5th century
B.C.E., he found it in a most glorious condition. His eyewitness account shows its
splendid situation. He said it was built exactly square, each side being 120 stadia (13
miles) long, with a broad and deep trench around it. The wall surrounding the city
was about 300 feet high and 75 feet wide. 5 A hundred bronze gates opened into the
city, which was divided in two by the River Euphrates. All its streets were at right
angles to each other and many of the houses were three and four stories high. It was
an gorgeous city and had not in any way suffered the destructions prophesied by
Isaiah and Jeremiah.

Babylon continued in prominence until a time near Alexander the Great (330 B.C.E.).
Some decay then set in, but Alexander was so taken with the political, economic, and
religious significance of the city that he decided, just before his death in 323 B.C.E.,
to make it the capital of his new "Greek" empire and to refurbish it.
The gradual demise of the city came when Seleucus, the first emperor of Daniels
"Kingdom of the North" (Daniels fourth beast), decided to build a new city in a
different area than Babylon. This new city was built on the River Tigris about 50
miles north soon after 312 B.C.E. Seleucus forcibly moved all of the inhabitants
(except some priests who attended the national shrines) to this new "Babylon." The
old city, from that time forward began a gradual decay into ruins. When Strabo, the
Greek geographer of the 1st century B.C.E., mentioned Babylon, he said it was an
area where certain Chaldean priests still made observations of the heavens but there
was no population of any account at that time. In the time of Trajan, the Roman
Emperor in 115 C.E., it was still barely inhabited, but by 199 C.E. the city was
reported by eyewitnesses as being completely deserted and in ruins. Babylon then
ceased to be. 6 Its remaining walls collapsed. The temples disintegrated. The priests
retreated to other areas. It was all over!

Ancient Babylon had by degrees come to an endsome 750 years after the time of
Jeremiah. Thus history abundantly proves that the prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah
which spoke about its sudden and violent overthrow never occurred! But before we
consign the prophets to the classification of false seers, better pay close attention to
what they really said would occur to Babylon and when. If one notices what they
actually said, it can be seen that they were not false prophets at all. They prophesied
what will happen to the city of Babylon some two and a half millennia in advance,
when the "Sheshach" of prophecy was to drink the fury in the wine cup of Gods
wrath!

Notice Isaiah and Jeremiah Carefully

Isaiah prophesied that Babylon would be overthrown so completely and so suddenly

that its destruction would only be compared to that of Sodom and Gomorrah (Isaiah
13:19). Those former Canaanite cities were demolished by God at the time of
Abraham with such absolute destruction that every vestige of them has been
obliterated from the face of the earth. So shall Babylon be destroyed. Yet the
Babylon of ancient times gradually decayed over the centuries and some of its
ancient buildings are still buried under fallen walls, only partially intact.

Isaiah also said that once the Babylon of his prophecy was destroyed, no Arabian
would dare pitch his tent within its confines (Isaiah 13:20). Yet Arabians have long
pitched their tents and even built their houses, right in the middle of the ruins of
ancient Babylon. When my wife and I visited the ruins of ancient Babylon in 1972,
we were led near an Iraqi (Arab) military camp situated just north of the main ruins
(still within its ancient walls). Though we could not find out how many soldiers were
there (it was a military secret), there were certainly no fewer than 100 men living in
the very areaand all of them were Arabs! Besides this, we saw encamped right east
of the ziggurat which modern historians identify with the Tower of Babel, two
Bedouin tents of itinerant Arabs and I have photographs of them. These Arabs were
not one bit afraid of staying within the precincts of old Babylon. We had lunch in a
small hotel built alongside the famous ruins of the Hanging Gardens. I asked the
manager if he and his Arab staff were afraid to live in ancient Babylon. He said, "Of
course not." He told us that seventeen of his staff stayed in Babylon all the time. He
further said that the people of Hillah (a city of about 50,000 people some six miles to
the south) often came to the area of Babylon to picnic because there were numerous
shade trees and it was a pleasant park-like area. Almost all the inhabitants of Hillah
are Arabs.
When my wife and I were being shown by our Arab guide over the main ruins of
Babylon, I asked him where all the noise of the goats, sheep and the children were
coming from. He took us to a small village called Querish which was located right in
the middle of ancient Babylon directly between the Hanging Gardens and the River
Euphrates. This was a very old walled village of mud houses in which about 300
native Arabs lived. Old maps show that the village has been there for hundreds of
years! There was another Arab village directly across the Euphrates as well.

Isaiah also said that the wild beasts of the desert, doleful creatures, owls, and
satyrs, shall inhabit the desolate houses of Babylon after its prophesied destruction
(Isaiah 13:2122). Yet there are no such evil beasts dwelling in the ruins of ancient
Babylon today. What we saw were many domestic water buffalo, goats, chickens,
and other tame animals. I asked the hotel owner if snakes and other evil beasts
dwelt in Babylon. His answer was: "We have never seen any such creatures." There
are no doubt some venomous creatures around, as there are in all areas of the
Middle East, but none of the wild animals inhabit Babylon like Isaiah prophesied.

Jeremiah said that Babylon after its destruction will have a "drought upon her
waters; and they shall be dried up" (Jeremiah 50:38), and "I will dry up her
sea, and make her springs dry" (Jeremiah 51:36). However, the Babylon of today,
like the city of ancient times, has an abundance of water. One of the main reasons
why it is difficult for archaeologists to excavate in Babylon is because of the high
water table.

"Remains of earlier occupation in the Old Babylonian period were uncovered

only in a limited area owing to the high water table."

Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopaedia of the Bible, vol. 1, p. 440

A new excavation is planned for 1976 to unearth ancient Babylon, but the
professional excavators say their problems in digging up old Babylon are mainly
caused by the water table being so high in the area (Los Angeles Times, December
3, 1975). However, when the prophecies of Jeremiah come true, her waters "shall
be dried up."

The destruction of the Babylon that Jeremiah predicted also shows that none of its
bricks or stones would ever be re-used again in the building of other structures.

"And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for
foundations; but thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith the Lord."

Jeremiah 51:26

The prophecy said that not one stone was to be taken from Jeremiahs Babylon in the
rebuilding of any other city. Yet, it is a known fact that the ancient Babylon of
Nebuchadnezzar has been a reservoir of countless stones and bricks used in the
building of numerous new towns up and down the Euphrates. 7 In fact, many of the
buildings in Hillah, the city of 50,000 located some six miles south of Babylon, have
been built from re-used material from ancient Babylon. 8 Other villages up and down
the River Euphrates have also re-used bricks from Babylon. These facts have been
well known for generations. Benjamin Newton wrote in 1859 that many of the
modern cities around Babylon were constructed by using materials from old Babylon.

"It is certain that Hillah and various other cities in the neighborhood are
built of materials taken from the ruins of Babylon, and that the ruins are
still continually resorted to for this purpose, as is proved by the testimony
of every traveler in the district."

Aids to Prophetic Enquiry, Second Series, vol. 1, p. 29 9

Mr. Newton quoted a gentleman who visited the site in the year 1835.

It is said that they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone
for a foundation (Jer. 51). But the ruin of the buildings at Babylon has been
mainly accelerated by the removal of the materials with which she was
built, for the construction of other towns in the neighborhood.

Aids to Prophetic Enquiry, Second Series, vol. 1, p. 45

This same traveler also commented on the prophecy that no Arab would ever pitch
his tent there. "In 1835, when I was there, I saw marks of an Arab
encampment which must have halted there for several weeks." Not only did
Arabs regularly encamp at Babylon, he also saw "two villages besides, together
with several gardens and date plantations within the limits of the ruins" (p.
45). Those two villages were still there when my wife and I were at the ruins of
Babylon in 1972.

Seeing that the prophecies had not been fulfilled in the manner described by Isaiah
and Jeremiah, this early traveler made these final remarks:

"I believe then, that Babylon will be rebuilt ... and that she will then
suddenly and finally be brought to ruin.

Aids to Prophetic Enquiry, Second Series, vol. 1, p. 45

B. W. Newton, the great prophetic writer from England whose works were well known
in the last half of the 19th century also showed numerous biblical evidences that
Babylon on the Euphrates had to be rebuilt. In fact, much of the essential teaching of
Newton centered around the prophecies of the renewed Babylon to arise at the end
of the age.

Many prophetic teachers of the last century saw that Babylon had to have a new
birthand this was long before petroleum (the mainstay of the modern industrialized
world) was found in gigantic quantities in the Middle East which presently makes the
specter of a renewed Babylon a very real thing.

No Person Ever to Dwell in Babylon

Let us recall one point. There are about 300 Arabs today living in the village of
Queirsh right in the middle of ancient Babylon. An equal amount live directly across
the Euphrates. And if anyone has any doubt about it, all one has to do is take a trip
to the area and see for himself. The predictions in Isaiah and Jeremiah cannot, in any
way, be referring to ancient Babylon. Note what the prophets say:

"So shall no man abide there, neither shall any son of man dwell therein."

Jeremiah 50:40

"It shall be no more inhabited for ever [for the agesHebrew], neither shall it
be dwelt in from generation to generation."

Jeremiah 50:39

"It shall not be inhabited, but it shall be wholly desolate."

Jeremiah 50: 13

"And none shall dwell therein."

Jeremiah 50:3

"It shall be: without an inhabitant."

Jeremiah 51: 37

"It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to

generation."

Isaiah 13: 20

"Her cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no
man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby."

Jeremiah 51: 43

Yes, not only will the Arabian refuse to pitch his tent in the ruins of this prophesied
Babylon of the future, but no human of any race will dwell in its midst. Even all the
land of Babylon, not only the city, will be utterly depopulated. Indeed, the Bible says
that no man will even pass by the site (Jeremiah 51:43). It shall become the haunt
of wild beasts, doleful creatures, and satyrs (Isaiah 13:21). This has never happened
in history. But it is soon to occur.

Judgments on Babylon to Occur in the Day of the Lord

The reason the prophecies about Babylon in Isaiah and Jeremiah have not yet
happened is because they are reserved for the Day of the Lorda time still future to
us. This is what Isaiah said about the destruction of the Babylon he was referred to,
"Howl ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction
from the Almighty. ... Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with
wrath and fierce anger, to lay the [Babylonian] land desolate.

Isaiah 13:6, 9

Isaiah said this demise of Babylon will occur when the stars of heaven refuse to give
their light and the sun shall be darkened (verse 10). These heavenly signs have not
yet occurred, but they will happen in the Day of the Lord when Gods judgment upon
Babylon arrives. This is the same "Day" into which John the Apostle was taken to see
the events recorded in the Book of Revelation (Revelation 1:10). All nations will then
be judged when Christ returns again. This is also the same time that Babylon on the
Euphrates will receive the divine judgments prophesied against her in Isaiah and
Jeremiah. lf there is still any doubt about this, let us look at the next proof.

The prophecies against Babylon as recorded by Jeremiah do not only speak about the
destruction of the city of Babylon, but Jeremiah also says that all the LAND of
Babylon (the province of Babylon) will be a total desolation.

"Out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make
her LAND desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they
shall depart, both man and beast."

Jeremiah 50:3

Not only the city, but all the land will become desolate. This is future to us. The next
verse in Jeremiah explains what this desolation means to Israel and when it will
occur.

"In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, the children of Israel shall
come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping: they
shall go, and seek the Lord their God. They shall ask the way to Zion with
their faces thitherward, saying, Come. and let us join ourselves to the Lord
in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten."

Jeremiah 50:45

This covenant that both houses of Israel are destined to make is the New Covenant
referred to by Jeremiah in chapter 31 verse 31. It can be no other covenant because
the land of Babylon has never been made empty of men yetnor has the land seen
the complete desolation which Jeremiah prophesied. There can be no doubt about it,
these scriptures await a future fulfillment in the Day of the Lord. Only in the wake of
that period will all Israel return to Zion, weeping as they goall of them unitedly
saying: "Let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that shall
never he forgotten."

The Ominous Signs Around Us

As a last attempt to show mans defiance to God, Babylon and also Mystery
Babylon will be built. After all, it was at Babel that man first began his rebellion to
God right after the Flood (Genesis 11), and it is also there that mans final attempt to
overthrow God will occur.

Christians should ask themselves if they wish to support the rebuilding of "the Lady
of Kingdoms""the Virgin Daughter of the Chaldeans"? Is this helping to preach the
Gospel of Jesus Christ? Is the restoring of the Tower of Babel assisting the
proclamation of Jesus Christ and Him crucified? If it is, I would like my readers to
point out the chapters and verses where it says it is.

Those who provide funds for the reconstruction of Babylon and the Tower of Babel
should just as well make the bricks, mix the mortar, and bind the bricks together. All
are equally responsible. 10 Yet, whether one helps or not, the building will be
accomplished according to the prophecies of the Bible. The only thing that Christians
should keep in mind, if they wish to participate in rebuilding the areas where
rebellion first began, is a scripture of the Bible. "Come out of her, my people, that
ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues"
(Revelation 18:4).

Bible Prophecies Coming to Pass

A literal Babylon on the Euphrates, known for her "sorceries, and for the great
abundance of thine enchantments" (Isaiah 47:9), is prophesied to arise. There
will also be a "Mystery" Babylon emerging as well. 11

When Benjamin Newton and others in the 19th century proclaimed that Gods
prophecies showed the revival of Babylon on the Euphrates, most of the people of
England and America failed to listen. Dr. Bullinger who wrote the notes and articles
for the Companion Bible said the same thing in the early part of this century. Few
took him seriously. Why? Simply because those areas were for the most part
sparsely inhabited regions known primarily for the vast deserts which impinged upon
a few fertile areas. It was then looked upon by most people as a complete
impossibility for these areas to come back into world prominence. However, people
are no longer saying that. Look at what has happened in the last few years.

Vast quantities of petroleum interlace the whole region around Babylon. The whole
eastern part of the Middle East is the greatest reservoir of oil known anywhere in the
world. Persia (Iran) has it in abundance. Practically all of Kuwait has oil underneath
its sands. Iraq (where ancient Babylon is) is very blessed with oil. Saudi Arabia has
so much that it staggers the imagination. In 1974 those "desert" countries of the
Middle East flexed their economic muscles by causing mighty America and Europe
(the rest of the world) to practically get on their knees when those countries
embargoed the export of their oil. It has even been said that the Middle East may
well control much of the economics of the world in the years ahead. No longer are
people saying it is impossible for Babylon to rise again. Indeed, since the
government of Iraq has already made plans to rebuild the city to its ancient splendor,
and funds from America will be used to accomplish it, is it not time to look once
again at what the prophets of old have said?

We are living in momentous times. There is much prophecy that needs to be brought
to the attention of Gods people. Scores of prophecies have for years lain dormant
within the pages of the Bible and have not been taught from many pulpits in the
land. It is our intention to bring these to the knowledge of all.
Keep in contact with us. Though we do not have a perfect knowledge, there are still
many prophecies of which you need to be cognizant. The knowledge of them will help
you to see Gods hand as He guides the nations of the world in the fulfillment of His
end-time prophecies.

"For Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and buildeth temples; and Judah hath
multiplied fenced cities: but I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall
devour the palaces thereof."

Hosea 8:14

Ernest L. Martin

------- -- -------

1 See the ASK July 2002 article, "The Prophetic Birth of our Civilization"
http://www.askelm.com/prophecy/p020701.htm for details.

2 Who is the "king of Sheshach"? This is a cipher which really meant Babylon. The
Hebrew alphabet has twenty-two letters. The word BABEL (signifying Babylon) is
made up of two "Bs" (bet) and one "L" (lamed)the vowels are not reckoned in
Hebrew. The "Bs" represent the second letter of the alphabet, and the "L" is the
twelfth letter. But if one reverses the numbering and counts backwards through
the Hebrew alphabet, the second letter becomes a "SH" (sheen) and the twelfth
letter is "CH (chaf). By reading the Hebrew in this manner, B-B-L (Babel)
becomes SH-SH-CH (Sheshach). The technical name of this linguistic feature is
atbash. The Keil and Delitzsch Commentary says about Sheshach: "The name is
formed according to the Canon Atbash in virtue of which the letters of
the alphabet were put one for the other in reverse order; thus would
correspond to and to ( "Jeremiah, vol. 1, p. 383). This linguistic device was
used by Jeremiah as a cipher to signify the empire of Babylon. This prophecy
showed that Babylon will be the last nation of Jeremiahs prophecies to be judged
by God. Babylon was not judged back in the 6th century B.C.E. as were the other
nations in Jeremiahs list. Its judgment is reserved for the futurejust ahead of
us. History clearly shows Babylon was not dealt with as prophesied back in
ancient times. The "king of Sheshach shall drink AFTER them" (verse 26).

3 Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopaedia of the Bible, vol. 1, page 446.

4 Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopaedia of the Bible, vol. 1, p. 448.

5 Herodotus, Bk. 1, ch. 178179. It was as wide as a modern freeway.

6 Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopaedia of the Bible, vol. 1, p. 448.

7 The "stones" of Jeremiah are identified as "bricks" in the city of Babylon. See
Genesis 11:3.

8 Hachette, The Middle East, p. 732. I have not been able to track down this book
and verify this reference. DWS
 9 London : James Nisbet, c1850, 1881. For additional information see also his
Babylon, Its Future History and Doom: with remarks on the future of Egypt and
other Eastern countries 3rd ed. (London: Houlston & Sons, c1890). It has some
642 pages. I have not seen this volume, but I presume Dr. Martin knew about this
volume. DWS

10 Why would anyone today want to rebuild Babylon? Viewing the international
political situation as of October 2002, that reason seems impossible. However,
apparently the world community will have a compelling reason to do so.

11 If one wishes to know who "Mystery" Babylon represents, see the article on the
ASK website "The Deceptions of Satan the Devil"
http://www.askelm.com/doctrine/d950201.htm.

The Prophetic Future of Iraq

by Ernest L. Martin, Ph.D, 1991
Edited by David Sielaff, April 2003

Read the accompanying Newsletter for April 2003

This lecture is being made on February 25, 1991, the third day of the land
invasion of Kuwait by the coalition forces to extricate the army of Iraq from
Kuwait. This subject is of utmost importance to all people who want to know
what the prophetic future holds for Iraq, its people, and the whole of the
Middle East and the world. We can know pretty accurately what will develop
in that part of the Middle East because there are several prophecies in both
the Old and New Testaments which have never been fulfilled, but they are
destined to take place in the last generation of world history just prior to
the Second Advent of Christ.

The Bible tells us specific details of events yet to occur that have been overlooked by
prophetic interpreters. In 1970 I first mentioned these prophecies to authorities in
the former denomination of which I was a member. I said that we should look again
at these prophecies concerning Babylon and Iraq and that they have an end-time
relevance to them. Since that time we have been able to look at these prophecies
through proper eyeglasses. What we find is that many of those prophecies given by
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and the Minor Prophets about Babylon, about the region of
Mesopotamia, or Iraq as we call it today, have never been fulfilled in history. 1

Yes, there were types of fulfillment in one way or another, but the precise prophecies
given in the Bible have not happened to this very day. The chronological significance
of these prophecies certainly had to do with that generation just prior to the 2 nd
Coming of Christ. While in Jerusalem (where I was in charge of college students
digging at the archeological excavation sponsored by Hebrew University), I took a
10-day trip in 1970 to Lebanon where I went to Beirut, and from there down to Tyre
and Sidon, which I looked into from an archeological and historical point of view.

From Lebanon I went to Baghdad where I stayed for several days. I was able to take
two separate trips to the ruined city of Babylon about 50 miles south and a little west
of modern Baghdad. Baghdad is located on the Tigris River while old Babylon and its
ruins are located on the River Euphrates. There is about a 50-mile distance between
the two. What I saw at the time convinced me that most of the ancient prophecies
about Babylon were not fulfilled, but that they were destined to take place in that
generation before the 2nd Advent of Christ known as the End of the Age. 2

The majority of those prophecies, if you will look at them: the prophecies of Isaiah
13 and 14, Isaiah 48, Jeremiah 50 and 51, and the three chapters of Habakkuk, all
of them deal with an end-time Babylon that is destined to exist just prior to the 2nd
coming of Christ. However, here we are in 1991 and many prophetic interpreters are
beginning to take the proper view, because they are beginning to look at these
prophecies all over again. Even Protestants now are beginning to wonder if some of
these prophecies do not have an end-time relevance to them.

B. W. Newtons Analysis

I could have directed them easily to some works of the last century, well over 140
years old, written by B.W. Newton from England. He wrote two volumes, which I
own, in which he said that if anyone would read the prophecies concerning Babylon,
it would be a relatively strong and powerful nation just prior to the 2nd Coming of
Christ. 3 The interesting thing about Newton was that he depended not upon what
was going on at his present time, well over 100 years ago in Iraq which was still
under the control of the Ottoman Empire (and later coming under control of the
British). No, he was not paying attention immediately to what was going on there,
because there was nothing in the region but desert. No one even realized there were
vast quantities of petroleum or oil in that region of the world. 4

I hand it to Newton, he believed the Scripture. I hold him in great honor because he
said there shall be a Babylon at the end of the age, that it will be relatively great,
and that modern interpreters have misapplied those prophecies about old Babylon.
He said that these prophecies did not refer to the period of time 500 to 600 years
before the birth of Christ, but they refer to the generation just prior to the 2 nd
Coming of Christ.

Now in 1991 because of Sadaam Hussein being able to accumulate quantities of

military hardware, armaments and troops, and being the bully of the Middle East for
almost the past 15 years, it seems he is being given a lesson. Many of our military
strategists have been amazed at the great quantities of armaments Sadaam Hussein
has accumulated over the last 10 to 15 years. He went to war with Iran which ended
in a stalemate after 8 years, but even after that he was able to have a tremendous
quantity of military goods and hardware that staggered the imagination of our own
military personnel. He had until this war (which is now going on) the 4th largest army
in the world. The Iraqi army is still powerful now as I give this lecture.

No matter what happens with the coalition forces now fighting in Iraq and Kuwait, we
find that Iraq at the end of the age, the region of Babylon, is destined to be a
relatively strong power in the Middle East. Even if Sadaam Hussein is defeated it
makes no difference because there will be a renewed Babylon. Several Scriptures
show that, scriptures from Daniel in particular indicate what the prophetic future of
Iraq will be in the next few years. If Iraq is even decimated they still have the oil in
the ground. If their civilization were ruined, if that were possible, they could still
come back in the next few years.
All we have to do is to realize what happened to Germany and Japan after World War
II. No nation on earth was more damaged than Germany, but within 10 to 15 years
after the allies in World War II had defeated Germany, they came back to be a strong
economic power in Europe, and within 30 years became the dominant European
economic power, and certainly is to this very day. The same thing happened to
Japan. Japan was defeated by the allies and surrendered in Tokyo Bay in 1945.
Within 20 to 25 years they recovered to such a state that they were even more
powerful than before World War II. Now they are one of the great economic giants in
the world. We all know that. Just look at the example of Germany and Japan to
understand that just because Iraq or that region of the world could be put down
(they may be and will be perhaps); at the same time they will have the capacity to
come back into power and into prominence. One reason for this is because the
center of world attention from now on will be the Middle East.

God Is in Charge

God is about ready to show who is in charge of world affairs. He is about ready to
show that Jesus Christ His Son, was sent into this world almost 2,000 years ago with
a message. It was not only a message of peace, but also a message of hope, a
message explaining why we are here on this earth in the first place, why there are
individuals here, male and female, why there are nations, why there are peoples,
what we are destined to become, why it is that God allows these things to occur on
earth. If we want to know, it is all right there in the Holy Scripture, the most modern
up-to-date book in the world. It has the answers to all of the major problems now
affecting the world, particularly those problems in the Middle East.

What is occurring now [in 1991] in Kuwait, in Iraq and in other areas of the Middle
East is nothing more than a prelude to events known as the "end of the age," which
we find described with great precision in the book of Daniel and the book of
Revelation. We also find other prophecies in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, the Minor
Prophets and even in the Psalms, which have to do with our age in which we are
living. 5

He says in Daniel 12:4 and in verse 9, that knowledge shall be increased. When He
says knowledge, it means THE knowledge, the knowledge of the prophecies of
Daniel. They will be made known precisely. Several prophecies still remain unclear to
this very day, but as we see events in the Middle East begin to happen, we will
understand these prophecies as never before. Many prophecies, that are staring us in
the face, have never occurred in history, and all you need do is read what they say
and you will be amazed at what we will see happen in the near future in the Middle
East. To understand some of these prophecies, first of all we need to read a little bit
about the histories of the Middle East, and since this lecture is on the prophecies
concerning the area of Babylon, we need to concentrate on that specific region.

Background History of Mesopotamia

Do you know that Iraq is mentioned in the Bible at the very beginning of history after
the flood of Noah? 6 That is correct. Iraq is specifically named as a city-state in
association with other city-states in southern Mesopotamia known as the land of
Shinar. Genesis chapter 10 provides historical background to the modern nation of
Iraq, and it equates remarkably with Babylon. The two terms are practically identical,
not in phonetics but in political meaning.
The word "Iraq" is mentioned in Genesis 10, which is the Table of Nations that arose
after the flood of Noah. Genesis 10:6, "And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim,
and Phut, and Canaan." Look at these sons of Cush. Of all the descendants of
Noah, the first to show any prominence in political power and authority were the
people who came from Cush. 7 The first world despot by the name of Nimrod came
from this patriarch, this son of Noah, called Ham and then his son Cush.

"And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and
Sabtecha: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan. And Cush begat
Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth."

Genesis 10:78

That means a type of a hero, someone who was a despot and one who was
controlling others. Nimrod would reach out to show power and authority over the
other children of Noah and the grandchildren and great grandchildren as time went
on. He was the first one who began to be called "a mighty one in the earth." It
says, "He was a mighty hunter before the Lord" (Genesis 10:9). That means he
put himself above or in place of, or in defiance of YHWH, "wherefore it is said [this
was a proverb about Nimrod], Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the
Lord." That proverb got into the Bible. 8

"And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel" (Genesis 10:10). That was the
first mention of Babylon as a city. Nimrod took control of Babylon. It does not say he
built it. It was built soon after the flood within a matter of years. Once started we
find this son of Cush, the grandson of Noah, Nimrod, became ruler over the city of
Babylon, but not only Babel, it also says, "and Erech," the second town mentioned,
south of Babylon, near the present city of Basra (which you are hearing about if you
listen to the news about what is happening in Iraq and in Kuwait at the present
time). One of the southernmost cities of Iraq of economic and geographical
importance is Basra.

The Name "Iraq"

Somewhere in that area there is where the ancient city of Erech was constructed.
Our modern word Iraq comes from this sister city of Babylon. The reason why the
whole region became known as Iraq and not Babylon, is because the word Erech
means "long" or "link." The control of the waterways in the south, of commerce, of
people coming and going through the Persian Gulf, they first come into the area of
Erech. It became known as the name of the general area between the rivers of
Mesopotamia. This is where our word Iraq comes from. The next city was "Accad,
and Calneh, in the land of Shinar" (Genesis 10:10) also in southern
Mesopotamia. It goes on to speak about this Nimrod a bit more. After he gained
control the southern area of Iraq and Babylon in that region, it says he went,

"Out of that land went forth [to] Asshur, and built Nineveh, and the city
Rehoboth, and Calah, And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a
great city."

Genesis 10:1112
Nimrod controlled the southern four cities, Babel, Erech, Akkad and Calah in the land
of Shinar. But he also went north and established the city of Nineveh, which was in
Assyria, along with Rehoboth, Calah and Resin. Nineveh was a great city, in existence
in the time of Jonah and others. It proved to be very important in ancient history.
After his death Nimrod was assigned the greatest constellation in the heavens. In the
various languages of the world they have different names for Orion, but the original
was Nimrod. The word "Orion" through the Hebrew means "the fool." He started the
worlds first Babylonian civilization. 9

These symbols (which are astrological in one way of looking at them) have deep
religious significance to them, as far as the Gentiles are concerned. Many of these
ideas were perpetuated by Nimrod and others since that time, of conquering other
nations and establishing kingdoms and empires. Many of the feelings that they had
in doing these things, were motivated by these essential ideas established in the
period right after the flood. They go right back to the time of Nimrod.

In actual fact, even in [the book of] Micah we are told that the land of Nimrod was
Assyria. 10 Most of you know how powerful and authoritative the ancient Assyrians
were in the time of King Hezekiah of Judah. But a sister country of Assyria, different
slightly in race, and located farther south was Babylon or Iraq. They also through
Nebuchadnezzar wanted to control the entirety of the world.

Jeremiah, Daniel and the Axial Period

If you look at what happened back in the time of Jeremiah in the 6th century B.C.E.,
Nebuchadnezzar was doing that very thing, taking control just like Nimrod did in the
earlier periods of time. The Assyrians took the northern Israelites captive in the 8th
century B.C.E. to northern regions of the Assyrian Empire. The Jews, the Kingdom of
Judah in the south, lasted until Nebuchadnezzar, who controlled the northern areas
at the time of Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Egypt at that time was powerful also, but
Nebuchadnezzar was able to take over Egypt, and the great power that developed
throughout the entire world at that time (once Israel and Judah were taken out of
the way, and Egypt was eclipsed in power and authority) was Babylon.

This is why Sadaam Hussein at the present time does not look on his kingdom as
going back to Nimrod, though no doubt he has that feeling, but he goes back to
Nebuchadnezzar. He calls himself a new Nebuchadnezzar. The psyche of the people in
Iraq at the present time, and that of Sadaam Hussein for the last 15 years, has been
the idea that they need to rebuild Babylon, have a new Babylonian civilization and
that he [Sadaam] is the new Nebuchadnezzar to bring it to pass. The man who will
be King of Babylon just prior to the 2nd Coming of Christ will be a new
Nebuchadnezzar. This is most important for us to realize.

The original Nebuchadnezzar lived in a time that historians today call an "Axial
Period." Before that time there were various nations around the world that we do not
hear about any more. With the arrival of Nebuchadnezzar, a "new world order" came
on the scene. Babylon became the top nation on earth. In the dream that Daniel
interpreted, Daniel called Nebuchadnezzar the Head of Gold of this vast image that
he saw on the plains of Shinar. The next portion down in the area of the breast was
silver. That came to be the Persian Empire. Coming down to the brass area of the
image, you find the Grecian empire, the Hellenistic or Macedonian empire of
Alexander the Great. Coming down to the legs portion, it came to an iron, and finally
iron mixed with miry clay when you get down to the ten toes. This Iron Kingdom was
to last until the final 10 kingdoms which would be in existence just prior to the
advent of the Kingdom of God. 11 Since this image had a Head of Gold,
Nebuchadnezzar, and the head was where the mindset would be, where the
philosophies, religions, societies and all of that would be established, therefore the
workings of this one vast image would be motivated by the mindset of
Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon.

The period from the 6th century B.C.E. onward, down to the 2nd Coming of Christ was
reckoned as a different type of world system than what had gone on before. At the
time of Nebuchadnezzar was Jeremiah the prophet, who was there at the very
beginning of this Babylonian system. Jeremiah was given a commission, a most
important role not given to any other prophet of the Old Testament period, or of any
time. He should be called the "Axial Prophet," which means the axis in world history,
around which all of secular history embraces, a time of transition in world history.
The prophet who was to introduce it was Jeremiah.

Jeremiahs Commission

Turn to Jeremiah and see that the system established by Nebuchadnezzar was to be
diminished to an extent when the Persians arose a generation or so later. Then the
Greeks and the Macedonians would come up, and then others, and finally on down to
our day today. The head, the mind and the mental activity that would guide world
history from the time of Jeremiah or Nebuchadnezzar forward would be governed by
this Babylon. The whole system would be known as Babylon, reaching down in time
to the 10 toes to be destroyed by the Kingdom of God coming to earth. The 10 toes
are mentioned not only in the book of Daniel, they are also mentioned [by different
terms] in the book of Revelation. The whole Gentile world system that exists, to be
destroyed at the 2nd Coming of Christ, is known as "Mystery Babylon the Great,"
secret Babylon. You would not think of it as being Babylon on the Euphrates in the
book of Revelation, but it will be so. Babylon has existed from the time of
Nebuchadnezzar, all through the various phases of this image mentioned in Daniel
chapter 2.

The Axial Prophet, the one who introduced all of this was Jeremiah. Look at his
commission. He was about 17 years of age when he received this commission from
God.

"Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Before I formed you in
the belly I knew you [YHWH speaking to Jeremiah as a youth.]; and before you
came forth out of the womb I sanctified you, and I ordained you a prophet
unto the nations [all nations of the world]. Then said I [Jeremiah], Ah, Lord
God! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child. But the Lord said unto me,
Say not, I am a child: for you shall go to all that I shall send you, and
whatsoever I command you, you shall speak. Be not afraid of their faces: for
I am with you to deliver you, saith the Lord. Then the Lord put forth his
hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have
put my words in thy mouth. [Here is the commission:] See, I have this day set
you over the nations and over the kingdoms [to do 4 things], to root out,
and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down,

Jeremiah 1:410
That was what he was going to do to the nations in existence at this time. The
nations that were there since the flood had been around for a long time like the
nations of Moab, Ammon, Elam and others. How many of these nations have you
heard of being in existence after the time of Jeremiah? Hardly any of them. But
Jeremiah as Axial Prophet was going "to root out, and to pull down, and to
destroy, and to throw down" various kingdoms and nations. He was also to do
other things, "to build, and to plant" (verse 11). He was to build and to plant new
nations. The nations that arose from the time of Nebuchadnezzar, when Jeremiah
was getting his commission, are the nations that you and I are familiar with today,
nations such as Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome and then let us not forget India,
China, those in Europe, and finally the new world. The nations that we know of
today, and the civilization that we are governed by today, all are essentially
Babylonian as far as mindset is concerned, from the Gentile point of view. They are
known as Babylon today and they differ fundamentally from the type of nations that
existed before Jeremiah.

Jeremiah was given a rule by prophecy over all the nations of the world. If you want
to see how his prophecies were carried out, go to Jeremiah 25. It says that Jeremiah
would give prophecies that would lead to utter destruction to the civilizations back at
that time, save the one that would not be destroyed, but would continue as the
Babylonian civilization to last until the 2nd Advent of Christ.

"Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; Because ye have not heard my
words [speaking to Judah], Behold, I will send and take all the families of the
north, saith the Lord, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant,
and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof,
and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them,
and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations
[desolations that will last a long time]. Moreover I will take from them the voice
of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the
voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle.
And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these
nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. And it shall come to
pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of
Babylon, and that nation, saith the Lord, for their iniquity, and the land of
the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations."

Jeremiah 25:812

The 70-Years Prophecy

Notice this point carefully. In verses 1112 it says that after a 70-year period in
which Judah and the other nations round about would be in desolation, God would
then cause Babylon to be judged, and then suffer perpetual desolations. Or at least it
looks that way on the surface. It says, after a 70-year period from this time. Most
people reading this prophecy of Jeremiah would say, well, Babylon will be a major
power that will exist for 70 years and then be wiped off the surface of the earth. The
only thing is, Babylon was powerful at the time Jeremiah said this, and after 70 years
Babylon as a city was not destroyed at all the way it seems it should have been. In
fact it was not destroyed 200 years later, or even 300 years later. It finally went into
decay about 500 to 700 years later. Do you realize that the prophecies about the
perpetual desolations of this Babylon never took place? In fact, Babylon will be built
up at the end of the age.

Does this mean that the prophecy here of Jeremiah is mistaken? Not at all. It says
after a 70-year period, at some period in the future, Babylon will be judged and go
into perpetual desolations. This is one of the scriptures that give people problems in
trying to understand what and when the judgments would be upon the city and
civilization of Babylon. It says after 70 years.

"For thus saith the Lord God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this
fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send you, to drink it.
And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that
I will send among them. Then took I the cup at the Lords hand, and made
all the nations to drink, unto whom the Lord had sent me."

Jeremiah 25:1517

Note where he starts, to whom does Jeremiah go first? "To wit, Jerusalem, and
the cities of Judah " (Jeremiah 25:18). That is the first one. He told them to
drink of the cup, the cup of indignation and that they will be destroyed. Then it says,
I will, "make them a desolation, an astonishment, an hissing, and a curse;
as it is this day" (verse 18). That is the editor of the book of Jeremiah (likely Ezra
some 100+ years after Jeremiah) saying, look around and see that this prophecy
about Jerusalem has come to pass.

But Jeremiah was not sent just to the kings of Judah and to Jerusalem. In verse 19 it
says go also to Pharaoh, King of Egypt; verse 20 to the mingled people, the Arabs
which means "mingled people" in Hebrew; all the kings of the land of Uz; the kings
of the Philistines (Ashkelon, Gaza, Azzah, Ekron, the remnant of Ashdod). These
were cities down on the southwestern portion of Judah. Edom, Moab and Ammon on
the other side of the river Jordan were included, as well as the kings of Tyre, Sidon
and the isles beyond the sea that reached out into Carthage in North Africa. Dedan,
Tema and Buz and all those that are in the utmost corner, going into Saudi Arabia
were included. All the kings of Arabia were included, going even north into the
Kuwait region in southern Mesopotamia, as were all the kings of the mingled people
that dwell in the desert, all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of Elam, all the kings of
the Medes. Elam and the Medes lived in the country of Iran today, east of the Tigris
River. But it did not stop there. He said, "and all the kings of the north, far and
near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon
the face of the earth" (Jeremiah 25:26).

Notice the end of verse 26, " and the king of Sheshach [Shishak] shall drink
after them." Here was the cup of the wine of indignation Jeremiah was given. God
said take it to Jerusalem first, then to the nations near to Jerusalem, the Philistines
and others, then to the Moabites and the Ammonites and to the Edomites not very
far away. Then take it farther and farther. He finally says, take it to every nation on
earth. Every one of them will drink of this wine of fury of indignation from Me. The
last one to drink will be Shishak.

How many of you studying history have seen a king by the name of Shishak spelled
in this fashion? In fact, Jeremiah wrote this as a cipher for people in his time. When
he explained it to them, they were able to perfectly comprehend what he meant. If
you take the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet beginning with aleph, beth, gimmel,
and daleth, on down to tau, take them in order, and instead of going forward like our
A-B-C, X-Y-Z, you start with Z-Y-X and go backwards. You find that the letters, if you
go forward, represent B-B-L, that is Babel. If you go backwards through the alphabet
it comes to Sh-Sh-K, meaning Shishak. It is a cipher used by Jeremiah to indicate
Babylon at the end of the age, but Babylon which would not have the name Babylon
on it, so to speak, it would be "Mystery Babylon." Shishak would be the last to drink
the wine of indignation. It says that 70 years after this prophecy is when Babylon or
Shishak would drink of the wine of the fury of God and go into perpetual desolation.
That is how it looks on the surface.

Daniels Problem with the 70 Years

But God did not tell Jeremiah that precisely at the end of 70 years it would take
place. He says that after 70 years were up, sometime in the future, the last one to
drink of the wine of the fury of God would be this Mystery Babylon, this Shishak.
When Daniel later tried to interpret what Jeremiah meant, and as the end of the 70-
year period was approaching, he wondered himself whether or not the 70 years
meant 70 literal years and then would come Babylons perpetual destruction.

"In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes,
which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; In the first year of
his reign "

Daniel 9:1

The ruling house of Nebuchadnezzar had ceased to exist by this time. Cyrus had
come on the scene, entered Babylon, did not destroy the city, but took over the
government. After that his son Cambyses came on the scene and ruled for a few
years. Now we come to the time of Darius. Here is Daniel saying Babylon,
supposedly, is no longer with us. We are now under Persian rule. When will the 70
years be up, and when will the perpetual desolation of Babylon to take place, as the
prophecies of Jeremiah said? So it says,

"I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word
of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish
seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem."

Daniel 9:2

That refers to the prophecy in chapter 25 of Jeremiah. But at the end of that 70-year
period when Jerusalem would finally see its judgment completed, Babylon apparently
was also to be judged and go into perpetual desolations. Daniel could look around
him and Babylon was not in perpetual desolations. Indeed it was powerful and
prosperous. The Persian kings had their winter capital there. So Daniel was
scratching his head. What was meant by these 70 years? He wanted to know what
God was talking about. The 70 years were coming and going and the city of Babylon
was not going into perpetual desolation. So Daniel set his "face unto the Lord God,
to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes"
(Daniel 9:3). He wanted to know how to interpret the prophecy.
Daniel finally was given a message from Gabriel on how to interpret that prophecy
correctly. In verse 21 he has a vision once more when Gabriel gives Daniel an
interpretation of how to understand the 70 years of Jeremiah, and how at the end of
the 70 years Babylon would go into perpetual desolation. It shows that it was not to
be 70 literal years, but 70 weeks of years,

" are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the
transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for
iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision
and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy."

Daniel 9:24

The 70-Weeks Prophecy

Seventy weeks of years. Daniel was given a reinterpretation of those 70 years as far
as the Messiah and the people of Judah were concerned, and the establishment of
everlasting righteousness on earth. This 70-weeks of years was to stretch out to 490
years from the time of the going forth of a command to rebuild the city of Jerusalem,
until all these events would be fulfilled of a 490-year period. That was considerably
more than the 70 years mentioned back in chapter 25 of Jeremiah.

This 70-weeks prophecy is most interesting because it is divided into four sections.
In the Hebrew it says that the prophecy is "cut up" or "cut out" of history into four
divisions. One division was to be for a period of 7 weeks, then another period of 62
weeks. Put them together and you get 483 years [7 + 62 = 69, 69 x 7 = 483]. Then
a period of 7 years would exist at the endtime. These 7 years would be divided in
half to be 3 years on one side and 3 years on the other side.

The book of Daniel and the book of Revelation in the New Testament both speak
about endtimes. The book of Revelation in particular talks about this last week of
Daniels 490 years, or the last 7 years of this prophecy, which was divided in half.
The book of Revelation (in 12:14) speaks about a time, times (plural) and half a
time, meaning one time which is a year of 360 days ideally, then two times of 720
days and then half a time would be half a year, 180 days. You add them all together
and you get 1260 days or 42 months [360 + 720 + 180 = 1260]. Forty-two months
equals 3 years. Then 3 years plus 3 years equals 7 years. The 7 years is the
70th week of Daniels 490-year prophecy. It was to stretch out until the very end
when righteousness and the Kingdom of God would come on the earth. 12

It sounds rather complicated. But God tells us how to interpret how long until
Babylon would be destroyed and come under perpetual desolations. Daniel is told
that the Kingdom of Babylon, the Kingdom of Persia, and the Kingdom of Greece,
though Babylon was outwardly destroyed back in the 6th century B.C.E. and then in
the 4th century we find Persia destroyed by the Macedonians and Alexander the
Great. Then Alexanders Grecian empire went by the wayside as well. These
kingdoms back then were to retain their power and authority subliminally until the
end of the age when this last 7-year period would occur that Daniel talked about in
the 70-weeks prophecy.
This is most important to understand, because the image seen in chapter 2 of Daniel
is described again in Daniel chapter 7 in different terms. It says that Daniel was able
to see four beasts come out of the sea.

"And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. The
first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings."

Daniel 7:3

That turns out to be Babylon, when you really understand it. Verse 5, the next was
like a bear and this was Medo-Persia. Then in verse 6, a leopard, and that turned out
to be the Grecian empire of Alexander the Great. In verse 7 he sees a non-descript
beast exceedingly powerful, strong and like iron which finally will develop into 10
kings answering to the 10 toes of the image interpreted in chapter 2 of Daniel. These
10 kings would be under the leadership of one little horn, the antichrist, the beast as
we call him in the book of Revelation, who will stand up against Christ Jesus and who
Christ would put down when the Kingdom of God would come on the earth. It is
interesting about these first three beasts (the lion, the bear and the leopard), which
answer to Babylon, Persia and Greece. It says in verse 11,

"I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn
spoke: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and
given to the burning flame. As concerning the rest of the beasts [the lion,
the bear and the leopard; Babylon, Persia and Greece], they had their
dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time."

Daniel 7:1112

They will be prolonged even after they were "destroyed" back in the 6 th, 4th, and 3rd
centuries B.C.E. In fact in the second part of this prophecy it says in Daniel 7:17,
"These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of
the earth" at the end of the age when you put all of these prophecies together. This
means that Babylon along with Persia, Greece, and the non-descript beast of iron,
will be in existence at the end of the age. Though their dominions anciently were
taken away, they will come forth at the end of the age, and at the head of all of them
will be Babylon succeeded by Persia, and succeeded by Greece. Daniel chapter 7
says there will be a Babylon at the end of the age. There also will be a Persia (which
is Iran). There also will be the area of Greece. 13 These nations will be in existence
when the 10 toes, led by a little horn, will bring up the beast power, the antichristian
kingdom just prior to the 2nd Coming of Christ. Babylon will be around. The perpetual
desolations of Babylon have not yet taken place as prophesied.

The Desolation of Babylon

If you want to see some of those prophecies about Babylon and how perpetual
desolations will come to pass, go back to chapter 13 of Isaiah written in the 8th
century before Christ. 14 It speaks about Babylon finally going into desolations. This
prophecy here in chapter 13 about Babylon is called the "Burden of Babylon." It is
about Babylon when the Day of the Lord will come.
"Howl ye; for the day of the Lord 15 is at hand; it shall come as a destruction
from the Almighty. Behold, the day of the Lord comes, cruel both with
wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the
sinners thereof out of it [talking about the land of Babylon]. For the stars of
heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall
be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to
shine [see Revelation 8:12]. And I will punish the world for their evil, and the
wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogance of the proud to
cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. I will make a man
more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her
place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger."

Isaiah 13:6, 913

This is talking about the whole earth, but it is centered primarily upon Babylon.
Notice what will happen to Babylon when this prophecy takes place. It has never
happened in history, but will come on the earth at the end of the age when the 10
toes come up, when the man of sin, the little horn, is able to control the nations in
the Middle East. Babylon will be right there according to chapter 7 of Daniel.

The Medes are part of the Iran today, and they live east of the Mesopotamian region.

"Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them [Babylon], which shall not
regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it. Their bows also
shall dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit
of the womb; their eye shall not spare children. [notice what will happen to
Babylon] And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees'
excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah."

Isaiah 13:1719

This is talking about a time in the future of the Day of the Lord when the Medes will
do this to Babylon. It has never happened in history. But it will happen in the
generation or so ahead of us. It says,

"It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to

generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the
shepherds make their fold there."

Isaiah 13:20

How surprised I was when I went to Babylon in 1970 on two different occasions and
found Arabs pitching their tents in the city of Babylon. Not only that, a contingent of
the Iraqi army, which I saw and took photographs of, were bivouacking right in the
midst of the ruins of ancient Babylon. It says in this prophecy here that the Arabian
will never pitch a tent in Babylon after the destruction of this city. This prophecy has
never taken place. It will take place in the Day of the Lord. It will take place just
before the emergence of the Kingdom of God on this earth.
"But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full
of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance
there."

Isaiah 13:21

Evil beasts will be in the area of Babylon. I went to Babylon and there was a small
village there, quite pleasant. It was a national park area and Sadaam Hussein had
been building up Babylon and restoring it, trying to bring back the seven gardens,
the Hanging Gardens of ancient Babylon.

That will occur, no matter what happens to Sadaam Hussein. It is in the psyche of
the people of Iraq to bring these things to pass and it is in the Bible that Babylon will
be built back up, but also be destroyed at the end of the age. There are no wild
beasts of the desert living there are the present time. It is quite a pleasant place to
be. In fact on the Fridays, because they are Muslims in that area, when I was there,
people from Halah, which was south about 15 miles, would get in their cars and
come out to Babylon to picnic because it was so pleasant to be there on the
Euphrates River in the massive ancient ruins of Babylon.

Babylon Today

While I was there I was able to go around and pick up stones, ancient bricks and
things like that, some of them half-burnt and some of them not. I found with my own
hands, bricks that had incised on them in cuneiform or wedge-type letters, the name
of Nebuchadnezzar himself. I have these to this very day. You can find them all
around Babylon. It is very pleasant to be in that region, although the area is in ruins.
It was never destroyed the way Isaiah 13 says that it will be destroyed.

"And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and
dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her
days shall not be prolonged."

Isaiah 13:22

"Prolonged" means for judgment. The Medes will do this. The Medes did not destroy
Babylon back in the time of King Cyrus. Cyrus had Median blood in him, that is true,
but it was the Persians primarily that took over Babylon, and they did not destroy it
in this fashion at all, not in the 6th century B.C.E. It was not destroyed in the 4th, or
in the 3rd century B.C.E. either. It went into ruin gradually, over the years.

Go to Jeremiah. He uttered his prophecies some 150 years after Isaiah. In two long
chapters of Jeremiah, at the end of his prophecies, here is what he says concerning
Babylon and the land of the Chaldeans, or as we call it today, Iraq, named after that
sister city of Babel, Erech, in the time of Nimrod.

"The word that the Lord spoke against Babylon and against the land of the
Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet. Declare ye among the nations, and
publish, and set up a standard; publish, and conceal not: say, Babylon is
taken, For out of the north there comes up a nation against her, which
shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall
remove, they shall depart, both man and beast."

Jeremiah 50:13

This nation from the north is described later in this long prophecy here as being the
Medes who will head a coalition of peoples to destroy Babylon in the day of the Lord.
That Babylon will be there in our day today, the Babylon that Daniel chapter 7 says
will come back and exist along with Persia, and with Macedonia (Greece or Javan) at
the end of the age. Their dominion would be taken away, but they themselves
remained and will come back up in power and authority in the generation prior to the
establishment of the Kingdom of God. "For out of the north there comes up a
nation against her, which shall make her land desolate," and she will be
perpetually desolate from that time forward and throughout the millennium.

Babylon will remain desolate, along with the nation of Edom, southeast of Jerusalem.
All the other nations of the world in the millennium will be beautiful, wonderful, full
of joy and happiness, and even the deserts of Israel will blossom. A few areas of the
earth will remain in perpetual desolations, just a few, to remind the people
throughout the millennium of the great sins that these nations did.

We find God in Jeremiah and also in Isaiah, describing what will happen. This is for
the future because these prophecies have never yet happened in history. Look at the
end of verse 3, " none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall
depart, both man and beast." People have dwelt in Babylon from the time that
this prophecy was made. It was a great city in the time of Jeremiah, in the time of
Cyrus, King of Persia, and in the time of Alexander the Great. Babylon was
considered by Alexander to be the capital of his world empire. He wanted to retain it.
Only in the generation after Alexander was it decided to build a new Babylon on the
River Tigris about 50 miles north. They built it up there and called it Babylon on the
Tigris.

Baghdad and Babylon

One of the local names of this new Babylon on the Tigris was Baghdad, the city that
we find there today. Later the Seleucid Empire decided to move the capital from that
region of the Tigris, to an area on the Mediterranean coast near where the Orontes
River went into the Mediterranean. Antiochus the Great built the city there, and he
called it Antioch. Another name for it was Babylon on the Orontes. They wanted to
retain the name Babylon, but these cities eventually became known as Baghdad and
Antioch. 16

People continue to live in Babylon. The Arabian is pitching his tent there to this very
day. Even in the time of B.W. Newton who wrote in the last century (the Englishman
who said that these prophecies were never fulfilled, but would be in the future), he
said you can go to Babylon then in his day and find Arabians living in the area and
pitching their tents there. I saw them with my own eyes and have pictures of them.
Even the Iraqi army bivouacked there was living in tents. So the prophecies that are
being talked of here are not the prophecies that have been fulfilled.
These prophecies are for the end of the age, exactly as Daniel said would take place.
Shishak (which is Mystery Babylon to be destroyed at the end of the age) is not the
Babylon back in the time of Isaiah or Jeremiah, it is the future Babylon to be raised
up at the end of the age. A future Nebuchadnezzar will come along who will be the
King of Babylon. He will be an Assyrian (Assyria being a sister race of the
Babylonians). He will head this coalition of Babylonian powers.

Going on in Jeremiah, "Because of the wrath of the Lord it shall not be

inhabited, but it shall be wholly desolate" (Jeremiah 50:13), from that time on.
That never happened to the Babylon of history, but it will happen to the Babylon to
come up a few years from now. Verse 15 says of this future Babylon that the walls
will be thrown down where you cannot even find them. 17 But they are being raised
up right now by the supposed new Nebuchadnezzar, Sadaam Hussein. If he lasts any
longer, he may continue to do so. If not, someone else will do it, because this
Babylon will come back in power and authority. You can still see many of the walls of
the city of Babylon over there.
It goes on to say in Jeremiah 50:23 that Babylon will become a desolation. But it is
not desolation at this time. It says in Jeremiah 50:38 that Babylon shall be, "A
drought upon her waters; and they shall be dried up." Babylon is a desert
area, that is quite true, but it is right on the Euphrates River, and there is plenty of
water underneath the city of Babylon. One of the reasons they have difficulty in
preserving some of the clay tablets is because the water table is so high that it
caused tablets to fuse together into a type of a mud. It has not become a drought
area. It is still quite pleasant.

"Therefore the wild beasts of the desert with the wild beasts of the islands
shall dwell there, and the owls shall dwell therein [the type of evil animals that
God is talking about]: and it shall be no more inhabited for ever [for olam, for
the age]; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation."

Jeremiah 50:39

That is the destruction of the future Babylon that will be raised up. But right now it is
being dwelt in.

"As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbor cities thereof,
saith the Lord; so shall no man abide there, neither shall any son of man
dwell therein. Behold, a people shall come from the north [the Medes], and a
great nation, and many kings shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth.
they are cruel, and will not show mercy."

Jeremiah 50:4042

These kings will come against this future Babylon. Going on in Jeremiah 51:2, it says
that these kings of the north, these Medes, will empty the land of Babylon of people
and of beasts. It says in verse 8 that, "Babylon is suddenly fallen and
destroyed." This never happened in ancient history. It says in verse 11,

"Make bright the arrows; gather the shields: the Lord hath raised up the
spirit of the kings of the Medes: for his device is against Babylon, to destroy
it."

Jeremiah 51:11

This is the future Babylon. Continuing on to verse 26,

"And they shall not take of you a stone for a corner, nor a stone for
foundations; but you shall be desolate for ever [for olam, for the age], saith
the Lord [YHWH]."

Jeremiah 51:26

No stones will be reused from this Babylon in the future. When B.W. Newton wrote
his work some 130140 years ago, he said the Babylon on the Euphrates, the old
Babylon of the old Nebuchadnezzar was not the one being talked of, because it was
not destroyed in this fashion by the Medes. He says that 15 miles to the south, most
of the city of Hillah was built of stones from the ruins of Babylon.
Though I did not get to Hillah myself when I was in Iraq, I have guidebooks which
said 20 years ago [from 1991] that they were still getting and using bricks from
Babylon to build parts of their homes in Hillah, a city of about 100,000 people. But
this rebuilt Babylon will be destroyed to such an extent that,

" they shall not take of you a stone for a corner, nor a stone for
foundations; but you shall be desolate for ever [for the age], saith the Lord."

Jeremiah 51:26

It mentions the nations that will do the destructions, the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni
and Ashchenas, along with the Medes. Verse 29, Babylon shall become "a
desolation without an inhabitant." In verse 36,

" I will dry up her sea, and make her springs dry. And Babylon shall
become heaps, a dwelling place for dragons, an astonishment, and an
hissing, without an inhabitant."

Jeremiah 51:3637

No one shall dwell in the future Babylon. It will be so utterly destroyed that for a
1,000-year period no animal or beast will be there. No Arabian will pitch his tent
there. Not even the bricks will be used to build other cities and houses and towns.
These prophecies have never been fulfilled. Verse 43,

"Her cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no
man dwells, neither does any son of man pass thereby."

Jeremiah 51:43

It goes on to say, " spoilers shall come unto her from the north" (Jeremiah
51:48) which shall turn this Babylon into utter destruction and that the land of the
Chaldeans shall be utterly broken,

"The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, and her high gates shall
be burned with fire; and the people shall labor in vain, and the folk in the
fire, and they shall be weary. The word which Jeremiah the prophet
commanded ..."

Jeremiah 51:5859

The words of Jeremiah the prophet will come to pass. This is the time, as he said in
Jeremiah 25, when Shishak, Mystery Babylon shall be destroyed. It was not to occur
70 years after the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in the 6th century B.C.E.
It was not to take place in the time of Daniel when he read the prophecies of
Jeremiah and he saw the 70 years transpire. Daniel said, well, I guess it is about
time for Babylon to be destroyed, but the angel Gabriel came to him and said, no,
there is a different way to interpret this. God did not say precisely at the end of the
70 years. Gabriel said there is a 490-year period, 70-weeks of years until that will
take place, and even that is in four divisions.
There is coming a final division of one week of 7 years divided into two sections, 3
years on one side, 3 years on the other. These 3 year periods will be dominated
by 10 kings, or as in the original vision of Nebuchadnezzar, the 10 toes of this
Babylonian image. Babylon will come back along with Persia and along with Greece
and be a part of this image, along with the iron, and iron mixed with miry clay, to be
destroyed at the end of the age. This Babylonian image with the mind of
Nebuchadnezzar was the type of the age dominated by Babylon. It was an age in
which Jesus Christ would come and the Gospel given to the world.

It is the age that you and I are in right now, and coming closer to the end every day.
What is happening in the Persian Gulf, in Kuwait, in Iraq and in the Babylon that we
are talking about here, is a prelude no doubt of the setting-up of this new
Babylon that is described here, to be destroyed by the Medes and other nations from
out of the north. These prophecies in Isaiah chapters 13, 14, 47, all the chapters of
Habakkuk as well as Jeremiah chapters 50 and 51, and some prophecies of Daniel,
as well as Revelation, which speak about Babylon connected with the final world
kingdom to emanate from Mystery Babylon, all of these things are to be brought to
an end with the 2nd advent of Christ.

We need to keep our minds on what is happening in the Middle East, no matter what
occurs with Sadaam Hussein, or how much Iraq is reduced of its power and
authority. It is destined to come back with a new power that will be in existence at
the 2nd coming of Christ. We need to keep our eyes on that area. Just as Japan and
Germany recovered very quickly [after World War II], so we can find the same thing
happening in the Middle East. The future prophetic history of Iraq is fascinating.

Lets keep our minds on what the Bible says.

Ernest L. Martin, 1991

Edited by David Sielaff, April 2003

1 In fact I was Dean of Faculty of their college in England. Soon after I was promoted
to Chairman of the Department of Theology in Pasadena, California. I tried to tell
the authorities in my former denomination that, but it was just like water off a
ducks back. They were not interested in knowing any of it at the time. Most were
not knowledgeable of ancient history in most cases, or when it came to Babylon,
they considered it to be a symbol of Rome or some other area like in Europe.
They did not want to see that these prophecies had a geographical basis in the
Middle East where we find Iraq at present.

2 Upon returning to Jerusalem in 1970 and finally back to England where I then lived,
I began to tell the church authorities these things. As I said before I got little
attention from most of them because they have little understanding of ancient
history. No matter how I tried to show the historical and geographical factors of
the prophecies and how these factors showed there was to be a relatively strong
and viable nation known as Babylon near the end of the age, it made no
difference.
3 These works were, Aids to Prophetic Inquiry, 3rd ed. (London: Houlston and Sons,
1881) and Babylon, Its Future History and Doom, 3rd ed. (London: Houlston &
Sons, 1890). DWS

4
People knew since the time of Alexander the Great and earlier about oil deposits,
but not the magnitude that have been discovered in the last 50 to 70 years.
Newton had no idea that Babylon would be an area of great wealth as far as
petroleum was concerned. He wrote that the Bible said it would be so.

5
God said in the book of Daniel that as time would pass, as we got closer to the end
of the age when the Kingdom of God would emerge on earth, that more
knowledge and understanding of what God will do will be made known to His
people, to those who are wise, to those who have the Holy Spirit, to those
studying the Scriptures to know what will occur. Many of these prophecies of the
Old Testament are very clear and plain, even on the surface, but you have to
realize through the Spirit of God the chronological time periods in which these
prophecies will become relevant. That takes a great deal of patience,
understanding and wisdom. Only God can give that to us. I hope He has given a
measure of it to all of us. I believe that He has.

6
Noah and his wife came through the flood with three children, Ham, Shem and
Japheth. Each of them had wives with them, so there were 8 people in the ark.
After the flood the world was apportioned to the three sons.

7
Cush is an ancient name for Ethiopia. There was a southern Cush in Africa, and an
eastern Cush which resided finally in India, known as the Eastern Cushites.
Mizraim was the name of the ancient Egyptians. Phut comprised the dark races in
Africa, and also in the east associated with India. Canaan settled in the land
known as Israel.

8
In later Greek mythology Nimrod finally became known as Orion, the great hunter.
When he died, his soul supposedly trans-ferred into heaven as the largest
constellation. The brightest star in the northern hemisphere is Sirius the Dog Star,
associated with Orion. It is interesting that the constellation Orion straddles the
celestial equator, about half of it is in the northern hemisphere, and about half in
the southern. It came to designate rulership over the entire globe. The first one
to have that control was Nimrod.

9
Sadaam Hussein claims to be a new Nebuchadnezzar, or at least he has said that
up to this time. He wanted to reestablish a new Babylonian supremacy here on
this earth, first in the Middle East, and finally reaching out to embrace the
entirety of this world. His visions, and the visions of this future person who will
come, who will be the King of Babylon, will certainly have ideas of grandeur and
majesty associated with him. He will take up the mantle of Nimrod. He will want
to establish his rulership over the entirety of the world, just like we find the
constellation of Orion has half in the southern hemisphere and half in the
northern hemisphere, straddling the celestial equator as the largest of the
constellations.

10
Micah 5:6, "And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and
the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from
 the Assyrian, when he comes into our land, and when he treads within
our borders."

11
That Kingdom of God, we learn from later New Testament teaching will be headed
by the Messiah or Christ Jesus. A stone was to be cut out of a mountaintop, cut
out without hands, roll down the side of that mountain, come toward that image
standing in the plains of Shinar and hit that image upon the 10 toes. The image
then would fall over because it had no base on which to stand, and the stone
would pummel that image made of gold, silver, bronze, iron and miry clay into
dust. Then the wind would blow the dust away into other areas of the world, and
that image would come to an end. The stone that would pummel that image into
dust was to become a great mountain itself and was the symbol of the Kingdom
of God on earth. Jesus Christ Himself was the stone.

12
In other words there is a period from the beginning of this prophecy here, which
would start with the giving of a command to rebuild the city of Jerusalem which
would go 490 years. Most people would imagine that the 490 years were all
successive to one another. As I said before, the Hebrew does not say that. It says
that these periods are cut out of time. It means that the first 49 years are one
segment, followed by 434 years that is another segment. Add the two together
and get 483 years. The last 7 years at the end of the age was cut in half, 3
years on one side, 3 years on the other, and you would have the completion of
the 490 years leading to the Kingdom of God on earth.

13
When it says Javan it means Greece. It does not mean just the Greek archipelago
or the peninsula at the present time, but it has to do with the western part of
Asia Minor as well, and Macedonia going into Europe. That region of influence will
come up in power and authority at the end of the age, along with Babylon and
along with Persia.

14
The desolations did not happen in the 6th century B.C.E. under Cyrus. They did not
take place even when Alexander the Great came on the scene. Babylon was still
there. They never have taken place. Babylon went into a state of slow internal
decay from about the time of Christ. By the time of the 2nd century C.E., there
were just a few remnants of Babylon left there, a few priests of the ancient
Chaldeans still in the region, but for all practical purposes Babylon ceased to
exist.

15
The term "the Day of the Lord" is a descriptive phrase of that generation just prior
to the time when the Kingdom of God would emerge on this earth. That is the
period we are coming into at the present time.

16
Antioch was where the believers in Christ were first called Christians, where Paul
did a lot of work.

17
I could take you there right now [in 1991] if we could get to the city. Maybe after
this war is over in 2, 3, 4 or 5 years, people will be able to go back to see
Babylon.
CHAPTER 5

Mystery Babylon the Great

by Ernest L. Martin, Ph.D., 1974
Edited by David Sielaff, September 2003

Read the accompanying Newsletter for September 2003

The apostle John was taken forward by the Spirit into the Lords Day
(Revelation 1:10). What he saw did not occur simply on a Sabbath or a
Sunday, but he was transferred in vision to the great end a time period
known in the Old Testament as the Day of the Lord. This is the period which
includes Israels redemption, Christs second coming and the establishing of
Gods Kingdom in the Millennium. The seven churches of Revelation needed
a prophetic message of what was going to occur in that period so, the
Book of Revelation was given by God to show unto his servants things
which must shortly come to pass (Revelation 1:1). The book concerns the
evil things that will exist at that crucial time in history.

It is within this context that Christ revealed that a great evil city (Revelation 17:18)
would exist just before the second coming of Christ

with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the
inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her
fornication.

Revelation 17:2

Some have considered this great city to be Rome because of seven mountains which
are associated with it (Revelation 17:10). Modern Rome embraces more than seven
hills (even Vatican Hill was not one of the original seven); still, ancient Rome was
normally called the City of Seven Hills (Virgil, Aenid, VI, 785). But ancient Babylon
also had seven artificial hills within its walls, and even Constantinople (often called
the Second Rome) had seven hills within its boundaries. The city of Jerusalem
might be said to be on seven hills if all of them associated with the city are counted.
1
So, one must be careful and not presume that John is definitely referring to Rome.
Especially is this true when one notices that the seven mountains of Revelation
17:10 are not literal mountains, but that John identified them as being seven kings.

And here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven
mountains, on which the woman sits. And there are seven kings

Revelation 17:910

The word there is not in the Greek text. The literal Greek shows the seven
mountains ARE, or they represent, seven kings. They are not actual mountains at all.
This city is called Mystery [Secret] Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots
and abominations of the Earth (Revelation 17:5). It is to be a secret Babylon
not an actual or an obvious Babylon that all could recognize. It is to be a hidden one,
but still, in Gods eyes, it will be an evil Babylon.

Paul said the government system ruled by Babylon at the end of the age would be
headed by a man claiming to be God (2 Thessalonians 2:4). He will come,

with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because

they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved. And for this
cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a
[Greek: the] lie.

2 Thessalonians 2:1011

The system that will develop will not look like Babylon on the surface. It will look
good and righteous. It will look holy. But the people of the earth (and it will include
all people on earth) will believe the great lie about this city and the man who governs
it. They will actually be giving heed to the secret, or hidden, Babylon, thinking that
they are recognizing something far different. Notice the proof of this.

How Extensive the Kingdom of Babylon?

Some want to limit the influence of Secret Babylon to ten nations in Europe. This
does not agree with Scripture. This Babylon will be transported by a Beast
(Revelation 17:3). This Beast, and the extent of his sway, is described in Revelation
chapter 13. His authority will extend out much further than Europe alone. The Bible
says all the world wondered after the Beast (Revelation 13:3). All the
world really means the entire world!

And power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations, and
all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him.

Revelation 13:78

This Beast who will head Secret Babylon will be worshipped voluntarily, even joyfully.
Paul said the Beast would even proclaim himself God and sit in the Temple which will
be in Jerusalem (2 Thessalonians 2:4). And his dominion will be worldwide. That is
what Revelation says.

At the time of the Beast and Secret Babylon, only two types of people will then dwell
on the earth: (1) those who worship the Beast, and (2) those whose names are
written in the Lambs Book of Life who will not worship him (Revelation 13:8). There
will be no middle ground. Those saints mentioned in the Book of Life will not worship
him, but ALL others on earth will believe the great lie (about his being God) and they
will worship him. The whole world will be caught up in this great delusion.

There is also to be a false prophet associated with this Beast and Secret Babylon
(Revelation 13:11). This false prophet will cause the earth and them that dwell
therein [note: it represents all on the earth] to worship the first beast
(Revelation 13:12). Great satanic miracles will accompany this false prophet which
will deceive them that dwell on earth [note again: all on earth will be deceived]
(Revelation 13:1314). So extensive will be the deceivableness that it truly will affect
all.

He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to
receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: and that no man [it
means all the earth is involved] might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or
the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

Revelation 13:1617

The only people excepted, as mentioned before, are those people who have their
names written in the Lambs Book of Life. But, of those it is said: It was given
unto him [the beast] to make war with the saints, and to overcome them
(Revelation 13:7).

This Beast and the False Prophet will bring to pass an evil world government just
before the second coming of Christ. We know that this evil system will exist just
before Christs coming because Revelation chapter 19 says these two men will be
leading an army to fight Christ at His coming. They will be defeated and cast into the
lake of fire (Revelation 19:1920). Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:8 calls the chief leader
the man whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and
shall destroy with the brightness of his coming. Clearly, then, the Beast will
emerge on the historical scene just before and up to the coming of Christ. The Beast
and the rising up of Secret Babylon with its evil world government are yet to occur in
the future.

A False Christ Is Prophesied

The majority of people on earth will worship the Beast. He will sit in a Temple which
will be in Jerusalem. It is illegal to have a Temple of God (as Paul says it will be) in
any other location. He will be accompanied by a false prophet with the ability to
perform Elijah-like miracles (that is, fire will come down out of heaven). What does
all of this mean? Let us recall the words of our Lord,

Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it
not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show
great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall
deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before.

Matthew 24:2325

Though there will be several false Christs to occur near the end of the age, our Lord
focused on one false Christ: If they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the
desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers [probably the
Temple]; believe it not (Matthew 24:26). There is coming a great false Christ who
will sit in a Temple in Jerusalem for 3 years and from there control, as a god-ruler,
the whole world.

Since Babylon is called Secret or Hidden Babylon, it will not be the actual Babylon
on the River Euphrates. The Beast will govern his kingdom from the place where he
sits in the Temple of God calling himself God it will be Jerusalem. And what will
Jerusalem be called at that time? The great city, which spiritually is called
Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified (Revelation 11:8). It is
also called that great city [Secret Babylon], which reigns over the kings of the
earth (Revelation 17:18).

Mystery, or Secret, Babylon will be Jerusalem just before the end of the age. After
all, since a great false Christ is prophesied to come, from what location is that
Christ prophesied to rule as recorded in the Old Testament? It is only Jerusalem!
And while the true Christ is prophesied to have an Elijah associated with His second
coming, the Beast (the false Christ) has with him the false prophet of Revelation
chapter 13 who does Elijah-like miracles.

This is where the great deceivableness will come which Paul speaks of in 2
Thessalonians 2:1011. The people on the earth will be shown so many miracles by
the false prophet, that they will believe the lie that the Beast is the Christ to come
and that the prophet is the prophesied Elijah to come. There will be only a few whose
names are written in the Lambs Book of Life who will know differently.

The false Christ and the false prophet will claim to fulfill all the prophecies of the Old
Testament in bringing in their world government when both bond and free, rich and
poor, small and great, will receive a mark in the right hand or forehead so that
people cannot buy or sell unless they obey the false Christ.

Since prophecies show that the Christ will bring into existence the Mosaic legislation
once again (Isaiah 66:2223; Zechariah 14:1719) and the true Christ will
demand the true spiritual application of that legislation the false Christ will (and he
will use prophecy to support his satanic error) reinstitute Moses in a wrong way. Even
the beautiful laws of God which He gave to Moses can be perverted to control men.

This is Satans last great deception. He will allow a false Christ to establish a world
government emanating from Jerusalem to govern mankind, from a Temple, with laws
of God, which Satan will deceptively pervert. The true Christ can, and will, establish
Gods true world government with Sabbaths, New Moons and Festival Days within the
millennial period, but the false Christ can, and will, use them beforehand to
hoodwink men. It will certainly not be Sunday, Easter, or Christmas that the false
Christ will force all men to keep. He is out to deceive the world into believing that he
is the prophesied Christ of the Old and New Testaments. He will almost deceive the
very elect Christians in his subterfuge. It will be satanic deception indeed. He will
reinstitute Moses, and it will not be in a true Christian way. Remember that the Jews
in the time of Christ kept the Law of Moses, but they did so wrongly; and Paul said
Jerusalem which now is, is in bondage with her children (Galatians 4:25).

The Two Witnesses, and After

Just before the Beast and the False Prophet set up their 3 year universal rule from
Jerusalem (Revelation 13:5), there will be two witnesses of God who will prophesy
with plagues and portents also for a 3 year period prior to the emergence of
Mystery Babylon in all her glory (Revelation 11:313). The Beast will kill these two
prophets just before he commences his world rule (Revelation 11:7). They will
prophesy from the city of Jerusalem and will be killed in Jerusalem (Revelation 11:8).
Christ said: For it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem (Luke
13:33).

The world will rejoice at their deaths (Revelation 11:10). Since their plagues will
reach to all parts of the earth (Revelation 11:6), all the world will know of them. The
world will be in communication with Jerusalem throughout their ministry and all will
know of their deaths.

At the death of these witnesses of God, the Beast and the False Prophet will emerge
with a supposed blessing for mankind. Instead of the plagues of the two witnesses,
the Beast and False Prophet will bring in a time of peace and safety (1
Thessalonians 5:3). The Beast (calling himself the prophesied Christ to come) will
cause peace and prosperity to come upon the earth. The merchants and ship owners
will rejoice over the new world order (Revelation 18:19). Great riches and progress
will accrue to all who heed the ways of the system. The world capital will be the new
international city of Jerusalem (but it will be a new Babel). The aim of the system will
be the ultimate rejection of the true God. It will be Satans world government which
he promised to give to the one who would bow down and worship him (Matthew
4:8).

But all this evil will come to naught. After 3 years with the world worshipping the
false Christ, abetted by the false prophet, all will come to an end (Revelation 18:8
10). The ten kings who govern the world in cooperation with the Beast will destroy
the very system that they created (Revelation 17:16). They will not do it on their
own accord, but God will cause their minds to want to accomplish His purpose
(Revelation 17:17). When this happens, the world-ruling international city of
Jerusalem will become a smoldering ruin. Then will appear the true Christ from
heaven. He will come to the Mount of Olives and to the ruins of Jerusalem ready to
set up His own true government. The Beast, the False Prophet, and the armies of the
Ten Kings will amass to destroy the true Christ. But they, in turn, will be dealt with.
Christ then establishes the Millennium on earth with the real government of God
predominating. Satans world kingdom will be replaced by that of the true Christ.

Summary

There will be a false Christ, reigning from a Temple, in Jerusalem at the end of the
age, who will bring the world back into a spiritual bondage just like Jerusalem was in
during the time of Paul. In fact, it will be much worse. This false system will so
deceive people that Christ said, insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall
deceive the very elect (Matthew 24:24). The very elect would not remotely be
deceived if the Beast and the False Prophet claimed Buddhism or Islam as their
religious system. But the Beast will claim to be the Christ who is prophesied to set up
the Kingdom of God as the Old Testament prophets said would happen at the end of
the age. There will be great miracles occurring to support the deception. When this
happens, even the very elect might be tempted to believe the satanic lie.

Since the world can read the Book of Revelation as well as any Christian saint (to
understand it is another matter), there is little doubt that the world will be taught
erroneously by the Beast and False Prophet that the two witnesses (who plagued the
world for 3 years) were the Beast and False Prophet prophesied to come. If the two
witnesses can be palmed off as the prophesied Beast and False Prophet, then the two
evil men of Revelation chapter 13 (the actual Beast and False Prophet) could then be
proclaimed as the Christ and Elijah to rescue the world. Truly, only the very elect will
be able to know the difference. This is why there will be a great deceivableness in
relationship with the realm of the Beast. People will think the Millennium of God has
begun when the Beast says he is God in the Temple at Jerusalem. They will think
him to be Christ returned from heaven. The Beast will restore (along with the false
Elijah) the Old Testament worship at Jerusalem (but without sacrifices). They will
pervert the beautiful laws of God by reconvening the Old Testament system in a
wrong way. Some religious leaders would like these laws in force now.

Let us be very careful to weigh all these prophecies. Mystery Babylon is clearly the
Jerusalem just before the second coming of Christ. It will be the center of world
empire and the capital of the false Christ with the false Elijah. Pay heed to the truth
of God regarding these matters. Behold, I have told you before.

Prophetic Trends to Watch: 2

1. Watch for any plan to internationalize Jerusalem (Revelation 17:2).

[This is slowly taking place as nations begin to insist Jerusalem be
internationalized. DWS]
2. Watch for economic power to be centered in the Middle East (Daniel
8:25).
[This is slowing taking place as Iraq and other nations of the Middle East
achieve greater economic stability. DWS]

3. Watch for the breakdown of democratic governments and the

establishment of monarchial or hierarchical systems (Revelation
17:10).
[It now appears that kings will arise within democratic structures. DWS]

4. Watch for any move to make Jerusalem the center of religion, culture,
or government (Revelation 18:22).
[This is taking place as Jerusalem becomes the center of world news. DWS]

5. Watch for the construction of a Temple in Jerusalem (1 Thessalonians

2:4).
[There is much planning already behind the scenes by devoted Jewish
organizations, aided by well-meaning Christians and Christian groups. DWS]

6. Watch attempts by political and religious leaders to bring peace and

harmony among all nations (Matthew 10:34).
[The United Nations and other intergovernmental bodies have grown in
influence since 1974. An increase in power will follow. DWS]

7. Watch for an increase in miracles by men claiming to be Gods

representatives (Matthew 7:2223).
[This is just beginning to occur. DWS]

Ernest L. Martin, 1974

Edited by David Sielaff, September 2003
1Dr.Martinfoundothersourcesthatconfirmedthis.SeehisarticleTheSevenHillsofJerusalemon
theASKWebsiteathttp://askelm.com/prophecy/p000201.htm.

2Thesetrendshaveyettotakeplace,infull,even29yearslater.Thisindicatesthatthereisstillsome
timebeforetheydotakeplace.Theimmediatefuturewillbeinterestingandexciting.DWS

The Seven Hills of Jerusalem

By Ernest L. Martin, Ph.D., 2000
Reformatted by David Sielaff

Read the accompanying Newsletter for February 2000

It was common custom in the centuries before Christ for people in the
Roman world to refer to the City of Rome itself as the "City of Seven Hills."
The references are numerous and consistent. And indeed, when Romulus
and Remus wanted to build a city in the area of the Tibur River (just inland
from the coast to afford a greater protection for the city from sea pirates or
from the naval warfare of hostile powers), it was divinely selected, in
Roman parlance, that the city had to be on "seven hills." The number
"seven" was a universal symbol that signified "completion" or "perfection,"
and the ancients who founded Rome wanted people to know that this
particular city was destined to have a world influence and fame, and that it
was no ordinary city that was being constructed in the 8th century BC.

The fact that Rome was designated "The Seven Hilled City" was significant
enough to render it as a sacred and holy city that was designed to have
world power and authority. This is one of the reasons the ancient people of
the world always respected the City of Rome, whether they were its arch
defenders and supporters or its enemies and were alien to its political and
religious concepts. Even when the city in the time of the Empire finally grew
beyond the strict limits of the "Seven Hills" (and reached out to embrace
other hills in the vicinity and even hills on the other side of the Tibur River,
such as Vatican Hill), the people for nostalgic reasons still retained the
name of the city by its original designation: "the City of Seven Hills."

But strange as it may seem, the City of Jerusalem as it existed in the time of Christ
Jesus was also reckoned to be the "City of Seven Hills." This fact was well recognized
in Jewish circles. In the Pirke de-Rabbi Eliezer, an 8th century midrashic narrative
(section 10), the writer mentioned without commentary (showing that the
understanding was well known and required no defense) that "Jerusalem is
situated on seven hills" (recorded in The Book of Legends, edited by Bialik and
Ravnitzky, p. 371, paragraph 111). And, so it was. Those "seven hills" are easy to
identify.

If one starts with the Mount of Olives just to the east of the main City of Jerusalem
(but still reckoned to be located within the environs of Jerusalem), there are three
summits to that Mount of Olives:
 1. The northern summit (hill) is called Scopus [Hill One],

2. The middle summit (hill) was called Nob [Hill Two],

3. The highest point of Olivet itself, and the southern summit (hill) was called in
the Holy Scriptures the "Mount of Corruption" or "Mount of Offence" [Hill
Three] (II Kings 23:13).

4. On the middle ridge between the Kedron and the Tyropoeon Valleys there was
(formerly) in the south "Mount Zion" [Hill Four] (the original "Mount Zion" and
not the later southwest hill that was later called by that name),

5. The "Ophel Mount" [Hill Five],

6. To the north of that the "Rock" around which "Fort Antonia" was built [Hill
Six],

7. And finally, there was the southwest hill itself [Hill Seven] that finally became
known in the time of Simon the Hasmonean as the new "Mount Zion."

This makes "Seven Hills" in all.

This does not end the significance of "Seven Hills" for the urban areas that the
ancients looked on as being the centers of divine sovereignty on this earth. We are
all familiar with Babylon on the Euphrates (which became the capital of the world in
the time of Nebuchadnezzar in the 6th century BC) as being the "Seven Hilled City."
And, it may be surprising for some to learn this, but when Constantine the emperor
wanted to build a "new Rome" in the eastern part of the Roman Empire (because
most of the economic life of the Roman Empire in the 4th century AD was centered in
the eastern half of the Empire and he felt he needed a capital city much nearer the
economic center of the Empire), he finally selected a spot on the Bosporus called
Byzantium. The reason he selected this spot to be the "New Rome" was because it
was a small village also located on "Seven Hills." This made "New Rome" as a City of
Seven Hills.

What we observe is the fact that the ancients symbolically looked on the various
capitals of the world as having "Seven Hills." The significance of this fact even had a
meaning for the apostle John who, under the influence of Christ Jesus himself, wrote
the Book of Revelation. We find that the last world capital would be "Mystery
Babylon" and that it would have "seven mountains" (Revelation 17:9) associated
with it. The fact that history has "Seven Hills" (or "Mountains") associated with FOUR
world kingdoms: Babylon, Rome, Byzantium, and Jerusalem, there has been some
confusion about which of these (or, perhaps, another "New City") was the intention of
the apostle John who was writing for Christ Jesus in the Book of Revelation. The
truth is, however, when one looks at the subject of the Book of Revelation carefully,
there is only one of those "Cities of Seven Hills" that could possibly be the subject of
the End-Time revelation. That is the City of Jerusalem. The "Mystery Babylon" of the
Book of Revelation is none other than Jerusalem!

The last world kingdom will be headquartered in Jerusalem, not in Rome, Babylon on
the Euphrates or in Byzantium, or anywhere else. The Antichrist will come to
Jerusalem. He will look in all appearances as though he is none other than Christ
Jesus himself. Remember, Satan and his angels will be expelled from heaven and
come to earth (Revelation chapter 12). The world will make a big mistake and think
that Satan and his angels are none other than Christ and His angels returning from
heaven at the Second Advent. This is the "great lie" the world will believe that the
apostle Paul spoke about in 2 Thessalonians 2:8-12. The world will think that Satan
is none other than Christ. However, I have been telling readers for over thirty years
that the first person who claims to be the returned Christ to earth (even if great
miracles are associated with him) IS the false Christ, called in other parts of the Holy
Scriptures by the title of Antichrist. The false Christ will come to Jerusalem (the
"City of Seven Hills") in order to rule the world, NOT to Rome in Italy!

The false Christ will come to a rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem and his image will be
placed in the Holy of Holies. He will point out that this is lawful to do in the Mosaic
legislation (Exodus 25:18-22; 26:31; 36:8).

[For more information on what will occur in this New Temple in Jerusalem, see my
new book The Temples that Jerusalem Forgot. The important and significant
information on the history of the Temples is so extensive that even after the
publication of the book, I will have much, much more evidence of a prophetic nature
to present that it will require at least a year for me to record it all for you. This
research involving the full extent of the true knowledge concerning the Temples will
be presented on the Internet.]

After three and a half years of the rule of the Antichrist, the Second Advent of Christ
Jesus (our Elder Brother) will occur. All of us will then triumph during those traumatic
days on the horizon (without us having to hoard food). In the meantime, we have a
big job to do in teaching the Gospel to the world. I hope all of us will be about our
Fathers business in showing the world these vital truths of the Gospel.

The Prophesied State of Palestine

By Ernest L. Martin, Ph.D., 2001
Edited by David Sielaff, January 2009

Read the accompanying Newsletter for April 2001

Listen to the Byte Show Interviews on this article:

The Prophesied State of Palestine - Listen Download MP3

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There is much talk going on in the world at the present about the creation of
a State of Palestine next to Israel in the area of the eastern Mediterranean.
Whereas it was looked on as nigh improbable a mere twenty years ago that
such a State could possibly be developed (though I have published
material stating in 1974 that prophecy demanded such a State at the End-
Time), in this 21st century it is NOT IF a State of Palestine is possible, but
it is WHEN and WHERE will that State be inaugurated? Though it is
recognized that the region of Gaza will be included in such a State, people
often wonder what other areas will be attached. In this regard, the Holy
Scriptures have some prophetic teachings on this subject that can go a long
way in leading the politicians in the Middle East to construct their new
State of Palestine along biblical lines.

There are some definite indications in the Holy Scriptures and history that have
profound teachings on this important matter. It would be profitable if both Prime
Minister Sharon of Israel and Chairman Arafat of the Palestinian Authority were
aware of these significant teachings found in the Word of God. 1 They should read
this Report. When they (and you) read the research below, it will be seen that the
Scriptures describe prophetic events in a clear and understandable manner. Indeed,
the Word of God will lead the way for our modern politicians to find their paths in
creating the prophesied State of Palestine to exist in the End-Time in the area
WHERE the Bible prophesies.

When one surveys the teachings of many prophetic interpreters today, it will be
noticed that a dearth of information exists about the Philistines in a prophetic sense.
This is strange because from the time of Abraham (and throughout the Old
Testament) there is an abundance of teaching (even End-Time prophecies) about the
Philistines and their national area comprising five main cities situated on the eastern
seaboard of the Mediterranean Sea. As a matter of interest, even our political and
geographical term Palestine derives directly from historical references to these
people of the area of Philistia who were known as the Philistines. Yet most preachers
and prophetic teachers have little knowledge concerning the modern whereabouts of
the Philistines or whether they are even existing today as a people. No wonder
biblical interpreters are so mixed-up on important prophetic matters when
professional theologians are not even aware where these and other biblical peoples
are located at this End-Time period. In this Prophetic Report, I will show who and
where the Philistines are today. This information is important for the understanding
of prophecy. It will reveal that the Bible clearly prophesies the existence of a State of
Palestine (alongside one of Israel) at the Time of the End.

This State of Philistia (or, in modern terms, Palestine) will no doubt occupy in its final
development the very region in the Land of Canaan where their ancestors always
lived from before the time of Abraham (long before the Israelites came into Canaan
at the period of the Exodus under Joshua). The Philistines were also a nation and a
political state in the time of Solomon, and throughout the whole of the Old Testament
period. Even in Roman times, the area of Philistia (with their five city states united
under a common ethnic and political banner) was a viable and significant national
entity. And so will it be in the End-Time just on the horizon to us. It is important that
the world (as well as the Prime Minister of Israel, Ariel Sharon and the President of
the Palestinian Authority, Chairman Arafat) recognize these prophetic teachings of
the Bible, because these inspired accounts are as certain of occurrence as the rising
of tomorrows sun.

The End-Time Political Divisions of the Eastern Mediterranean

The international borders of the present nations in the Middle East are soon to be
redefined. Circumstances will soon develop that will make the world at large enter
the political arena in that volatile region and force the people to become ten national
divisions (along with an eleventh division called Assyria which will arise out of the
present rogue nation of Iraq when Iraq will no longer exist as a nation). 2 As for the
Middle East, the world will NOT allow Israel to assume political control over the
present national areas called Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, and those regions under the
present Palestinian Authority. This territory, however, will be divided into smaller
states. The world will allow Israel to be the dominate power in the region, and Israel
will economically and influentially control the whole of the territory bordering the
eastern Mediterranean.

When this political division of ten national states is realized (they will be ten small
states such as Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg in Europe), a period of
peace and prosperity will develop for the region that will make it the envy of the
world. This will occur when those ten small political divisions unite together under an
umbrella of economic and social cooperation that will be to the benefit of all people in
the region. All of this is shown in several prophecies of the Holy Scriptures, but it is
pinpointed in detail in Psalm 83 a Psalm describing a political confederacy of ten
small nations around Israel on the eastern seaboard of the Mediterranean. When this
new political arrangement becomes evident, peace and prosperity will come to the
Middle East. It will last a set period of time.

We need to look closely at what the prophecies actually state will happen. Most
prophetic interpreters are at a loss to comprehend even the outlines of this new ten
nation confederation (a combination of small states) that is prophesied to exist in the
Middle East just before the second advent of Christ. It will profit us in the Western
World in a great measure if we begin to recognize what is destined to occur in that
powder keg area of the world. Let us look at the history and prophecies about this
important and highly significant region.

The Philistines Will Return to Statehood in the Middle East

We first need to recognize an essential point. The Philistines are mentioned

prominently in prophetic contexts dealing with the Day of the Lord (a period yet
future to us). Much is written about them in prophecies which have not yet taken
place: Zephaniah 2:47; Zechariah 9:57; and Psalm 83. In Psalm 83, in particular,
the Philistines are reckoned as one of ten nations that design an attack on the land
of Israel to destroy the people of Israel from being a nation. That prophecy in Psalm
83 has not yet occurred in history, and the Philistines will be very much involved in
helping to fulfill it! Thats right. There are prophesied to be ten nations in the Middle
East that confederate together in an effort to destroy the nation of Israel into
oblivion.

Besides Psalm 83, there are only two other sections of scripture, which speak of a
ten nation confederacy of peoples that will be evident at the End of the Age just
before the second advent of Christ. This confederacy is mentioned in the Books of
Daniel and Revelation. As I have stated for the past 27 years, it is entirely possible
that the ten nations of Psalm 83 are the same as those referred to in Daniel and
Revelation. If so, we have some essential information about the precise peoples who
will comprise that End-Time confederacy. And one of those ten nations is the nation
of the Philistines (Psalm 83:7). It is important for prophetic interpreters to know who
the Philistines are and where they are geographically located at this present time. In
this Report I hope to provide some of those answers.

The Philistines in History

A proper recognition of who the Philistines are today can be obtained if one reviews
the historical foundations of the people. Indeed, this is necessary for the
identification of all the peoples mentioned in the biblical prophecies. This is why the
understanding of history is so essential. The reason why so many prophecies are
misunderstood today is the lack of a proper discipline being exercised by many
prophetic interpreters. So, in order to provide a sound basis to the identification of
the Philistines, a brief historical review should be recognized and understood.

The first reference we have to the Philistines is in the Table of Nations recorded in
Genesis chapter 10 (and repeated in 1 Chronicles chapter 1). It states that they had
their origin from the ancestor of the early Egyptians (Mizraim, Genesis 10:1314). 3
It also says they were an outgrowth of the people called Casluhim. Since, however,
Amos 9:7 and Jeremiah 47:4 both record that they came from the area of Caphtor, it
seems the region of Caphtor was where they first settled after the Flood of Noah. 4
These details have been placed in the Bible (in the Table of Nations Genesis 10) to
help us understand where people living today once originated.

Where was Caphtor?

The interpretation of Jeremiah 47:4 is unclear to modern scholars. It certainly

indicates a coastal region and may well mean an island area. There are Egyptian and
Assyrian texts which suggest the term identifies an area bordering on a central
Mediterranean locale.

Outside the Bible words similar to Caphtor occur in cuneiform texts of the
second millennium BC. Kaptara is described as a land beyond the Upper (i.e.
Mediterranean) Sea and within the knowledge of Sargon of Akkad. Mari
mentions Kaptara and Ugaritic has Kptr but no location is given. In Egyptian
texts of the same date mention is made of Keftiu. The fact that this name
disappears from Egyptian texts about the same time that Linear B replaces
Linear A on Crete suggests that Keftiu was the Egyptian word for the island
of Crete

Zondervans Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, vol. I., p. 749

This interpretation parallels that of Zephaniah 2:5 about the Philistines being a nation
of the Cherethites, which almost certainly refers to the island of Crete. 5 That island
was probably where the Philistines first settled after the Flood before going to
Palestine.

It would be a mistake, on the other hand, to limit the Philistines earliest area of
influence simply to the insular area of Crete. They spread further afield. There is
evidence that the southern coasts of Asia Minor, the island of Cyprus, the North
African coastal regions, and other Aegean islands were touched by their cultural,
religious, and political persuasions. Indeed, there is documentary evidence coming
from Egypt that in the late 13th century BC they were part and parcel of a combined
land and sea invasion of Egypt involving other similar peoples from the
Mediterranean coastal and island areas. The Egyptian records call them, collectively,
the Sea Peoples.
Inscriptions of Pharaoh Merneptah show the Egyptians defeating the Sea Peoples.
The number of noncombatants, with their wagon trains, indicate they were coming
to colonize the area. Some of them even arrived from Libya in North Africa. At the
same time, archaeological excavations of Philistine sites on the southwest coast of
Palestine show that their pottery and other remains were very similar to those
discovered in Crete and other immediate areas of the Aegean. The majority of
scholars have no doubt that the Philistines were originally connected with various
islands and coastlands around the central Mediterranean areas (plus Cyprus).

Whatever the case, it is certain from the biblical point of view that the Philistines first
settled the region of Caphtor (the island of Crete and its neighbor regions). But that
doesnt end the story because the first biblical references we have involving the
Philistine people were not from Crete or the central Mediterranean coastlands. In the
time of Abraham, they had already established themselves at an eastern bridgehead
in the Land of Canaan particularly in the southwestern section of the Holy Land.
They were banded together into a confederacy of five cities, known later in Greek
times as the Pentapolis of the Philistines.

Philistine Society and Culture

It is not surprising that the early Philistines, being a people located in and around the
central Mediterranean Sea, would be involved in maritime activities. Since such
enterprises normally embrace commerce through shipping, it is sensible that they
would want a site in Canaan for the purposes of trade. It is well known that the
Phoenicians of Tyre and Sidon and those of Byblos (Gebal) were all located north of
the main Philistine influence and they were all primarily engaged in trading
endeavors. The Philistines of the central Mediterranean were no exception. There is
some evidence to suggest that they may have been associated with (or were a part
of) the early Pelasgians of Greek fame who first colonized and traded in the Aegean
sphere of influence.

Be this as it may, it is reasonable to accept that a central Mediterranean maritime

trading power would want some geographical bridgehead in the Levant (i.e. the
eastern Mediterranean coastlands). The region on the southwestern corner of Canaan
would have proved ideal for commerce and for strategic political purposes. Not only
could trade be monitored between the great riverine civilizations of Egypt and
Mesopotamia, but the overland route from the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean
(through the eastern arm of the upper Red Sea) was under the sway of those
controlling the southwest corner of Canaan. And who came to occupy this important
economic and political region? It was the Philistine people! The Bible places them in
that region of Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, Gaza, and Ekron even before the time of
Abraham.

It is important in a historical and prophetic sense to realize that these Philistine

people occupied the region of southwest Canaan LONG BEFORE the Israelites came
into the area in the time of Joshua in the period of the conquest by Israel. Indeed,
the Israelites failed to drive them out of the land, and God told Israel that the people
would be allowed to stay in that area of Canaan as their inheritance (Judges 2:3, 21
23; also 3:15). The Philistines remained with a foothold in the Land of Canaan
through the periods of David, Solomon and all the kings of Judah (and even
throughout the period after the Babylonian Captivity as the Books of Ezra and
Nehemiah attest). There can be no doubt that remnants of them still remain in their
foothold region of the Land of Canaan. The area of the Philistines throughout the
whole of the biblical period was in the territories attached to those five cities of the
Philistines (the Pentapolis) that were located south of the Wadi Sorek which empties
into the Mediterranean near Joppa. That southwest region was one of the most
prosperous in all of the Land of Canaan.

All of the prime area around the cities of Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron, Gath and Gaza
from the coast up to the foothills was (and is) the legitimate territory of the
Philistines. It is significant that in all the historical periods of the Bible, the Israelites
NEVER occupied these areas around the five cities of the Philistines in any permanent
way and this even includes the powerful time of Solomon (who controlled the area
economically, but NOT in an overt political sense). There is no evidence that the
Jewish people (those of the tribe of Judah) ever occupied those regions of the five
cities, even though the area was given to Judah and partly to the tribe of Dan by lot
in the time of Joshua. However, because the early Israelites failed to drive out the
inhabitants from those areas, God changed His mind and informed the Israelites that
in later times those regions would still be legally inhabited by Philistines. This
teaching provides the legal basis for Philistine occupation and its present right to
statehood.

The Early Israelites Rejected the Philistine Area for Conquest

Though the northern part of the Philistine inheritance was at first designated for the
tribe of Dan, the people of that tribe for some reason did not like the region. The
tribe of Dan even left the area assigned to them in the southwest and went north to
the base of Mount Hermon to establish their place of inheritance in the Land of
Canaan (see Joshua chapter 18). So, this southwest region can be legitimately
reckoned (from biblical teaching) as the Land of Palestine and should NOT be
included in a greater Israel from the scriptural point of view. Israel either did not
conquer the area (and Dan even left the region) or Israel allowed the Philistines to
stay in the area in a permanent way, so God reckoned it as a legal area for the
political existence of the Philistines (Judges 2:2123). Philistia was NOT part of
Israel.

All of these legal maneuvers are recorded in the Holy Scriptures, and they show what
God sanctions as proper for the area. Chairman Arafat and Prime Minister Sharon
ought to realize these biblical teachings. It means that the State of Palestine (from a
purely biblical point of view) should possess some kind of sovereignty over the
southwest area of the Land of Canaan (from the coast to the foothills) from the Wadi
Sorek and southward to the border of Egypt.

This is no doubt the area that will be assigned to the State of Palestine in the near
future when the world finally forces its geographical decisions on those areas now
making up the eastern seaboard of the Mediterranean.

This biblical description means that Chairman Arafat should concentrate on inheriting
the former southwest area of the five Philistine cities (a very prime and prosperous
area of Canaan) and abandon Hebron and Nablus as being a part of the Palestinian
State. Those areas were NEVER part of the Philistine hegemony throughout the
biblical period.
Interestingly, neither was Jerusalem ever a part of Philistine sovereignty. In the time
of Solomon, the king allowed his wives who represented the families of kings
around the world in league with Solomon (including the Philistines) to have their
own houses or what we call embassies in order to have some kind of government
presence in the capital city of Jerusalem. It appears that this principle of family style
government will be reinstated in the near future in regard to government matters in
the Middle East.

In fact, as people get more orientated to accept the Bible (as prophecy shows they
will), all nations will one day want a stake in the capital City of Jerusalem. The period
of Solomon will serve as an example of what will be done in the period just before
the second advent of Christ and certainly in the Millennium when Christ is ruling
on earth. The truth is, the Philistines could have a subsidiary capital (or presence) in
Jerusalem, but it could not be the prime and only capital of Palestine if one went
solely by what the biblical revelation teaches on this matter.

The History of the Philistines

History and archaeology are now revealing that the early Philistines (as a people
amidst the other Middle Eastern civilizations) provided profound influence throughout
all historical periods unlike what historians of the last century thought the
Philistines were like. Before the advent of archaeological study of Philistine remains,
it was believed (in the most scholarly circles), that these people represented the
epitome of an uncultured society. So ingrained did this concept become that even the
dictionary definition of a Philistine (or one like a Philistine) was: a crass or
priggish individual guided by material rather than intellectual or artistic
values. But the decipherment of ancient Egyptian, Middle Eastern, and Aegean
texts (also the uncovering of Philistine sites by archaeology and analyzing the
remains) have convinced scholars that the dictionary description of the Philistines is
so far wide of the mark that it seems to be a classic example of showing the exact
opposite of what the truth really was.

One should read the latest information about ancient Philistine culture and it shows
the antithesis of the common opinion. Prof. Trude Dothan (recognized as the top
authority on the Philistines) in her authoritative book The Philistines and Their
Material Culture 6 has shown how contrary to the truth the common conception has
been. By the way, for a summary of the history and archaeology concerning the
Philistines, see the Biblical Archaeology Review for July/August 1982. 7 Prof. Dothan
has given an excellent survey of the present state of understanding regarding the
Philistines.

The archaeological evidence shows that these peoples were highly sophisticated in
their civilization and that they rivaled any people of the Middle East and
Mediterranean worlds (and this was especially so in the 13th and 12th centuries BC
the exact time the Bible says the Philistines were the supreme controllers of the
civilized arts in the Land of Canaan). A new image of the Philistines is now emerging,
and it is about time. In no way were they the uncultured and backward peoples
as some have conceived. Just the opposite was the case. There is no doubt that the
descendents of these early Philistines (those who still remain in the region until
modern times) should be able to become highly prosperous and influential in the
area even before the second advent of Christ.
The Philistines in the Bible

It is clear that the original abode of the Philistines (after the dispersal of the nations
at the Tower of Babel) was Caphtor the island of Crete (principally) and the
mainland areas to the north and south. This geographical location necessitated their
interest in maritime enterprises. Commerce was of vital importance. Being positioned
in the central Mediterranean gave them an advantage for trade throughout the whole
Mediterranean basin from the Levant to Spain. This is why a bridgehead on the
eastern coast of the Mediterranean was essential. And they picked one of the best
places possible the southwest coast of Canaan.

As early as the time of Abraham, the Philistines had already established an enclave in
the southwestern part of Canaan. Abimelech was then king of Gerar (Genesis chapter
20), and later he (or his son) was called king of the Philistines (Genesis chapter
26). They secured this colonial region in the Land of Canaan so powerfully that when
the Israelites left Egypt at their Exodus, Israel decided it prudent not to encounter
this strong Philistine territory (Exodus 13:17), so Israel changed directions and
journeyed towards the Red Sea and the Sinai peninsula. After forty years, when
Israel invaded the Land of Canaan, they found the Philistines still entrenched in five
major city states: Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron, Gath and Gaza. These five cities
constituted the main areas of Philistine influence in the Land of Canaan. The Bible
reckons the kings in charge of these city areas as the lords of the Philistines
(Joshua 13:3). This means that the Pentapolis of the Philistines should remain
Philistine territory even today!

It is true that the Philistine area was assigned by Joshua to the tribes of Judah and
Dan. This was a part of Canaan that they were to conquer, but Judah and Dan failed.
The Israelites were not able to subdue all the native peoples. A number of
Canaanites were left in the land, and the Philistine cities were allowed to remain.

Now these are the nations which the Lord left, to prove Israel by them...
namely, five lords of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and Sidonians,
and the Hivites that dwelt in mount Lebanon.

Judges 3:13

The fact remains that God assigned the Philistine area to the descendants of Philistia.

This reference shows that many Philistines and Canaanites remained in the land and
still within their original areas of influence. But this is not the end of the story. There
are historical and traditional records of an extended exodus of Philistines and others,
into areas of Egypt and also into North Africa. Only in the last seventy years have
historians been able to put together an account of the traditional teachings of many
North African races. In a book published by the Jewish Publication Society (Nahum
Slouschzs Travels in North Africa 8) many early Jewish and North African tribal
traditions were first made public. It was a revelation! It was found that many of the
peoples who first came to the areas of North Africa (from Libya to Morocco) were
people who once lived in the Land of Canaan. I can only give a summary of the
information in the book in this Prophetic Report (the many references from the
classical records can be found in Slouschzs book).
Among other things, the traditions of the Berbers (who live from Libya to Morocco)
relate that they are descendants of Philistines who once lived in Palestine. Indeed,
there was once a monument located at Tangiers (on the Straits of Gibraltar) which
said that Joshua, the son of Nun, pursued certain of the Canaanites up to that point.
This was reported by more than one classical author but notably by the 6th century
writer Procopius. Even the celebrated church father, Augustine, related that many of
the people around Carthage in North Africa were once from the Land of Canaan.
Evidence shows that these people were not only native Canaanites, but Slouschzs
compilation of North African traditions indicates that there were some Amalekites,
Moabites, and especially Philistines (Berbers).

Indeed, Slouschzs summation of the traditional ethnology of the region has him
saying: One might almost reconstruct in Africa a Greater Palestine (p.109).
This does not mean that all the North African nations are pure representatives of
Palestinian peoples, but there are more people who came from Palestine in the area
than some scholars have imagined. As a result of this immigration so long ago, most
of these peoples in North Africa have lost their quest to return to their original homes
in Palestine. Yet, it may be that these people of Philistine origin who moved into
other parts of the world will want to join in some kind of communal cooperation with
the original peoples who still live in the southwest areas of Palestine.

The Great Arab Invasion

In the early 7th century waves of tribes from Northwestern Arabia under the
leadership of Muhammed and his generals came into Palestine, Egypt, Persia, and
finally throughout North Africa, Spain, and in time they continued eastward into
India, Malaysia, etc. They conquered most of the Middle East and North Africa, and in
doing so they forced upon most of the people the religion of Islam. Since their holy
book was the Koran, written in classical Arabic, that language quickly began to be
used by many of the native populations that the Islamic invaders had conquered. It
is the Arabic language imposed upon these people that gave all of them the name
Arab. While this designation is acceptable in a linguistic sense, it is a big mistake to
think that the nations of North Africa and the Middle East (with the exception of the
Arabian areas themselves) should be reckoned as racially Arab. In no way is this
true! This particularly applies to the Palestinians. They are Arabs in the sense they
speak the Arabic language but they are no more pure Arabs than some Japanese
who speak English are Anglo-Saxons by race.

The fact is, most of the Palestinians are (as their very name suggests) descendants
of the ancient Philistines. God recognizes that some of the people are of mixed ethnic
characteristics (note Zechariah 9:6), but this biblical indication does not mean that
the main people are disqualified from being Philistines. This is because that area of
Canaan had been given to the Philistines since before the time of Abraham. It is
really modern Israel that now lives in Philistine lands in Ashdod and Ashkelon.

As a matter of fact, it is important to realize that the biblical record plainly shows
that there were Philistines in southwestern Canaan in the days of Abraham, in the
time of Moses, and in the period of King Saul and King David they were prolific and
quite prosperous. In fact, in the period of Saul and David the Philistines were at the
height of their power and culture in the Middle East. They were not only strongly
entrenched in their traditional enclave on the coast, but they had extended their
influence into all areas of Judah and Israel. This Philistine colonization of the
hinterland was effectively curtailed by Saul and David with most Philistines finally
pushed back to their coastal cities.

But note this! After the Jews were taken out of the land by the Babylonians in the 6 th
century BC, Philistines from the coastal areas (and others) re-settled much of the
inland parts of the Holy Land. From this time, most classical geographers began to
call the whole region Palestine after the Philistines who had re-settled many
inland areas. However, the bulk of the Philistines remained in their cites from Joppa
to Gaza. There has never been any legitimate reason for Philistines to leave this
prosperous and highly significant land. And since God gave it to them (when Israel
refused it), it is legally Palestinian.

The Jewish-Roman Wars

The Jewish war against the Romans from 66 to 73 AD (and more particularly the one
from 132 to 135 AD) brought disaster to the political existence of a Jewish nation in
the Land of Canaan. Indeed, by the end of the war in 135 AD, the Jewish population
in their ancient homeland had been so decimated and the remnant population
forbidden by the Romans from entering certain parts of the Holy Land, that it could
almost be said that the hill country of Judaea and Samaria was left destitute of Jews.
This was the second period when many of the coastal peoples (not being Jews) re-
entered the normally Jewish regions of Judaea and Samaria and settled there. Many
must have been Philistines.

It was common custom for the Romans to call the whole region as Palestine (since
some of the Philistines had once before established themselves over the interior
lands as far back as the Babylonian Captivity period). This provided historical reasons
to the Romans why these coastal peoples could once again re-establish themselves
over land outside the original area of the Philistine Pentapolis.

This is one of the reasons why many Palestinians today want all of the Holy Land as a
Palestinian state since their ancestors have occupied much of the territory from the
2nd century AD. History, however, shows that the original land of the Philistines
represented only the prime lands in the southwestern coastal region. This was the
land they traditionally occupied in a political sense during all the period of Israels
existence in the Holy Land. If one would apply biblical principles, the Palestinians
should only have their Pentapolis area.

What Prophecy Shows

What does all this mean? In Psalm 83 we have a graphic description of ten separate
nations (peoples) surrounding the nation of Israel. The account in this Psalm has
NEVER occurred in history. The end of the Psalm relates how the events described
will lead up to YHVH being most high over all the earth. The time setting of Psalm 83
is shown by its position in the Book of Psalms. 9 The Psalm describes a time just
before the Kingdom of God is established over all the earth. Since this is true, we
may have a prime prophecy revealing who the ten nations of Daniel and Revelation
are and the area from which the Beast of Revelation (the Antichrist) will arise. And
importantly, we find one of those ten nations called the Philistines (verse 7). This
reference in Psalm 83 is a significant key to End-Time events in the Middle East that
all prophetic interpreters should recognize.
This biblical prophecy indicates that the Philistines (or, as we say today, the
Palestinians) will obtain their statehood. But in the biblical descriptions, the State of
Palestine WILL NOT include what we call the West Bank. Yes, there is talk that the
Palestinians ought to be given the West Bank (some of Judaea and Samaria) as well
as the Gaza strip, but the Israelis have (up to now) disapproved. Why? This is
because the West Bank (Judaea and Samaria) is the heartland of ancient Israel and it
is patently obvious in the Bible and history that the Philistines NEVER inhabited these
interior lands wholesale until after the Jews were dispersed from them by the
Romans in the 2nd century AD. The West Bank has always been Israelite territory (in
an original sense), or it was also the home of the Samaritans who colonized the area
in the north called Samaria in the 7th century BC.

The fact is, the Philistines coming into the West Bank was a late intrusion. The people
of Nablus (who in the main are descendants of the early Samaritans who converted
to Islam after the Arab Conquest) are NOT Philistines! They are a separate people
altogether though some westerners may not be aware of the differences. The West
Bank, as stated before, is NOT former Philistine property in the original sense.

If the Israelis ever agreed to allow parts of the West Bank to be a part of the State of
Palestine, the approval would only be temporary. There is only ONE AREA that the
Israelis would consider as a clear contender from the records of the Bible and history
as a possibility for a State of Palestine (and even then it would be difficult for most of
them to concede it). That area is the Gaza strip, plus the other coastal cities (the
Pentapolis region) of the ancient Philistine homeland. That land is some of the best
territory in the former Land of Canaan. It includes some of the most prosperous
cities: those of Ashdod and Ashkelon. It will be difficult for Israel to concede, but
Ashdod and Ashkelon belong to Palestine.

What the world should be looking for is the creation of ten small states within the
area now composed of Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Arabia, and the Gaza Strip
(Iraq will become Assyria). This is what Psalm 83 states. Being small states will
help to stabilize the area. They will be dependent on one another for economic
prosperity and security. Remember, the details of that Psalm have never occurred in
history. The events are to be fulfilled in our day. What we need to realize is the fact
that the End-Time cannot begin until the world establishes the ten national states
that Psalm 83 describes as being in operation and functioning. There are, indeed,
quite a number of verses in Scripture that attest to the fact that these small nations
will be created in the near future. Let us look at some of those Scriptures.

Modern Geographical Prophecies for the Middle East

There are key geographical prophecies that establish this fact. We have a reference
in the Book of Daniel that when the Antichrist returns once again to the Land of
Canaan and establishes his palace in the highest mountain of Jerusalem (in the
Mount of Olives), people who live in the area at that time will witness that the lands
of Ammon, Moab, and Edom will NOT then be subject to the direct rule of the
Antichrist. Daniel said:

He shall enter also into the glorious land [the Land of Canaan], and many
countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even
Edom, Moab, and the chief of children of Ammon.
 Daniel 11:41

These national states must be in existence at the time of this conquest by the
Antichrist. These are three of the countries that will escape that particular thrust of
the Antichrist in his quest to finally conquer the world to himself. Isnt it interesting
that even our Lord (Christ Jesus himself) told people who will live in Jerusalem and
surrounding areas at that time to flee into the mountains (Matthew 24:16). He
meant the mountainous land of Edom to the southeast of Jerusalem. The Land of
Edom where the city of Petra was once prominent was known in the Bible as a
mountainous region where people could hide themselves from various oppressors.
David said:

Who will bring me into the strong city? Who will lead me to Edom? Will not
you O Elohim, which has cast us off? And you, O Elohim, which did not go
out with our armies? Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man.
Through God we shall do valiantly; for he it is that shall tread down our
enemies.

Psalm 60:912 and repeated in Psalm 108:1013

Those two Psalms speak of a time in the future (at the start of the Millennium when
Christ begins to rule) when God will again measure out the Land of Canaan and give
it to the people of Israel. In measuring out the Promised Land at that time, God
states:

Moab is my washpot [to keep God refreshed]; over Edom will I cast my shoe
[for judgment]; over Philistia [the State of Palestine] will I triumph.

Psalm 108:9

This again, shows that these nations will certainly be in existence at the beginning of
the Millennium.

One should read all of Isaiah chapters 15 and 16 where the Scriptures show Moab as
being a strong and prosperous state before Christs Second Advent. In Isaiah chapter
11 (from verse 4, the apostle Paul quoted about the Man of Sin and the Son of
Perdition in 2 Thessalonians 2:8), we read that at the very start of the Millennium
when the people of Israel return to their inheritance in the Land of Canaan under
Christ Jesus that:

They [Israelites] shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the
west [the Philistines live in the western part of Canaan]; they [Israel] shall spoil
them of the east [those in Arabia] together [together with the Philistines]; they
[Israel] shall lay their hand on upon Edom and Moab; and the children of
Ammon shall obey them [Israel].

Isaiah 11:14

These are major geographical and political references that assure us that these
nations will certainly be in existence in their original lands in the Middle East. Indeed,
the last major battle conducted by the armies of heaven as described in Revelation
19:1121 will occur in the Land of Edom southeast of Jerusalem (see the whole of
Isaiah chapter 34 where the nation of Edom is described in the King James Version
as Idumea a variant spelling of Edom). Indeed, you should take a concordance
and look up the word Edom or Idumea in its various contexts in the Scripture.
You will discover prophecies of Edom (and Moab and Ammon) that have as their
contexts the Day of the Lord that are yet future to us. The start of the Day of the
Lord is just over the horizon.

As to the exact time schedule that these events will take place, we are told by our
Lord himself that it is NOT given to us (even to those who have the Holy Spirit and
have a great deal of knowledge of history and prophecy) to know precisely the
chronological periods in which God will perform these prophecies. Jesus said: But
of that day and hour knows no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my
Father only (Matthew 24:36). Christ devoted the whole of Matthew 24:3651, and
all of chapter 25, to show that none of us (even who live at the time) will be able to
understand the exact time periods when the prophetic affairs of the Time of the End
will transpire.

God certainly gives us hints, and He tells us in Daniel 12:4 and 9 that as the hour
approaches for the prophetic events to be fulfilled that knowledge shall be
increased. God meant the knowledge of Daniels End-Time prophecies will be
increased. But God has not graced any of his people (including Ernest L. Martin) with
exact chronological sequences that we can rely upon for a detailed description of
those End-Time prophecies. 10

As far as God is concerned, all we need to know is the fact that they certainly will be
fulfilled in the precise time periods that God the Father has determined before the
foundation of the world (Acts 15:18). There is not a person on earth who knows
those exact time periods selected by God for the occurrence of His divine prophetic
events. What Jesus did tell us to do was to watch (and this means to watch for
some of the primary prophecies to be fulfilled that one could not mistake as being
real prophecies). This is what I have been trying to do over the years.

One such prophecy is the creation of a new State of Palestine that will exist in the
original homelands of the Philistines. It is in that very region that God geographically
places them in some of His major prophecies. There are other preliminary prophecies
that will be harbingers for the development of the main prophecies that introduce the
End of the Age to the world. These threshold prophecies are important to watch for.
One such prophecy is written in Zechariah 9:17 that describes a great destruction
of the eastern seaboard of the Mediterranean. As I have shown in other research
articles, 11 a natural disaster such as tsunami (a huge and destructive ocean wave
that strikes the land) is prophesied to engulf the eastern seaboard of the
Mediterranean that will destroy the areas in its path up the interior foothills of Israel.
And note this: When that ocean wave strikes, we find that the Philistine cities in the
southwest corner of the Land of Canaan are very much in existence to receive the
brunt of its judgment. This again, shows that there will be a State of Palestine in
existence before the End-Time events can occur.

This means we have a few years left before the End-Time can begin. Though this is
certainly the case, this is no time to sit back and bask in the pleasures of prosperity
and security. There is much work for us who are Christians to do to teach the people
of the world about these End-Time events. God is giving us time to teach His Gospel
to the world before the End begins (Matthew 24:14). We need to be about our
Fathers business by putting our contributions (and certainly any extra funds) into
getting the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures to all in the world to whom God is
sending the truth. We do not have long to do the job.

I believe the start of these preliminary prophecies will commence within our
generation (in the Bible a generation is shown to be 40 years). 12 I cannot pinpoint
the exact dates these things will occur. But when we all begin to witness before our
very eyes the official establishment of a State of Palestine, then you can know for
certain that the Time of the End is on the threshold. When that tsunami (and a few
other prophetic events that I have catalogued in my various Prophetic Reports)
happen before our eyes, then is the time to know that the End-Time is near it is
just over the horizon. This is what I have been saying over the years since I started
my independent study of the Holy Scriptures back in 1974. I have been consistent in
my teaching. Let us be assured of one thing, prophecy will take place just as Christ
Jesus has stated (Matthew 24:3335).

When you and I begin to see the preliminary prophecies take place, the fulfillment of
all the prophecies will follow in the exact chronological time sequences that God has
designed from the beginning. Get ready for some exciting times. It is my belief that
we will not have long to wait until we witness the start of End-Time events. Be
prepared, and be working hard to get the Gospel to the world.
 This map shows the general
areas that will become the ten
small nations in the Middle
East. Note that the present
Kingdom of Jordan will be
divided into three new
political areas: Edom, Moab
and Ammon. To the east of
these three nations will be the
Ishmaelites who will comprise
almost the whole of Saudi
Arabia today, with the
Hagarenes in the northern
part around present day
Kuwait and including some of
the Gulf states. Syria will be
divided and it will become the
nation of the Amalekites (the
ancient and continual enemy
of Israel see Exodus
17:16). A new nation of Gebal
(the ancient Byblos) will be
created on the north coast of
the eastern seaboard. Tyre
will become Lebanon. Philistia
will be the State of Palestine
and will include the ancient
five ancient cities of the
Philistines (the Pentapolis).
Israel itself will be slightly
reduced in size (it will lose
Ashdod and Ashkelon) but remain in the same place as it is today. The rogue
nation of Iraq will be eliminated and the world will accept the name
Assyria for the new state, and its modern capital will be at a renewed
Babylon. This is the primary teaching of Psalm 83 in prophecy.

Ernest L. Martin, April 2001

Edited by David Sielaff, January 2009
1 Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel was removed from office by a sudden brain
embolism in January 2006. As of January 2009 Sharon remains in a vegetative
state with little apparent brain function. Chairman Yassar Arafat died in November
2004. Dr. Martins encouragements are actually addressed to whatever rulers
Israel and the Palestinian authority may have. DWS
 2 Babylon is not mentioned as one of the 10 nations. The Kurdish territory in the
present day approximates ancient Assyria. While Assyria is mentioned, it is an
adjunct 11th nation separate from the 10 nations. DWS

3 Genesis 10:1314:

And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim, And
Pathrusim, and Casluhim (out of whom came Philistim), and Caphtorim.

4 Amos 9:7:

Are you not as children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel?
says YHWH. Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt? and the
Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?

Jeremiah 47:4:

Because of the day that comes to spoil all the Philistines, and to cut off
from Tyrus and Zidon every helper that remains: for YHWH will spoil the
Philistines, the remnant of the country of Caphtor.

5 Zepheniah 2:5:

Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea coast, the nation of the Cherethites!
the word of YHWH is against you; O Canaan, the land of the Philistines, I
will even destroy you, that there shall be no inhabitant.

6 New Haven: Yale University Press, c1982. DWS

7 Most public libraries have the Biblical Archaeology Review, including older
volumes. DWS

8 Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1927. DWS

9 See Appendix 1 of my book Restoring the Original Bible, Preliminary Suggestions

for the Structure of Psalms" at http://www.askelm.com/restoring/res040.htm for
the prophetic reason why the Third Division of the Psalms (in which Psalm 83
belongs) refers to events associated with the End-Time. ELM

10 We can, with Gods blessing, know the sequence of prophetic events, but we
cannot know the precise times when those events will occur. DWS

11 Notably in my Prophetic Report titled The Damascus Phase in End-Time

Prophecy at http://www.askelm.com/temple/t991101.htm. ELM

12 See the last article that Dr. Martin wrote before his death: The Great Generation
and Modern Prophecy at http://www.askelm.com/prophecy/p021201.htm. ELM

The Most Significant

Gentile Nation in the Bible
 By Ernest L. Martin, Ph.D., 1997
Transcribed and edited by David Sielaff, July 2006

Read the accompanying Newsletter for July 2006

What is the most significant Gentile nation of the Bible? I suppose when you
enquire about the word significant a person should ask, significant in
what way? What I am getting to is this: what is the most significant Gentile
nation in relationship to the nation of Israel in the entirety of the Bible,
from Genesis all the way through the Book of Revelation. There is one
nation mentioned, constantly coming in contact with Israel, and most
people do not really know much about these people called the most
significant Gentile nation, because they have not really looked at the
prophecies related to them in a proper way.

Some might say the most significant people would be the Egyptians. After all, the
Egyptians were adjacent to the Israelites on the south and represented one of the
great riverine civilizations of the past. Indeed, the Egyptians were very important as
far as Israel was concerned. Another might say that the Babylonians would be the
most significant. They certainly would be a contender because we also find a
considerable amount of information about them in the Bible. Others might say the
Assyrians. Or get a little closer. Some might say the Philistines. The Philistines were
always in close association with Israel usually near the cities of Judah in the
southwest area of Jerusalem down on the coast. Others might say maybe it was the
Tyrians, the people of Tyre who lived north of the area of Israel.

All of these nations are significant in their own way. From time to time, at particular
periods of time, each one could have been considered the most significant. But
overall from the beginning of the history of Israel down to the end of the New
Testament, and prophetically still down to a time future to us when Jesus Christ will
come back to this earth, there is one people, one nation that has been mentioned
throughout the Scripture which has far greater significance than all others that I
have mentioned. I am not going to say far greater than all of them put together; but
if you single out one people and one nation from a biblical point of view, the one I
am going to mention now stands out par excellence.

Indeed in the Old Testament, in the prophecies uttered by Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel,
and almost all the 12 Minor Prophets, you will find a mention of these people. You
will not find a mention of the Assyrians in all of them. You will not find the
Babylonians. You will not find the Egyptians. But you will find these people
mentioned in almost every single prophecy, major or minor, of the Old Testament. By
ramification, and by that I mean by reference, back to the Old Testament,
particularly from the Book of Revelation, you will find these people continually being
mentioned by John in the Revelation. They are not mentioned by name, but all you
have to do is to go back to the references and the references are in a context of
dealing with these people.

Who Are They?

Who are these people who represent the most significant Gentile nation as far as
Israel is concerned, the most significant in the entirety of the Bible as far as not
being part of Israel. It happens to be the Edomites, the descendants of Esau.

This is made quite clear in the Scripture. You will find Edomites mentioned all over
the place in the Bible, in the most unusual places in some cases, a prophecy
couched, shall we say, among others in maybe only three or four verses, but what
those three or four verses contain happen to be the most significant teachings you
can imagine, prophetically speaking.

Sometimes we have whole sections of books that are given to Edom. In one case one
whole book is written concerning the Edomites alone. That is the Book of Obadiah. I
will refer to it just a few moments. If a person would read the history of Israel from
the very beginning he would find, even prophetically, these people of Esau called
Edom.

They were called Edomites. The word means red people. Edom means red.
Compare Genesis 25:25, 30. It does not necessarily mean that the descendants of
Edom were colored red, that they had a red complexion, although it could mean that.
They were people of the flesh. It is a takeoff of the word Adam. Adam itself means
made out of red earth or red clay. Look at us. We have red blood in us. The whole
connection is there with the red. That is Adam, but they vowel point it differently and
they get Edom. Edom/Adam it is virtually the same thing, but it means red men,
fleshly men, men of the flesh.

In actual fact when you analyze the characteristics of the Edomites as revealed in the
Scripture I suppose you would say they are men of the flesh, whereas the Israelites,
though they were not spiritual all of the time, symbolically speaking you would say
they were men of the spirit and the Edomites are men of the flesh. I think this is well
shown throughout the Scripture. 1

The Beginning of Esau and Jacob

In the very beginning when Isaac wanted to have children, Rebecca finally became
pregnant (Genesis 25:21). In her womb came to be twins and one of them was Esau
and the other was Jacob. You know what they were doing from the very beginning?
It is mentioned in the Scripture; they were struggling with each other, even before
birth (Genesis 25:2224). That was looked on in the Old Testament as a sign that
these two peoples, twins though they were, would continue to struggle even after
birth and continue all the way through time unto the end. Indeed that is exactly the
case as we are told in the books of Moses.

This is reiterated by Paul in Romans chapter 9 which gives the significance of Esau
and Jacob and what was to happen to their posterity as time goes on. In verse 8 it
speaks about the children of the flesh and then about the children of God.
Who are these children of the flesh? It means anyone who lives fleshly, I know. But
there was one group of people that symbolized the children of the flesh and
that group was the children of Edom, and that is the children of the red, the
children of the flesh. Do you see the point?

That is what the takeoff is all about. And there are the children of God or the
children of the Spirit and they would be considered the Israelites. I hasten to add,
however, and the Bible makes it quite clear, that though Israelites were called the
children of God or the children of the Spirit, they had as much flesh in them as
anybody else. We all know that. Here then is Paul speaking about the children of
the flesh in contrast to the children of God, as he says beginning at verse 9:

For this is the word of promise, At this time will I [YHWH] come, and Sara
shall have a son. And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by
one, even by our father Isaac; (For the children being not yet born, neither
having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election
might stand, not of works, but of him that calls).

Romans 9:811

He means that God calls a person before birth. God calls people to do certain things
or a person to do a particular thing, or a descendant of that person to do a particular
thing whether good or evil even before their births. This is called election. It is
also termed a calling. It is not of works, obviously, because when two people are
still in the womb as babies; they cannot do good or evil, but God had consigned
these two children, from Rebecca, to particular roles in history. It says here:

( neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according
to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calls). It was said unto
her, The elder shall serve the younger.

Romans 9:1112

The firstborn came to be Esau, later to be named Edom. The second born (born
immediately afterward, of course) was Jacob.

As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we
say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.

Romans 9:1314

I shall stop here and comment on this. It says in verse 13, and here is Paul quoting
the Old Testament (Malachi 1:3), 2 of course, that Jacob was to be loved. He was
designed to be loved by God. He was elected before birth to be loved. He was called
to that position, whereas Esau his twin brother was called not to be loved, but to be
hated. He was called not to be given all the good things of life, but to be given evil. If
this happened before birth, before either of the children could even say yea or
nay to the whole thing, and God designed it this way, the most natural conclusion
that you and I would make, and which Paul makes reference to here, is that God
must be unrighteous because He did not give them a chance.

We know what happened to Esau later on. He sold his birthright for some mere
pottage. 3 God called him a profane person as a result of that, as he no doubt was.
But on the other hand look at Jacob. He bought his birthright by stealth from Esau,
did he not? Almost everything that Jacob ever did as a young man was evil, up until
he became what we might call converted up in Luz or Bethel (Genesis 28:19) on
the road to Babylon. Up to that time he was one of the greatest scoundrels you could
ever imagine.
Is it not interesting though, that before Jacob was born he was given a commission
or a position to be loved by God. Whereas Esau, before he was born, was to be hated
along with his descendants. Is there unrighteousness with God? On the
surface we would say yes. But Paul said God forbid, that is, let it not be. There
can never be any unrighteousness with God.

You can carry this teaching a little farther. I do not know why it is that you and I
living in the United States of America right now have the physical and even spiritual
blessings that we can have in these lands. We could have been born, I suppose,
maybe somewhere else, let us say Mexico, but they do not have the blessings we
have here. You could have been born in central Africa, I suppose, well, wherever.
Why is it we have these blessings and other people do not? We could say quite
clearly that God is not righteous in the matter. Why does He not even it all out?
Better yet, why does He not give me ten times more than I have now? That is what
most of us want to say. 4

God knows what He is doing. We do not have all the answers to these points but God
is the one who calls. God is the one who elects. And before these two children were
ever able to say yea or nay about the whole matter, what happens? God had elected
one to hatred and his descendants, and that hatred is expressed from the beginning
to the end of the Bible. To another He said I am going to love them. That is also from
beginning to end as well. God knows what He is doing in all of this.

So since Esau was struggling in the womb with Jacob even before birth, and that was
a sign of what was to happen to the two nations afterward, and you see it
perpetuated through the biblical revelation, when I ask the question what is the most
significant Gentile nation of the Bible as associated with Israel, the answer is plain
right on the surface, it is Edom, the descendants of Esau, or the Edomites.

The Edomite Distribution

Where do these Edomites live? They were given territory south of the Dead Sea.
Their central area was the region of Petra, the red rose city of ancient times. They
lived in that area. They also spread toward the Mediterranean Sea in later times in
southern Judah in that region there. They became associated with the Jews in the
time of Christ. Herod, for example, who in the time of Christ ruled over the Jews,
was himself an Edomite. The Edomites always had some contact, in one way or
another, with the Jews, and we certainly see it throughout the Scripture.

As I said before, there are more references to the nation of Edom in the Bible, as far
as a Gentile nation is concerned, than any other, so it must mean that they are
important. Indeed they are. I will turn to one section of Scripture, and go through it
quickly. In fact I am going to go through the whole book. It will not take long to do it
because it is 21 verses long. It is the Book of Obadiah.

Obadiah

The information in this book has never happened before in history. A few incidences
mentioned here we might consider as having happened before, but when you take all
of these 21 verses into account, and try to look on them as having a historical
relevance in the past at one given time (which you must have when you read this
section), it has never occurred in history. Therefore I say it is a prophecy of the
future because it has never happened before.

After we go through Obadiah I want to go to a section of Scripture in the Book of

Isaiah which most people do not even realize exists, yet it is one of the most
important prophetic chapters dealing with the end times that you can imagine,
showing a people that will call together Assyrians, Babylonians, Egyptians, and all
types of other nations. It is quite true that an Assyrian will lead this coalition at the
end, but the Edomites are going to be fundamentally involved in dealing with the
nation of Israel at the end of the age just prior to the Second Coming of Christ. It is
most significant.

Look at the Book of Obadiah. This book was probably written in the later part of the
8th century or early 7th century B.C.E., long before Christ was on earth, and long
before the Babylonian captivity of the Jews.

However, most commentators today would say (incorrectly) that the Book of Obadiah
was written just about the time of Jeremiah.

Obadiah in the Book of Jeremiah

Indeed you will find virtually all of this prophecy of Obadiah repeated in Jeremiah
49:722. Jeremiah utters this prophecy virtually the same, word for word. What
Jeremiah really is doing is copying from the earlier work of Obadiah. This shows that
Obadiahs prophecy is a very old one. The Book of Obadiah deals with this brother
people to Israel, the Edomites. 5 This is most significant. As I said, this has never
happened in the history of the world yet but it will happen one of these days.

The vision of Obadiah. Thus says the Lord God concerning Edom; We have
heard a rumor from the Lord, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen
[the nations], Arise you, and let us rise up against her [Edom] in battle.

Obadiah 1

This means let us now go against Edom in battle. Here is the prophet Obadiah
seeing this vision, and an appeal is being made among all the heathen that
ambassadors are being sent out saying arise up, we are going to go against Edom.
We are going to conquer Edom.

Why is Edom going to be conquered? It will be done because of something that the
Edomites will do to the Israelites. Going on we find this in the next verse, talking to
Edom: Behold, I have made you small among the heathen: you are greatly
despised (Obadiah 2). Notice that first phrase. I do not want to get too technical,
but it is most important in this regard. The verb here says I have made you small
among the heathen. 6 If this was written by Obadiah in the early part of the 8th
century B.C.E., someone would probably say, well, they were made small earlier on,
sometime in the past. I suppose you could get that teaching from it, but in actual
fact that is not what is meant here at all. I believe that most commentators
understand this.

The Prophetic Past Tense

Though it is in the past tense, Behold, I have made you small among the
heathen, most of the prophecies of the Bible including Isaiah (and I can show you
prophecy after prophecy), in which the past tense is used but it actually talks about
future events. In fact grammarians even have a term for this and it is most peculiar
when it comes to prophetic teaching in the Bible. They call it the prophetic past tense
and it is designed by scholars to show a linguistic characteristic. I will show you what
it means.

Though it is in the past tense and a person would think, well, the Edomites were
made small in the past before Obadiah wrote this; and it could have that meaning,
but yet it does not, because the context shows that these things mentioned here
have never occurred in history. But it is in the past tense. Isaiah has it. Jeremiah has
it. Others have it. The reason it is in the past is because the prophet is so certain
that these things will occur that the events are expressed in the past tense, even
though they refer to future events as if they had already occurred. This is called the
prophetic past tense.

Behold, I have made you small among the heathen: you are greatly
despised (Obadiah 2). Taking it from the point of view that the prophetic past is
being used, it would make it plain for us to put it into the future by saying, Behold,
I will make you small among the heathen. Really, that is what it means. How is
Edom going to be made small? It says in the first verse how. Here is an ambassador
being sent to all the heathen nations round about saying, arise, let us rise up
against her in battle. Do you know what will happen? They will make Edom small,
but it is put in the prophetic past.

The Pride of Edom

Verse 3: The pride of your heart has deceived [will deceive] you. They are a
very proud and haughty people, undoubtedly quite egotistical. No doubt they have or
will have a considerable amount of money or resources to be able to maintain the
pride that they possess. Throughout the Scripture we find these Edomites normally
described as being very proud people. Here it is being illustrated.

The pride of your heart has deceived [will deceive] you. You that dwell in the
clefts of the rock (Obadiah 3). That is in Petra. I have been to Petra and it is a
most impressive place. It is surrounded by these rock escarpments all around with
one or two entrances into it, and the entrances are very narrow. I think most of you
know about that. 7 An army could be held off by just a few men guarding some of
those passes into the area of Petra. Edom is very proud, it dwells in the clefts of
the rock, in the Petra area, southeast of the Dead Sea:

whose habitation is high; that says in his heart, Who shall bring me
down to the ground? Though you exalt yourself as the eagle.

Obadiah 34

The eagles of Palestine are practically free of all predators. No one can injure them.
They put their nest way up on the crags of a rock. Snakes cannot get up there to get
the little eaglets. Hardly anyone can get up there. The mother can protect the little
ones easily. The eagle of Palestine was known for its invulnerability. So here are
these Edomites exalting themselves,

Who shall bring me down to the ground? Though you exalt yourself as the
eagle, and though you set your nest among the stars, thence will I bring you
down, says the Lord. If thieves came to you, if robbers by night (how are
you cut off!), would they not have stolen till they had enough? if the
grapegatherers came to you, would they not leave some grapes?

Obadiah 35

Normally that is the case. I was reared in the San Joaquin Valley and after the
harvest of the grapes, I was always able to find a few little bunches here and there
that were never gathered because leaves were covering them. I remember this as a
kid going to school about the time of the year before the frost would come, passing
by the grape orchards and you would find little bunches of grapes all over the place.
It was an ordinary occurrence.

Here we find in this verse 5 that ordinarily as grape gatherers go through they leave
a few grapes. What God is saying, the enemies of Edom will not leave any. They are
going to clean you Edomites out entirely, though you are way up to the height, you
will be brought down low.

The Wisdom of Edom

How are the things of Esau searched out! how are his hidden things sought
up!

Obadiah 6

These people of Edom were well known for their wisdom. They gave to the ancient
world many of the philosophers, long before the time of Plato and Aristotle and
Socrates of the Greek world. These were the people who were reckoned as some of
the most wise men of the earth. As an example, Jeremiah said:

Concerning Edom, thus says the Lord of hosts; Is wisdom no more in

Teman? is counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom vanished?

Jeremiah 49:7

In the Old Testament there were two general areas where wise men were reckoned
as coming from. One was Egypt and the other was the East, the area of Edom.

In the Book of Job is an example. One of the three friends of Job, one of the three
ancient gray haired men that came to Job to tell him what was wrong with his life
was Eliphaz (see Job 2:11, 42:7). Eliphaz was a grandson of Edom (Genesis 36:4,
10). He was one of the wise philosophers of the past. The land of Uz was Edom. That
was where Job had his residence at the time of his trial and where wise people had
their residence. So it says, How are the things of Esau searched out! how are
his hidden things sought up! (Obadiah 6). People were after the Edomites to
give them wisdom and understanding for years and years.
All the men of your confederacy [or covenant] have brought you even to the
border [the border of destruction]: the men that were at peace with you have
deceived you, and prevailed against you; they that eat your bread have laid
a wound under you: there is none understanding in him.

Obadiah 7

There used to be understanding in the wise men of Esau, but that understanding
shall fail them.

Shall I not in that day, says the Lord, even destroy the wise men out of
Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau?

Obadiah 8

This is a reference to the wise men, the philosophers of the East.

And your mighty men, O Teman, 8 shall be dismayed, to the end that every
one of the mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter.

Obadiah 9

When it says every one it is in the masculine there, it means every male. We will
see a bit later that the women and children and even male children were to be given
release, but not adult men. Every single male Edomite above the age for the war, 20
years of age and older, was to be cut off [killed] and not one single one left. It is true
that in history in the time of Joab and King David, Joab went to war with the
Edomites on one occasion and took all the males of 20 years of age and above, and
slaughtered every single one they fought against:

For it came to pass, when David was in Edom, and Joab the captain of the
host was gone up to bury the slain, after he had smitten every male in
Edom; (For six months did Joab remain there with all Israel, until he had cut
off every male in Edom).

1 Kings 11:1516

That indeed did happen once in history (there were surviving Edomite males who did
not live in Edom), but that event took place before the time of Obadiah. This
prophecy is talking about a time yet future to us. This has never happened. But
every one of the adult males in the future will be cut off by slaughter.

Edomites Are Not Turks

Look at Obadiah verse 9 above. Who are these Edomites today? I tell you this, it is
almost impossible to identify them exactly. 9 I will say that at the outset. But some
people have felt that they know who they are. They say they are the Turks, the
Turkish people who live in part of Europe and southeastern Europe and throughout
Asia Minor. That is the biggest bunch of nonsense that you can possibly imagine.
There is not one historical nor prophetic reference whatsoever, to indicate that the
Turkish people today are Edomites. Not one. In fact, there are all types of reasons to
show that they could not be.

This verse 9 was used by people trying to substantiate that Turkish/Edomite

connection, and they will say, look, do you not see it says And your mighty men,
O Teman. One of the major Turkish groups (there were several of them) that
expanded the Turkish empire to grow from around the 13th century C.E. up to the
16th century and then it began to retreat somewhat, and it retreated to its present
borders in the First World War. It was a mighty empire at one time, especially around
the 15th to the 17th centuries.

The number one Turkish group that controlled the Turkish people were called the
Ottomans, the Ottoman Turks. The word Ottoman signified one family name that
became king or ruler over all the Turkish tribes. They called the whole lot the
Ottoman Turks. Well, how many times have I seen people refer to Obadiah verse 9
and say see, these are Ottomans. It says O Teman does it not? It is rather
interesting. It says O Teman only here in the King James Version. They did not
even think to look into the original Hebrew because the little expression O which is
an expression preceding the noun, it is not even in the Hebrew at all. It has been
placed there by the translators. It has no relevance in the Hebrew text whatsoever.
Moffatt translates it correctly. He says something like this: And you mighty men,
Teman shall be dismayed. It has nothing to do with O Teman, but to some
misinformed people, because that little O put in there by a few scholars over on
the Thames River when they made the King James Version, suddenly the Turks were
changed into Edomites.

The Edomite Destruction

Verse 10 shows why the destruction is coming:

For your violence against your brother Jacob shame shall cover you, and
you shall be cut off for ever [olam, to the age].

Obadiah 10

Yes, the Edomites were a close brother to Jacob. After all they were twins. It is true
that the Esau at first had hair all over him like a goat (Genesis 25:25). His
descendants did not have hair like that. That was a peculiarity just with him. That is
the reason he got the name Esau, which means hairy. At the same time it said in
another part of the Bible that because Esau had this hairy garment on him, which
was natural, it was a sign of prophetic office that he had. Almost all of the ancient
prophets of Israel had a hairy garment and sometimes it is called a rough [hairy]
garment to deceive (Zechariah 13:4), a woolen garment that they put around
them.

Remember Elijah. He had this mantle that he put around him. When he put the
mantle on around him that gave him his prophetic office, he now was speaking as a
prophet. When Elijah left and gave his authority to Elisha, he took off his mantle and
then gave it to Elisha. When Elisha put on the mantle, he was then able to give
prophecy (2 Kings 2:116). The mantle was called a hairy garment.
Esau was born with a hairy garment on him like goat skin. Many of the ancients
looked upon him as being born with the prophetic spirit. But it was peculiar only to
him. His children did not have hair all over them at all. They looked very much like
any ordinary Israelite would. After all they were a twin brother to Israel. It is quite
true that Esau married two Canaanite wives (Genesis 28:8) and also an Ishmaelite
wife (Genesis 28:9). But Edom was still a brother to Jacob and would have appeared
very similar in physical appearance to the Israelites. 10

For your violence against your brother Jacob shame shall cover you, and
you shall be cut off for ever [olam, to the age]. In the day that you stood on
the other side,

Obadiah 1011

This refers to the other side, the east side of the Jordan River. This is in the future
when the Israelites will want to escape. They are being invaded by peoples, they will
be taken over and conquered, and here are their brother people next door to them.
Instead of giving them help in a time of need, they are standing to the side and they
will prevent them from escaping. God is angry because of this betrayal of a brother.

In the day that you stood on the other side, in the day that the strangers
carried away captive his [Jacobs] forces, and foreigners entered into his
gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even you were as one of them.

Obadiah 11

Edom and Jerusalem in the Future

You [Edom] were willing to cast lots as well upon Jerusalem. This has never
happened in the history of the world. The reason it has not happened is because in
the 6th century, in 586 B.C.E. when the Babylonians came down under King
Nebuchadnezzar and destroyed the city of Jerusalem; they leveled it down to the
ground. The Temple was destroyed absolutely. Every building in Jerusalem was
completely gutted. They took the people captive and there was nothing left to the
area except a lot of stones that were fallen over. Not until some 70 years later did
Jews come back from Babylon to rebuild the city of Jerusalem. They found nothing
there.

Here though it says that lots will be cast upon Jerusalem. It will be cast for certain
peoples and the Edomites are going to be right there to receive some portion of
Jerusalem. This never happened in 586 B.C.E. 11 The Edomites did not cast any lots.
No one cast any lots. The whole city of Jerusalem became Babylonian territory and it
was Nebuchadnezzars conquest, lock, stock, and barrel. This, however, will happen
in the future. Jerusalem will be taken over by several nations. The Edomites who are
brothers to the Israelites should be there to help, you would think. They will not help.
In fact they will stand in the way and not let people escape. While Jerusalem is
exposed and up for grabs, Edom will be with their neighbors demanding that they get
their share of plunder. So they draw lots on Jerusalem. Look at all the evil that Edom
will do to their twin brother Jacob:
But, [1] you should not have looked on the day of your brother in the day
that he became a stranger;

[2] neither should you have rejoiced over the children of

Judah in the day of their destruction;

[3] neither should you have spoken proudly in the day of

distress.

[4] You should not have entered into the gate of my people in
the day of their calamity [to take over the territory of
Judah]; yea,

[5] you should not have looked on their affliction in the day of
their calamity,

[6] nor have laid hands on their substance in the day of their
calamity;

[7] Neither should you have stood in the crossway, to cut off
those of his that did escape;

[8] neither should you have delivered up those of his that did
remain in the day of distress.

For the day of the Lord is near upon all the heathen.

Obadiah 1215

That gives you a time period we are talking about here. It is a time in the future
when the Day of the Lord is just about upon the world. This is relevant with the
Second Coming of Christ. It is associated with that time.

For the day of the Lord is near upon all the heathen: as you have done, it
shall be done unto you: your reward shall return upon your own head. For
as you have drunk upon my holy mountain ...

Obadiah 1516

The Edomites will go into Jerusalem, into the Temple, taking it over, casting lots with
the heathen over the city and the whole territory, when they should have been
helping their brother, that is what Obadiah is saying.

For as you have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen [the
nations] drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow
down, and they shall be as though they had not been.

Obadiah 16

It will be a bitter pill Esau will have to swallow. Verse 17:

But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and
the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions [some time again in the
future]. And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a
flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and
devour them; and there shall not be any remaining [male, again] of the house
of Esau.

Obadiah 17

In the parallel passage to this in Jeremiah 49:11 it says that the children and the
women would be left. After all, there would be no more Edomite nation if there was
not someone left. But the male adults, all of them, will be killed off. There shall not
be one male remaining of Esau.

for the Lord has spoken it. And they of the south [meaning Judah] shall
possess the mount of Esau; and they of the plain [near the Mediterranean, the
southern area of Esau] the Philistines: and they [northern Israel, the house of
Joseph] shall possess the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria: and
Benjamin shall possess Gilead.

Obadiah 1819

In other words there shall be a second Exodus coming in the future and Israel will
finally be able to be in the land and they will possess it from then on. But before they
do it, this will have to happen, with Esau their brother coming with the heathen to
destroy Israel from being a nation. Verse 20:

And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel [taken into captivity]
shall possess that of the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath [north of the city of
Tyre]; and the captivity of Jerusalem, which is in Sepharad [also north of Tyre],
shall possess the cities of the south. And saviors [like the judges of old after
the time of Joshua] shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau;
and the kingdom [of Esau] shall be the Lords.

Obadiah 2021

That concludes the Book of Obadiah. This is a time mentioned by Obadiah when Esau
will come with the nations, and instead of helping Israel, they will join the nations. It
is called a covenant in verse 7, a confederacy, and Esau will be a part of it. They will
cast lots over Jerusalem because Jerusalem at that time will be the capital city of the
world. What Esau will want is to take over that entire world possession, you might
say. This is what it says when you put all the scriptures together, but they will be put
down.

Who is it that will finally come up in glory as all the prophecies say they will? Israel.
Israel shall possess the land once more. That is what we have here in this Book of
Obadiah.

Edom in Isaiah
I want to go back to that chapter I told you about before, Isaiah chapter 34. This is
one of the most interesting prophetic chapters anywhere in the Bible. I do not want
to take too much time on it, but I will tell you that it refers also to Edom, though in
the King James Version it is spelled slightly different. It makes no difference, in the
Hebrew it is the same. This is a prophecy about Edom. When I read some of this to
you, you shall see reflections of other parts of Isaiah coming into play in your mind.
Not only that but some scriptures mentioned in the Book of Revelation dealing with
the end time referred to by Obadiah, scriptures referring clearly to the time when
Christ Jesus will come back to this earth are referenced directly back to this chapter
34 of Isaiah.

Indeed, some of the things in chapter 34 seem to have a kind of a reflection of what
will happen to Babylon of the future. Babylon and Esau seem to be merged together
in some ways in this particular chapter of Isaiah. However, the whole chapter is
referring to Esau, to Edom.

Before I go into this chapter I want to mention one other thing I think is important.
Of all Isaiahs prophecies concerning the nations of old starting with Israel, then with
Judah, finally with Babylon in Isaiah chapters 13 and 14. 12 Then in Isaiah chapters
15 and 16 it is Moab and Ammon. Then he goes into others down the line and finally
gets to the nation of Egypt. The very last nation that Isaiah deals with is found here
in chapter 34 and it is the nation of Edom. The reason he is the last one is because
really he is the most important Gentile nation as far as the Israelites are concerned.

As we read this little chapter here, which I will go through very quickly, you will see
the relevance of it and how at the end of the age Edom, Esau, will have a major role
to play in bringing the nations of the world against Israel, against Judah, against
Jerusalem. God will be angry concerning it. Remember that God said, Esau have I
hated and Jacob have I loved (Romans 9:13). This is in Gods plan. The
Edomites will all be redeemed some time in the future, but they have a role to play
in this world before that redemption. Here is Isaiah giving the final chapter, the final
prophecy, against the last of the nations.

Come near, you nations, to hear; and hearken, you people: let the earth
hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it.

Isaiah 34:1

This is an appeal here to the universal world.

For the indignation of the Lord is upon all nations, and his fury upon all
their armies [this is worldwide in scope]: he has utterly destroyed them, he has
delivered them to the slaughter.

Isaiah 34:2

Again, this is the prophetic past tense being used, when it is talking about a time in
the future.

Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their
carcasses, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood.
 Isaiah 34:3-4

Have you read that somewhere in the New Testament? Why of course. And it goes on
and all their host [the heavenly host] shall fall down Have we read in
Daniel and also the Book of Revelation about stars falling from the heavens at a
particular time in the future? Have we not read in Luke chapter 21 of the Olivet
Prophecy about heavenly signs and stars falling and all of that? It is a reference to
this time period when all the nations of the world will be dealt with. In fact let us go
on:

And all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falls off from the vine, and as
a falling fig from the fig tree. For my sword shall be bathed in heaven:
behold, it shall come down upon Idumea.

Isaiah 34:45

That is the King James translators spelling of it. Why is it spelled Idumea here and
spelled as Edom in some other places. It is simply because there were six different
groups of people back in 1611 who translated the King James Version. Some were in
Lambeth in London. Some were in Cambridge. Some were in Oxford. What they did
was they translated different sections of the Bible. When they brought it all together,
one group had a different spelling than the other. Did they streamline it and make it
all to be the same? No they did not. They left the words different. It is most
interesting.

In the Hebrew the words are exactly the same. It is Edom. That is all it means.
That is what it means in Isaiah 34:5.

For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon
Idumea [Edom], and upon the people of my curse, to judgment.

Isaiah 34:45

He says they are the people of my curse. From the very beginning they were
fighting in the womb. One was to be evil. The other was to be good. We find this
carrying on until the Second Coming of Christ. This fight is being described here.

the people of my curse, to judgment. The sword of the Lord is filled with
blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats,
with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah [a
city in Edom], and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea [Edom]. And the
unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and
their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness.

Isaiah 34:5-7

All of these are clean animals being discussed here, animals for sacrifice. If you go to
Revelation chapter 19, you will find the same description being given there, with
slightly different language, but also about a great slaughter, a great sacrifice
occurring at the end of the age when Christ comes with the sword in His hand. It is
the same event being described right here. It is called in Isaiah chapter 34 the
sacrifice of bulls, of lambs, and goats, but these animals represent nations and
peoples and countries. They are coming and they will find themselves destroyed in
the land of Edom. Look at this in verse 8:

For it is the day of the Lords vengeance, and the year of recompenses for
the controversy of Zion.

Isaiah 34:8

This year and this day have not yet occurred. They are still future to us. The Book of
Revelation shows that it is future. It is going to involve Edom. Edom is the major
people of His curse (Isaiah 34:5). And the references in the Bible, from the very
beginning of struggling in the womb all the way through the Scripture, we find Edom
fulfilling this role. Is it not interesting that the king over Judah in the time our Lord
was born, who almost had Him killed when the king said to kill all of the male infants
around Bethlehem (Matthew 2:1619) was Herod, who himself was an Edomite. It is
most remarkable when you think about it.

For it is the day of the Lords vengeance, and the year of recompenses for
the controversy of Zion. And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch,
and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become
burning pitch. It shall not be quenched night nor day;

Isaiah 34:810

Look at this reference here. The only other place you will find it in the Bible is
Revelation 19:3.

the smoke thereof shall go up for ever [for the age]: from generation to
generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever [for
the ages of the ages].

Isaiah 34:10

That is very reminiscent of Babylon, is it not? But this is not Babylon being talked of
here. It is Edom, the area southeast of the Dead Sea.

But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also and the
raven shall dwell in it.

Isaiah 34:11

These are unclean animals. The clean animals were the sacrificial animals of Isaiah
34:67 representing the nations of the world. They will be slaughtered there. After
that takes place, what happens? The unclean animals come in: the cormorant, the
bittern, the owl, the raven:

and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of
emptiness. They shall call the nobles [of Edom] thereof to the kingdom, but
none shall be there, and all her princes shall be nothing. And thorns shall
come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof: and
it shall be an habitation of dragons, and a court for owls.

Isaiah 34:1113

Now look at verse 14 which is very reminiscent of the same thing that will happen to
Babylon in the future; but this is not Babylon, this is Edom! Edom who calls together
the nations of the world (Obadiah 1), the day of recompense that God will give to
Edom for the controversy of Zion.

The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the
island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; the screech owl also shall rest
there, and find for herself a place of rest. There shall the great owl make her
nest, and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shadow: there shall the
vultures also be gathered, every one with her mate.

Isaiah 34:1415

In other words all the unclean animals and birds will have carrion to eat all over the
place, and the whole land of Edom will be turned into brimstone, running pitch, with
the smoke thereof going up all over the place, and the whole land utterly
demolished. It says forever and ever. It means to the end of the age. The
Book of Revelation says that Babylon will also be in a similar condition. But this is not
Babylon here.

This Is Not Babylon

I must tell you this story. When I was over in England on one occasion we saw a film
produced by the Moody Bible Institute concerning Petra, the Red Rose City of old. So
many of us were interested in Petra in those days. I am still interested to a certain
extent because it is a very beautiful area to see. But we had reasons (then, not now)
for believing that Petra had some prophetic significance for all of us. This new film
about Petra came out in 1961 or 1962.

I can well remember sitting in the front row next to the wife of a religious leader as
were watching the film. When this film showed Petra in the land of Edom and then
quoted this verse: The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild
beasts of the island, and the satyr (Isaiah 34:14), this woman said, Look, they
even misquote Scripture, because that is for Babylon and they are putting it here on
Edom. While it is true that a judgment is given for Babylon, she did not understand
that Isaiah chapter 34 presents the exact same kind of judgment for Edom! Do you
know who was correct in it? The Moody Bible Institute who produced the film was
correct. At least they knew it was in Edom.

But I ask this question, how many lectures have you heard on Isaiah chapter 34
connected with the nation of Israel? How many times have you been told just how
important the nation of Edom is in relationship to Israel? I bet you have not been
told that at all. It has always been Babylon or Assyria or Egypt that is the most
important. I am afraid the Bible says just the opposite.
The people of my curse (Isaiah 34:5), God identifies as the Edomites. The
people that are mentioned more often than any other people in all the prophecies are
Edomites. If you analyze the Book of Obadiah and chapter 34 of Isaiah carefully, you
will find that the Edomites have something to do with the bringing together of the
world nations to take over Israel at the end of the age. They have the feeling, I
suppose, that since they had the prophetic garment put on them from the very
beginning from their father Esau, well, maybe they are the ones to take over the
destiny of the world.

Struggling in the womb together? That is right. Struggling at the end too. That is the
whole prophetic history of the twin brothers in a nutshell. Look at verses 16: Seek
you out of the book of the Lord, and read: no one of these shall fail, none
shall want her mate Not one of these prophecies will fail. If we would look at
the ancient history of Edom and of Israel and of the other nations over there, every
one of these prophecies have failed if we say they were to occur and did occur in the
past. But the Book of Revelation itself puts these into the future just near the Second
Coming of Christ.

Seek you out of the book of the Lord, and read: no one of these shall fail,
none shall want her mate:

Isaiah 34:16

What does it mean? What mate? Go back to Isaiah 34:15:

There shall the great owl make her nest, and lay, and hatch, and gather
under her shadow: there shall the vultures also be gathered, every one with
her mate.

Isaiah 34:15

Here is a male vulture with a female vulture. They mate and they have little vultures.
They grow more and more vultures. Why? They must be able to take care of the
carrion in the land. It says here in verse 16: no one of these shall fail, none
shall want her mate: The vulture shall have her mate, the owl will have her
mate, all the other unclean animals will have their mate and they are going to take
care of the whole land of Edom.

none shall want her mate: for my mouth it has commanded, and his
spirit it has gathered them [all these unclean animals]. And he has cast the lot
for them [these unclean animals], and his hand has divided it [the land of Edom]
unto them by line [one has some here, another some there]: they shall possess
it for ever [olam, for the age], from generation to generation shall they [the
unclean wild beasts] dwell therein [in Edom].

Isaiah 34:1617

Babylon will indeed suffer the same thing as Edom. But God must have some great
controversy with these Edomites to give a judgment on that nation like this. It is a
powerful judgment because of all the peoples that should be helping Israel; it should
be your brother. Here is a brother turning against a brother. That is not like the
Babylonian or the Egyptians because, after all, you can imagine them turning against
Israel, but a brother turning against a brother, I am afraid that is a little too much.

However, it is all prophesied in Scripture. God knows what He is doing and there is
no unrighteousness in God. The people of Edom are the people of my curse
(Isaiah 34:5) says God, so which is the most significant Gentile nation of the Bible?
We have been reading about it.

Take your concordance out, look up the word Esau, or Edom, or Idumea, follow the
references through and you will find more prophecies about the brother nation of
Jacob than all of the others. Yes, Edom is most important. We have not yet seen just
how important it will be.

Ernest L. Martin, 1977

Edited by David Sielaff, July 2006

1 From Dr. Martins audiotape Obadiah and Modern Prophecy:

Edoms descendants were very interested in mercantilism and

commerce. They established commerce from Palestine and from Egypt
into India and the east in ancient times. The descendants of Edom
looked at the Mediterranean Sea and saw that they also needed to have
ships there for commerce. There is clear evidence that the people who
first established and inhabited the city of Tyre, known in Old Testament
times for its mercantile and commercial enterprises, and where the
Phoenicians had their origin, were the people of Edom. The ancient Jews
knew this. In fact, the early inhabitants of Tyre were people who came
from the Dead Sea region, where Edom settled. They established the city
of Tyre and the city of Sidon and other cities along the Mediterranean
coast to trade in the Mediterranean. They then went out through the
pillars of Hercules (what we call the Straights of Gibraltar today), even
into the Atlantic Ocean, around Africa and even into the new world. They
were known as the Phoenicians. The word Phoinos, by the way, in
Greek means red. They are connected with the twin brother to Israel
named Edom.

The Phoenicians provided architects and skilled construction supervisors for the
building of Gods Templeby Solomon. DWS

2 The Book of Malachi itself is a prophetic commentary on Genesis chapter 25. In

Romans chapter 9 Paul refers to Malachis commentary, and by implication
testifies to the truth of the Genesis account. DWS

3 Pottage is thick soup or stew of vegetables and occasionally meat. It is sometimes

called porridge. DWS

4 God will in the future even it all out and every person will be in awe at Gods
plan. Dr. Martin later came to understand from the Bible the exact process by
which God chose who He would love and who He would hate. It was done by an
impartial lottery. Your position in time and place, your position in the history of
 creation was specially designated by a lottery. This is discussed and explained in
Chapter 7, Gods Use of Evil and the Allotment at
http://www.askelm.com/abc/abc007.htm of Dr. Martins 2003 book ABCs of the
Gospel. DWS

5 There is an Obadiah mentioned in the Book of Kings and he lived in the 8th
century, almost the 9th century B.C.E. This Obadiah lived during the time of King
Ahab of Israel (1 Kings 18:116). He was the chief of Ahabs royal household, his
chief administrator, and a man who feared YHWH. He put Ahab in touch with the
prophet Elijah. It is unknown if this is the same man who had the vision of the
Book of Obadiah. There were several other Obadiahs in the Old Testament. The
Book of Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament. DWS

6 Note that although Edom comes from Isaac (and Abraham), they are still
classified by God in Obadiahs vision as being Gentiles, among the nations
[goy in Hebrew]. This is a correct designation. DWS

7 The rose city of Petra was the set of the climactic scenes in Steven Spiebergs
movie Indiana Jones and the Lost Crusade. DWS

8 Teman was the capital city in Obadiahs day, not Petra. Teman was a little bit north
of Petra. ELM

9 Dr. Martin wrote in chapter 28 of his 1993 book, The People That History Forgot
(ASK Publ.: Portland, OR, 1993), p. 163:

For all practical purposes the nationalities of the Moabites, Ammonites

and Edomites (Idumaeans), ceased to be reckoned as distinct peoples
any longer in the Middle East. Their areas were, as we have explained
earlier, reverted into a type of desert environment and peoples from the
peripheral lands (the desert Arabs) came into these unpopulated regions.
This is when the Idumaeans and other nations around Palestine
disappear from history and become a part of that group of races who
blended in with The People That History Forgot.

That does not end the matter, however, especially with the Idumaeans
(or Edomites). This is because the Jewish authorities kept up with the
migrations of their brethren the Edomites (Edom or Esau was a twin
brother to Jacob and their descendants were kin to the Jews). The Jews
reckoned that many of the Edomites migrated west, even into North
Africa and Rome.

This book by Dr. Martin are available complete online at

http://www.askelm.com/people/index.asp.

10 In the old days when I used to think that Ephraim and Manasseh were located in
the United States and Great Britain, and Jacob was primarily in northwestern
Europe, I often wondered, well, why in the world do we make Turkish people to
be our brother Esau if they were indeed twins in the womb? If they were going to
be anybody, they ought to be Germans. That would have made far greater sense.
It makes no sense because Turkey as Esau does not fit. These erroneous racial
 theories that have come up are ridiculous and should be abandoned for lack of
evidence. ELM

11 Nor did this happen in 70 C.E. when Rome destroyed Judah and Jerusalem. DWS

12 Besides Isaiah chapters 13 and 14 (as well as 34), see also Jeremiah chapters 50
and 51 for the destruction of Babylon that seem to describe the same events as
will occur to Edom. The destruction is similar but the geography is totally
different. DWS

China in Prophecy
By Ernest L. Martin, Ph.D., 1995
Edited by David Sielaff, May 2009

Listen to the Byte Show Interviews on this article:

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There is more in the Bible about China as a nation and as a people than
most people have imagined. It is time that all of us realize just what role
China will play in the history of the world in the next few years ahead of us.
This Prophetic Report gives both biblical and historical evidence to show
just who the Chinese people are and how important they will soon become
in matters dealing with the prophecies of the end time. There is one
prophetic role for China that most people know nothing about. This is the
fact that the Chinese people before the Second Advent of Christ are destined
to accept Christianity in a very strong way. If we hope to realize what the
future holds for the world in the next three decades, we will have to be
aware of the real importance of China in Prophecy.

All people on earth need to know just who the Chinese people are in matters dealing
with the biblical revelation. This is important because the Holy Scriptures are not
only interested in the welfare of people who are now known as Christians, Jews, and
Muslims (people indebted to Abraham and Moses for their basic religious teachings),
but the Bible makes it clear that God through Christ has designed His plan to bring a
salvation to all people on earth, no matter who they are or where they live. This
certainly includes the people of China.

[ Editors Note: As of May of 2009 China is the most populous nation on earth
today with approximately 1.3 billion people. One out every five people alive on earth
at this moment live in China. That is 20% of all men, women, and children alive
today. Even more important, consider that one out of every fivegeniuses live in
China. 1 Those geniuses will be better educated than ever before, and they will
receive the finest of education and career promotion. That has not happened in
China in the past 200 years.
Within 10 or 15 years, by virtue of its increasingly productive huge population, the
total gross national product of China shall exceed that of the United States and
Europe in most all measures. If current trends continue, China will not only be the
most economically powerful nation on earth, it will be a major political
power. 2 DWS ]

It would seem odd if the Bible did not include some essential information about this
great nation and its people since the Holy Scriptures purport to be the divine
document which informs all people in the world about the plan of God for mankind.
And true to form, the Bible does not abandon China and other peoples in the Far East
or the islands of Oceania in its theme of salvation or in matters of prophecy. We need
to understand just how significant these peoples are in the prophetic scenario that is
to occur just on the horizon to us before the Second Advent of Christ back to this
earth.

Who Are the Chinese People?

The place to start our research on the origin and destiny of the Chinese people is at
the very beginning of the biblical revelation. That is where God gives an overview of
who the peoples in the world represent as they relate particularly to the people of
Abraham to whom God made special spiritual covenants (and most specifically to the
people of Israel who represent a type of priestly people to the rest of the nations on
earth, Exodus 19:6). In fact, the Holy Scriptures pertain essentially to the people of
Abraham and more specially to Israel. This maneuver by God was to make Israel in
particular responsible for teaching the ways of God to the whole of the human race.
In a real sense, Israel is the nation which has a type of priestly mission to relate the
messages of God to the rest of the world (Exodus 19:6; Isaiah 61:6; Deuteronomy
7:6). The nation of Israel is called Gods servant:

to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved [margin:

desolate lands] of Israel; I will also give you [Israel] for a light to the
Gentiles, that you [Israel] may be [i.e., bring] my salvation unto the end of
the earth.

Isaiah 49:6

This responsibility of Israel to bring the teaching of salvation to the ends of the earth
certainly includes that message being given to the Chinese people. China is destined
soon to be evangelized.

In short, God has designed the historical circumstances in His plan for mankind so
thatIsrael should be the nation to present to China and other Gentiles the teachings
of God. That is what God called Israel to do as the priestly nation to the world.

However, the people of Israel are not yet doing their prophesied role of taking the
message of salvation to the world. They began to do it in the time of the apostles,
but because they, as a nation and as a people, failed to accept the teachings of their
Messiah (Jesus Christ), Christ prophesied that the responsibility for teaching the
Gospel would be given to another nation to do the job (Matthew 21:43). This was not
another race, but another nation of people (Romans 10:19). Some in that nation
would bring forth the fruits of the Gospel. So, Paul said the responsibility for getting
out the Gospel then fell to the Gentiles, particularly to the people of the Roman
nation and its empire (Romans 11:1117). The Gentiles of the Roman Empire (and
their descendants) would take over Israels place until what Christ called the end
of the times of the Gentiles (Luke 21:24) would occur. 3

It is now up to us Gentiles with that European influence from Paul (made up of many
races) to do the job. Still, the evangelization of the world is not the responsibility of
us Gentiles. God has preserved Israel to perform that job. Frankly, what Israel now
needs is for us to teach the Gospel to them, and Israel needs to accept the Gospel.
Because of this, we at A.S.K. (all of us working together) are trying our best to
present the true Gospel to Israel and the world. I believe God is pleased with our
efforts.

Thus, a new age is about to dawn. The times of the Gentiles for teaching the Gospel
to the world are about to end. Israel shall be sent a spirit of grace and supplication
and they will then begin to take over their prophesied role in bringing the messages
of God to the nations of the world. This was prophesied to occur once Israel would
return to the Holyland and to Jerusalem. With their return, we are told that God
would cause a miracle to occur in Israel and to the Israelites (and this miracle is
prophesied to emerge before the Second Advent of Christ). What is this miracle? It is
the fact that many of the people of Israel(including some of its top leaders) are
destined to accept Christ Jesus as their own Messiah. This is shown in Zechariah
12:1014 through 13:16.

God will send the people of Israel a miraculous spirit of grace and supplication in the
not too distant future. When this develops, Israel will then begin to perform their role
that God prophesied for them in bringing the message of the Gospel to the ends of
the earth (Isaiah 49:6). One of the first things that Israel will do according to the
prophecies is to overthrow the idolatry and idolatrous customs in the Holyland that
Gentile Christians of Roman Empire origin have placed in their churches and shrines.
At that time, Israel will not countenance such rampant idolatry (Zechariah 13:16).
When a great number of Israelites in the Holyland are thus converted to Christ, we
shall soon see China begin to look to Israel and the Middle East (as will all nations on
earth) for the teaching of the Gospel of Christ. The Chinese will not accede to the
Roman Empire form of idolatrous Christendom as their example.

To discover how this will happen to the Chinese, and to intelligently understand the
means by which this will be accomplished, we first have to recognize from the Bible
just who the Chinese people are. The Chinese people can be identified from the
teachings of the Bible. Their identification is first given in Genesis chapter 10 which
shows the descendants of Noah and how they repopulated the earth after the great
flood.

A Clue that Identifies the Chinese

It is easy in a general way to discover who the people of China are from the
information found in the Table of Nations. The first evidence emerges when we
consider the meaning of the names of the three sons of Noah through whom all the
worlds population today have descended. Note these three sons. His firstborn son
was Japheth. Noahs second son was Ham. And, his third son was Shem.
(1) Look at Noahs firstborn son Japheth. The word Japheth means Enlargement
and it signifies in a prophetic sense that Japheths progeny would become an
enlarged population on earth. They would become the most populous people, having
many more descendants than Ham or Shem. And without doubt, the people of China
and their neighbors who are a part of what we generally call the Yellow Races are the
most populous of the nations on earth. This meaning of Japheths name is the first
evidence that the patriarch Japheth and his descendants describe the patriarchal
origin of the Chinese people.

(2) Along with this is the fact that Noahs second son was named Ham which
signifies Dark Colored and this is a clear indication that the darker peoples on earth
are descended from him.

(3) The third son was Shem from whom came the Israelites, the Arabs, and other
Mediterranean types of people. It is pretty easy to see that this group of people from
Shem are not of the Yellow or the Black races, and they more particularly represent
the White or the Olive Skinned peoples on earth.

Of course, there are variations in all the three main racial stocks and there have
been blendings among the original races on a wide scale, but the three general racial
divisions of mankind and their standard characteristics can be pretty easily identified
from the information that we have in the Bible. The indication that Japheth would
become the most populated of peoples gives us biblical evidence that the Chinese fit
into the Japhetic camp.

The Dispersal of the Original Nations

About two hundred years after the Flood of Noah, the population of humans had
grown sufficiently that they began to build a tower as a religious monument (like a
steeple or pyramid) to keep mankinds geographical attention centered on the region
of Babylon where the main patriarchs of Noah (and Noah himself) lived and made
their homes. God did not like this scheme, so He changed mankinds languages and
sent them into all areas of the world (Genesis chapter 11). When these people left
the tower in the Babylon area, they journeyed outward with mere families (just small
clans of individuals) and they went into various places on earth. God must have
directed them to the regions on earth to which He intended them to live and to
populate. People quickly spread around the world.

Among the people who began to leave Babylon were those of Japheth. Let us look at
them. Japheth had seven sons: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and
Tiras (Genesis 10:2). Gomers three sons were Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.
They and Javans four sons Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim were singled out
for distinction by Moses in his Table of Nations. This is because these particular
descendants of Japheth were those who came in contact with Israel in the early
generations up to the time of the Exodus. Throughout the annals of Jewish history, it
has been known that Gomer, at first, went into Central Europe into the area
represented now as Germany and Poland. As for Togarmah, son of Gomer, we find
that they went into the extreme north part of the earth (Ezekiel 38:6) and became
what we call Eskimos today.

These historical indications I have given in my Prophetic Report for September, 1992,
titled Prophetic Geography and the Time of the End, available online
atwww.askelm.com/prophecy/p920901.htm. In that Prophetic Report, I have given
maps to show in a graphic manner how these movements and settlements of peoples
were made from the Tower of Babel into all areas of the world, and that includes the
Chinese.

What we find is the fact that the people of Japheth developed into the mongoloid
types of races within the first eight to ten generations from the time of the Flood of
Noah. The information on how this could happen in a genetic way is given in the
above mentioned Prophetic Report. The main point, however, that we should
remember in this present Report on China is the fact that the people of Japheth
became the most populous of people. Recall that the word Japheth means
Enlargement.

In actual fact, the Bible and history as understood by the early Jews show that the
people who finally developed into the people living in China and Japan (the
mongoloid types of people that we know today), stemmed originally from Japheth.
These Japhetic peoples developed various racial characteristics that became
associated with them. This was especially noted in the shape of the eyes, the
yellowish type of skin, and the straight black hair which predominates in these racial
groups. These three general classifications of races are well known today.

We should understand that there are different types of ways in showing variations in
races, but in simple terms the people of Japheth can be classified as being basically
mongoloid in appearance. And on this fact hinges the evidence that the majority of
the population in the world today is actually Japhetic in origin and that most of them
now live in China, Japan, and Southeast Asia. Though this is true for this present
age, historical records involving biblical peoples and early Jewish accounts show that
several of the clans of the people of Japheth journeyed to eastern Asia in a
roundabout way. Indeed, some of them right after the Flood of Noah first went into
southern and central Europe. It was only later, when Semitic tribes began to invade
Europe from the east, did the original Japhetic clans move north and then east into
the regions of the world that we normally associate with mongoloid peoples today.

Some Japheth Races First Went to Europe

What is not often realized is the fact that the Bible and early Jewish history show
that several of the chief sons of Japheth first went into Europe, and from there they
journeyed north and east and finally settled in East Asia. Gomer was certainly one of
them.

And not only Gomer, but we find the fourth son of Japheth also had a connection with
Europe. His name was Javan. He is mentioned in the Bible in Genesis 10:2, 4. The
sons of Javan were Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. Of these were the isles,
or the coasts, of the north Mediterranean settled not long after the Tower of Babel
(Genesis 10:5). Now when it says nations, it doesnt mean huge nations that we
know today. By the time of Moses, when Moses wrote the Book of Genesis, the clans
of the earth were just starting to become nations.

Notice that there were four sons of Javan. They were Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and
Dodanim. We know from history that the people of Tarshish were first located in
Spain and some of the islands of the Western Mediterranean, and also North Africa.
There is a good deal of historical information to show this fact, and I have given it in
the above Report.

Also, the people of Dodanim (called Rodaniym) have the name Rhodes in its variant
reading. They first settled on that island in the Mediterranean. Elishah is connected
with Ellis, an early tribe who settled on the Greek archipelago in the Aegean Sea and
in Western Asia Minor. These initial settlements were achieved before Israels Exodus
from Egypt.

But this is not all. Look especially at the people of Kittim in this first migration. Kittim
was geographically associated even in later times (in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC)
with the Mediterranean region. This shows that the people of Kittim first settled this
area and then moved into other parts of the world. I have explained in the Prophetic
Report mentioned above what happened. The people of Kittim moved into other
areas of the world while they left their name on the region of their first settlement
after the Flood of Noah. The Syriac Version of Genesis chapter 10 (called the Peshitta
Version, which was written about the 4thcentury or 5th century AD), rendered the
word Kittim as Cathay. This clearly denotes an early name for China. By the
4th century AD, the people of Kittim had been fully replaced in Europe, and they had
gone farther east, even into China and adjacent areas.

What we find is the fact that the people of Japheth are today primarily mongoloid
people, or connected with the mongoloid strain, or race, that finally developed after
the Tower of Babel.

The Descendants of Japheth

The first sons of Japheth were given special references in the early history of the
Bible. But in studying carefully, you will notice that only Gomer, and specially Javan,
are presented with more elaborate descriptions. That is because the Israelites in
Moses time were coming in contact with those people. They were closer in a
geographical sense to Israel, and Israel was more acquainted with them. The other
sons of Japheth, for example, Magog, the Madai, the people of Tubal, of Meshech and
of Tiras, were already far distant from the Israelites in Egypt and the Land of
Canaan. In the Bible you find little information about them because they had spread
far from the cradle of civilization.

Look at these Japhetic peoples for a moment. We know that Meshech and Tubal are
associated with Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Some people have even connected
the city of Moscow in Russia with Meshech. That is a possibility. These nations of
Japheth moved north and then on farther east. Later on, we find that Gomer and
Javan and the others of Japheth followed them into the east into the region of what
we call China today. They also went into Southeast Asia, and then through the Malay
archipelago into various islands of the ocean. Indeed, many of Japheths descendants
went throughout the Pacific and into the New World. These movements of peoples
are more particularly covered in my Prophetic Report mentioned above. But look at
what this means in regard to the Chinese who were once known as the people of
Cathay or Kittim.

Believe it or not, the Kittim people were the original ones who first settled the island
of Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean after the Tower of Babel incident. From there
they went further westward and made settlements in Italy.
Then they were pushed northward and then eastward by Semites coming from the
eastern Mediterranean areas. The people of Kittim journeyed even further north and
then eastward into the central areas of Asia, and finally winding up in the region we
now call China (indeed, an early name of China was Cathay which comes from the
root word Khitai which also answers to Kittim, the im is plural).

Though Gomer (the firstborn of Japheth and the uncle of Kittim) was the first to
settle central Europe after the Flood, the biblical revelation shows that at the end of
the age, his descendants are found in Asiain the Far East. In Ezekiel 38:16 we find
Gomer associated with Magog, Meshech, Tubal, Persia, Ethiopia (eastern Cush of the
Hindu Kush), Phut in India and Ceylon (not as the King James Version states as
Libya). This means that Gomer and all his bands went eastward long ago and
became Asiatic powers. The Bible shows they are still Asiatic powers at the time of
the end.

As a matter of fact, even after the Millennium is over, the Book of Revelation refers
to the geographical regions associated with Magog. They are shown to be in the four
extremities of the earth which primarily refer to the regions of the antipodes from
Jerusalem (the North and South American continents, Southern Africa and the
extreme northern regions of Eurasia). What must be understood is that most of the
European tribes of Japheth, who first went to Europe at the dispersal of the nations
at the Tower of Babel, left the European region and went into Asia. Others went
further eastward into the Pacific Islands and then to the Americas. But, as for the
people of Kittim, they finally settled in China and gave their name to the region.
China is even called in their own language Cathay (after the word Kittim).

A Further Biblical Reference to China

There is even more on China. The Bible prophesies that the people of China will be
given the truth of God before the Second Coming of Christ. And who performs the
task of taking the teachings of God to China? The Bible says it will be Israel. As
mentioned earlier in this Prophetic Report, the people of Israel are destined to take
the Word of God to all areas of the world before the Second Advent of Christ, and
China will not be left out. God shall:

raise up the tribes of Israel, and to restore the preserved [margin: desolate
lands] of Israel: I will also give you [Israel] for a light to the Gentiles, that
you may be [bring] my salvation unto the end of the earth. Thus says YHWH,
the Redeemer of Israel ...

Isaiah 49:67

It will be the people of Israel (once the times of the Gentiles end) who will bring
the light of the Gospel to all the Gentiles. The Gentiles of the world will turn their
attention to Israel in the Holyland and the Gentiles will begin to listen to the
Israelites about Jesus Christ and how idolatry should be shunned. Indeed, the people
of the world who are Gentiles will then want to attach themselves to Israelites and to
their teachings that God will inspire (look up Zechariah 8:23). This is a time when
the waste places that once made up Jerusalem will be repaired and rebuilt.
Break forth into joy, sing together, you waste places of Jerusalem:
for[1] YHWH has comforted his people [Israel], [2] he has redeemed
Jerusalem. [3] YHWH has made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the
nations [the Gentiles]; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of
our God.

Isaiah 52:910

Gentile nations from around the world will want to go to Israel and to Jerusalem to
hear the words of truth that will then come from the Israelites once they are
converted to the truth as Zechariah 12:914 prophesies. And what is a major area
from whence these Gentiles will come? God singles out a special region of the earth
for His interest. Look at Isaiah 49:12. It says that people will come to Israel from
the land of Sinim. Langes Commentary says this name [Sinim] must
represent an entire quarter of the heavens and probably the east (vol. VI, p.
535). 4 And what major people are in this region? China is in an easterly direction
from Jerusalem and would fit the prophets intentions very well.

Indeed, in modern Hebrew, Sinim means China, and well it should because even
the single letter we render as Ch in China has the soft sound of an S and the
Chinese call themselves the people of Sina or Sino with the vowel at the end
usually unsounded. Chinese history recognizes that in the 10th to the 12th centuries
AD, major parts of China were ruled by what they call the Sino-Khitan Empire (the
Chinese area was dominated by the Khitan people or, as I have shown, the Kittim
people). Thus, the Kittim and the Sinim of the Bible are found together in major
historical events that formed the Chinese nation and its people.

There is a further prophecy that illustrates this. Look at a predestined event that will
also occur not long before the Second Advent of Christ. Malachi records:

For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same, my
name shall be great among the Gentiles [goyim]; and in every placeincense
shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be
great among the heathen [goyim], says YHWH of hosts.

Malachi 1:11

There is no doubt that this prophecy will be fulfilled before the great and terrible Day
of the Lord because Malachi later on speaks of that very Day as yet future to him in
the context of the prophetic teaching he was giving (Malachi 4:56). And note that
the above prophecy is directed to the farthest easterly direction from the land of
Israel that one can go to the very rising of the sun itself. The Land of the Rising
Sun is, even in our modern parlance, Japan, and in the same region is China and
Southeast Asia.

Those areas of the world are soon going to be evangelized with the Gospel of Christ,
and they will begin to accept it on a wide scale. This will occur once Israel itself
begins to accept Christ Jesus as Zechariah 12:914 says will occur. We will not have
many years left to see these very things beginning to happen.
We Christians in the west need to focus our primary attention on presenting the
Gospel of Christ to the Jewish people in the best way we know how. They at first
gave us the Gospel by their Jewish apostles, and now it is our turn to return it to
them.

There are some exciting times to happen on earth in the not too distant future. The
prophecies show that even the Gentile nations in the Far East and to the West will be
given the Gospel of Christ as shown in the New Testament revelation (and Gentiles
will accept it in a basic sense). This is as certain as the rising of tomorrows sun. Just
as South Korea is now experiencing a new and revolutionary interest in Christ and
the New Testament, a groundswell of proper regard to Christ will soon begin to
sweep many areas of the world. China will begin to accept the teachings of the
Gospel.

According to Zechariah 13:16, people in the Land of Israel will commence a

campaign of getting rid of the idols and idolatrous ways that our western Christian
churches have placed in their false shrines in the Holyland and this will have a
rippling effect from Jerusalem throughout the world. All of us in Christ who now love
the Gospel are privileged to be the precursors for bringing forth the fruits of the
Gospel to Israel and then the world. That teaching from Israel will then reach out to
embrace the whole world. The result? All in China are destined to receive the Gospel
of Jesus Christ, and you and I are having a part in bringing this to pass.

Ernest L. Martin, 1995

Edited by David Sielaff, May

1 Regarding geniuses in China, I am presuming that the Chinese have the same
ratio of genius as other nationalities, just as they have the same ratio of left-
handed to right-handed people. I also presume that the ratio of geniuses is
consistent throughout the human race. After all, we all come from Adam. People
are people. Yes, the measure of genius is subjective, measured by such things as
Nobel Prizes, number of advanced degrees, number of inventions and patents,
etc. As the Chinese middle class grows, economic opportunity increases. That
allows talent, ability, and genius to be recognized, promoted, and not stifled by
culture, bureaucracy (an age-old problem in China), economic deprivation, and
brain damage from lack of food. All such factors are changing for the positive in
China today. The goal of Chinese society as a whole is economic well-being and
prosperity a better life for individuals who will have less care about the Chinese
state and the collective. Such is the nature of prosperity. DWS

2 See the internet article Chinas Economic Growth, 19782025

athttp://ihome.ust.hk/~socholz/Growth/Holz-China-Growth-2Nov05-web.pdf,
accessed May 2009. Only a disruption of present trends such as a major losing
war, civil unrest, a series of major natural disasters, or the breakup of China (as
did the Soviet Union) could cause such a projection not to occur. During the
current recession of 2008/2009 China is still growing (according to official
Chinese economic data) while other economies are in recession. DWS
3 Note also it is the times (plural) of the Gentiles that shall end. Several
prophetic trends involving the Gentiles shall end at that time. These need to be
discovered and understood. DWS

4 Langes Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Isaiah, Commentary on the Holy

Scriptures (New York: Scribner, 1878). It is also titled The prophet Isaiah /
theologically and homiletically expounded by C.W.E. Ngelsbach; trans. by
Samuel T. Lowrie and Dunlop Moore (reprinted by Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan,
195).

China in Prophecy
By Ernest L. Martin, Ph.D., 1995
Edited by David Sielaff, May 2009

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There is more in the Bible about China as a nation and as a people than
most people have imagined. It is time that all of us realize just what role
China will play in the history of the world in the next few years ahead of us.
This Prophetic Report gives both biblical and historical evidence to show
just who the Chinese people are and how important they will soon become
in matters dealing with the prophecies of the end time. There is one
prophetic role for China that most people know nothing about. This is the
fact that the Chinese people before the Second Advent of Christ are destined
to accept Christianity in a very strong way. If we hope to realize what the
future holds for the world in the next three decades, we will have to be
aware of the real importance of China in Prophecy.

All people on earth need to know just who the Chinese people are in matters dealing
with the biblical revelation. This is important because the Holy Scriptures are not
only interested in the welfare of people who are now known as Christians, Jews, and
Muslims (people indebted to Abraham and Moses for their basic religious teachings),
but the Bible makes it clear that God through Christ has designed His plan to bring a
salvation to all people on earth, no matter who they are or where they live. This
certainly includes the people of China.

[ Editors Note: As of May of 2009 China is the most populous nation on earth
today with approximately 1.3 billion people. One out every five people alive on earth
at this moment live in China. That is 20% of all men, women, and children alive
today. Even more important, consider that one out of every fivegeniuses live in
China. 1 Those geniuses will be better educated than ever before, and they will
receive the finest of education and career promotion. That has not happened in
China in the past 200 years.
Within 10 or 15 years, by virtue of its increasingly productive huge population, the
total gross national product of China shall exceed that of the United States and
Europe in most all measures. If current trends continue, China will not only be the
most economically powerful nation on earth, it will be a major political
power. 2 DWS ]

It would seem odd if the Bible did not include some essential information about this
great nation and its people since the Holy Scriptures purport to be the divine
document which informs all people in the world about the plan of God for mankind.
And true to form, the Bible does not abandon China and other peoples in the Far East
or the islands of Oceania in its theme of salvation or in matters of prophecy. We need
to understand just how significant these peoples are in the prophetic scenario that is
to occur just on the horizon to us before the Second Advent of Christ back to this
earth.

Who Are the Chinese People?

The place to start our research on the origin and destiny of the Chinese people is at
the very beginning of the biblical revelation. That is where God gives an overview of
who the peoples in the world represent as they relate particularly to the people of
Abraham to whom God made special spiritual covenants (and most specifically to the
people of Israel who represent a type of priestly people to the rest of the nations on
earth, Exodus 19:6). In fact, the Holy Scriptures pertain essentially to the people of
Abraham and more specially to Israel. This maneuver by God was to make Israel in
particular responsible for teaching the ways of God to the whole of the human race.
In a real sense, Israel is the nation which has a type of priestly mission to relate the
messages of God to the rest of the world (Exodus 19:6; Isaiah 61:6; Deuteronomy
7:6). The nation of Israel is called Gods servant:

to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved [margin:

desolate lands] of Israel; I will also give you [Israel] for a light to the
Gentiles, that you [Israel] may be [i.e., bring] my salvation unto the end of
the earth.

Isaiah 49:6

This responsibility of Israel to bring the teaching of salvation to the ends of the earth
certainly includes that message being given to the Chinese people. China is destined
soon to be evangelized.

In short, God has designed the historical circumstances in His plan for mankind so
thatIsrael should be the nation to present to China and other Gentiles the teachings
of God. That is what God called Israel to do as the priestly nation to the world.

However, the people of Israel are not yet doing their prophesied role of taking the
message of salvation to the world. They began to do it in the time of the apostles,
but because they, as a nation and as a people, failed to accept the teachings of their
Messiah (Jesus Christ), Christ prophesied that the responsibility for teaching the
Gospel would be given to another nation to do the job (Matthew 21:43). This was not
another race, but another nation of people (Romans 10:19). Some in that nation
would bring forth the fruits of the Gospel. So, Paul said the responsibility for getting
out the Gospel then fell to the Gentiles, particularly to the people of the Roman
nation and its empire (Romans 11:1117). The Gentiles of the Roman Empire (and
their descendants) would take over Israels place until what Christ called the end
of the times of the Gentiles (Luke 21:24) would occur. 3

It is now up to us Gentiles with that European influence from Paul (made up of many
races) to do the job. Still, the evangelization of the world is not the responsibility of
us Gentiles. God has preserved Israel to perform that job. Frankly, what Israel now
needs is for us to teach the Gospel to them, and Israel needs to accept the Gospel.
Because of this, we at A.S.K. (all of us working together) are trying our best to
present the true Gospel to Israel and the world. I believe God is pleased with our
efforts.

Thus, a new age is about to dawn. The times of the Gentiles for teaching the Gospel
to the world are about to end. Israel shall be sent a spirit of grace and supplication
and they will then begin to take over their prophesied role in bringing the messages
of God to the nations of the world. This was prophesied to occur once Israel would
return to the Holyland and to Jerusalem. With their return, we are told that God
would cause a miracle to occur in Israel and to the Israelites (and this miracle is
prophesied to emerge before the Second Advent of Christ). What is this miracle? It is
the fact that many of the people of Israel(including some of its top leaders) are
destined to accept Christ Jesus as their own Messiah. This is shown in Zechariah
12:1014 through 13:16.

God will send the people of Israel a miraculous spirit of grace and supplication in the
not too distant future. When this develops, Israel will then begin to perform their role
that God prophesied for them in bringing the message of the Gospel to the ends of
the earth (Isaiah 49:6). One of the first things that Israel will do according to the
prophecies is to overthrow the idolatry and idolatrous customs in the Holyland that
Gentile Christians of Roman Empire origin have placed in their churches and shrines.
At that time, Israel will not countenance such rampant idolatry (Zechariah 13:16).
When a great number of Israelites in the Holyland are thus converted to Christ, we
shall soon see China begin to look to Israel and the Middle East (as will all nations on
earth) for the teaching of the Gospel of Christ. The Chinese will not accede to the
Roman Empire form of idolatrous Christendom as their example.

To discover how this will happen to the Chinese, and to intelligently understand the
means by which this will be accomplished, we first have to recognize from the Bible
just who the Chinese people are. The Chinese people can be identified from the
teachings of the Bible. Their identification is first given in Genesis chapter 10 which
shows the descendants of Noah and how they repopulated the earth after the great
flood.

A Clue that Identifies the Chinese

It is easy in a general way to discover who the people of China are from the
information found in the Table of Nations. The first evidence emerges when we
consider the meaning of the names of the three sons of Noah through whom all the
worlds population today have descended. Note these three sons. His firstborn son
was Japheth. Noahs second son was Ham. And, his third son was Shem.
(1) Look at Noahs firstborn son Japheth. The word Japheth means Enlargement
and it signifies in a prophetic sense that Japheths progeny would become an
enlarged population on earth. They would become the most populous people, having
many more descendants than Ham or Shem. And without doubt, the people of China
and their neighbors who are a part of what we generally call the Yellow Races are the
most populous of the nations on earth. This meaning of Japheths name is the first
evidence that the patriarch Japheth and his descendants describe the patriarchal
origin of the Chinese people.

(2) Along with this is the fact that Noahs second son was named Ham which
signifies Dark Colored and this is a clear indication that the darker peoples on earth
are descended from him.

(3) The third son was Shem from whom came the Israelites, the Arabs, and other
Mediterranean types of people. It is pretty easy to see that this group of people from
Shem are not of the Yellow or the Black races, and they more particularly represent
the White or the Olive Skinned peoples on earth.

Of course, there are variations in all the three main racial stocks and there have
been blendings among the original races on a wide scale, but the three general racial
divisions of mankind and their standard characteristics can be pretty easily identified
from the information that we have in the Bible. The indication that Japheth would
become the most populated of peoples gives us biblical evidence that the Chinese fit
into the Japhetic camp.

The Dispersal of the Original Nations

About two hundred years after the Flood of Noah, the population of humans had
grown sufficiently that they began to build a tower as a religious monument (like a
steeple or pyramid) to keep mankinds geographical attention centered on the region
of Babylon where the main patriarchs of Noah (and Noah himself) lived and made
their homes. God did not like this scheme, so He changed mankinds languages and
sent them into all areas of the world (Genesis chapter 11). When these people left
the tower in the Babylon area, they journeyed outward with mere families (just small
clans of individuals) and they went into various places on earth. God must have
directed them to the regions on earth to which He intended them to live and to
populate. People quickly spread around the world.

Among the people who began to leave Babylon were those of Japheth. Let us look at
them. Japheth had seven sons: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and
Tiras (Genesis 10:2). Gomers three sons were Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.
They and Javans four sons Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim were singled out
for distinction by Moses in his Table of Nations. This is because these particular
descendants of Japheth were those who came in contact with Israel in the early
generations up to the time of the Exodus. Throughout the annals of Jewish history, it
has been known that Gomer, at first, went into Central Europe into the area
represented now as Germany and Poland. As for Togarmah, son of Gomer, we find
that they went into the extreme north part of the earth (Ezekiel 38:6) and became
what we call Eskimos today.

These historical indications I have given in my Prophetic Report for September, 1992,
titled Prophetic Geography and the Time of the End, available online
atwww.askelm.com/prophecy/p920901.htm. In that Prophetic Report, I have given
maps to show in a graphic manner how these movements and settlements of peoples
were made from the Tower of Babel into all areas of the world, and that includes the
Chinese.

What we find is the fact that the people of Japheth developed into the mongoloid
types of races within the first eight to ten generations from the time of the Flood of
Noah. The information on how this could happen in a genetic way is given in the
above mentioned Prophetic Report. The main point, however, that we should
remember in this present Report on China is the fact that the people of Japheth
became the most populous of people. Recall that the word Japheth means
Enlargement.

In actual fact, the Bible and history as understood by the early Jews show that the
people who finally developed into the people living in China and Japan (the
mongoloid types of people that we know today), stemmed originally from Japheth.
These Japhetic peoples developed various racial characteristics that became
associated with them. This was especially noted in the shape of the eyes, the
yellowish type of skin, and the straight black hair which predominates in these racial
groups. These three general classifications of races are well known today.

We should understand that there are different types of ways in showing variations in
races, but in simple terms the people of Japheth can be classified as being basically
mongoloid in appearance. And on this fact hinges the evidence that the majority of
the population in the world today is actually Japhetic in origin and that most of them
now live in China, Japan, and Southeast Asia. Though this is true for this present
age, historical records involving biblical peoples and early Jewish accounts show that
several of the clans of the people of Japheth journeyed to eastern Asia in a
roundabout way. Indeed, some of them right after the Flood of Noah first went into
southern and central Europe. It was only later, when Semitic tribes began to invade
Europe from the east, did the original Japhetic clans move north and then east into
the regions of the world that we normally associate with mongoloid peoples today.

Some Japheth Races First Went to Europe

What is not often realized is the fact that the Bible and early Jewish history show
that several of the chief sons of Japheth first went into Europe, and from there they
journeyed north and east and finally settled in East Asia. Gomer was certainly one of
them.

And not only Gomer, but we find the fourth son of Japheth also had a connection with
Europe. His name was Javan. He is mentioned in the Bible in Genesis 10:2, 4. The
sons of Javan were Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. Of these were the isles,
or the coasts, of the north Mediterranean settled not long after the Tower of Babel
(Genesis 10:5). Now when it says nations, it doesnt mean huge nations that we
know today. By the time of Moses, when Moses wrote the Book of Genesis, the clans
of the earth were just starting to become nations.

Notice that there were four sons of Javan. They were Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and
Dodanim. We know from history that the people of Tarshish were first located in
Spain and some of the islands of the Western Mediterranean, and also North Africa.
There is a good deal of historical information to show this fact, and I have given it in
the above Report.

Also, the people of Dodanim (called Rodaniym) have the name Rhodes in its variant
reading. They first settled on that island in the Mediterranean. Elishah is connected
with Ellis, an early tribe who settled on the Greek archipelago in the Aegean Sea and
in Western Asia Minor. These initial settlements were achieved before Israels Exodus
from Egypt.

But this is not all. Look especially at the people of Kittim in this first migration. Kittim
was geographically associated even in later times (in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC)
with the Mediterranean region. This shows that the people of Kittim first settled this
area and then moved into other parts of the world. I have explained in the Prophetic
Report mentioned above what happened. The people of Kittim moved into other
areas of the world while they left their name on the region of their first settlement
after the Flood of Noah. The Syriac Version of Genesis chapter 10 (called the Peshitta
Version, which was written about the 4thcentury or 5th century AD), rendered the
word Kittim as Cathay. This clearly denotes an early name for China. By the
4th century AD, the people of Kittim had been fully replaced in Europe, and they had
gone farther east, even into China and adjacent areas.

What we find is the fact that the people of Japheth are today primarily mongoloid
people, or connected with the mongoloid strain, or race, that finally developed after
the Tower of Babel.

The Descendants of Japheth

The first sons of Japheth were given special references in the early history of the
Bible. But in studying carefully, you will notice that only Gomer, and specially Javan,
are presented with more elaborate descriptions. That is because the Israelites in
Moses time were coming in contact with those people. They were closer in a
geographical sense to Israel, and Israel was more acquainted with them. The other
sons of Japheth, for example, Magog, the Madai, the people of Tubal, of Meshech and
of Tiras, were already far distant from the Israelites in Egypt and the Land of
Canaan. In the Bible you find little information about them because they had spread
far from the cradle of civilization.

Look at these Japhetic peoples for a moment. We know that Meshech and Tubal are
associated with Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Some people have even connected
the city of Moscow in Russia with Meshech. That is a possibility. These nations of
Japheth moved north and then on farther east. Later on, we find that Gomer and
Javan and the others of Japheth followed them into the east into the region of what
we call China today. They also went into Southeast Asia, and then through the Malay
archipelago into various islands of the ocean. Indeed, many of Japheths descendants
went throughout the Pacific and into the New World. These movements of peoples
are more particularly covered in my Prophetic Report mentioned above. But look at
what this means in regard to the Chinese who were once known as the people of
Cathay or Kittim.

Believe it or not, the Kittim people were the original ones who first settled the island
of Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean after the Tower of Babel incident. From there
they went further westward and made settlements in Italy.
Then they were pushed northward and then eastward by Semites coming from the
eastern Mediterranean areas. The people of Kittim journeyed even further north and
then eastward into the central areas of Asia, and finally winding up in the region we
now call China (indeed, an early name of China was Cathay which comes from the
root word Khitai which also answers to Kittim, the im is plural).

Though Gomer (the firstborn of Japheth and the uncle of Kittim) was the first to
settle central Europe after the Flood, the biblical revelation shows that at the end of
the age, his descendants are found in Asiain the Far East. In Ezekiel 38:16 we find
Gomer associated with Magog, Meshech, Tubal, Persia, Ethiopia (eastern Cush of the
Hindu Kush), Phut in India and Ceylon (not as the King James Version states as
Libya). This means that Gomer and all his bands went eastward long ago and
became Asiatic powers. The Bible shows they are still Asiatic powers at the time of
the end.

As a matter of fact, even after the Millennium is over, the Book of Revelation refers
to the geographical regions associated with Magog. They are shown to be in the four
extremities of the earth which primarily refer to the regions of the antipodes from
Jerusalem (the North and South American continents, Southern Africa and the
extreme northern regions of Eurasia). What must be understood is that most of the
European tribes of Japheth, who first went to Europe at the dispersal of the nations
at the Tower of Babel, left the European region and went into Asia. Others went
further eastward into the Pacific Islands and then to the Americas. But, as for the
people of Kittim, they finally settled in China and gave their name to the region.
China is even called in their own language Cathay (after the word Kittim).

A Further Biblical Reference to China

There is even more on China. The Bible prophesies that the people of China will be
given the truth of God before the Second Coming of Christ. And who performs the
task of taking the teachings of God to China? The Bible says it will be Israel. As
mentioned earlier in this Prophetic Report, the people of Israel are destined to take
the Word of God to all areas of the world before the Second Advent of Christ, and
China will not be left out. God shall:

raise up the tribes of Israel, and to restore the preserved [margin: desolate
lands] of Israel: I will also give you [Israel] for a light to the Gentiles, that
you may be [bring] my salvation unto the end of the earth. Thus says YHWH,
the Redeemer of Israel ...

Isaiah 49:67

It will be the people of Israel (once the times of the Gentiles end) who will bring
the light of the Gospel to all the Gentiles. The Gentiles of the world will turn their
attention to Israel in the Holyland and the Gentiles will begin to listen to the
Israelites about Jesus Christ and how idolatry should be shunned. Indeed, the people
of the world who are Gentiles will then want to attach themselves to Israelites and to
their teachings that God will inspire (look up Zechariah 8:23). This is a time when
the waste places that once made up Jerusalem will be repaired and rebuilt.
Break forth into joy, sing together, you waste places of Jerusalem:
for[1] YHWH has comforted his people [Israel], [2] he has redeemed
Jerusalem. [3] YHWH has made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the
nations [the Gentiles]; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of
our God.

Isaiah 52:910

Gentile nations from around the world will want to go to Israel and to Jerusalem to
hear the words of truth that will then come from the Israelites once they are
converted to the truth as Zechariah 12:914 prophesies. And what is a major area
from whence these Gentiles will come? God singles out a special region of the earth
for His interest. Look at Isaiah 49:12. It says that people will come to Israel from
the land of Sinim. Langes Commentary says this name [Sinim] must
represent an entire quarter of the heavens and probably the east (vol. VI, p.
535). 4 And what major people are in this region? China is in an easterly direction
from Jerusalem and would fit the prophets intentions very well.

Indeed, in modern Hebrew, Sinim means China, and well it should because even
the single letter we render as Ch in China has the soft sound of an S and the
Chinese call themselves the people of Sina or Sino with the vowel at the end
usually unsounded. Chinese history recognizes that in the 10th to the 12th centuries
AD, major parts of China were ruled by what they call the Sino-Khitan Empire (the
Chinese area was dominated by the Khitan people or, as I have shown, the Kittim
people). Thus, the Kittim and the Sinim of the Bible are found together in major
historical events that formed the Chinese nation and its people.

There is a further prophecy that illustrates this. Look at a predestined event that will
also occur not long before the Second Advent of Christ. Malachi records:

For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same, my
name shall be great among the Gentiles [goyim]; and in every placeincense
shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be
great among the heathen [goyim], says YHWH of hosts.

Malachi 1:11

There is no doubt that this prophecy will be fulfilled before the great and terrible Day
of the Lord because Malachi later on speaks of that very Day as yet future to him in
the context of the prophetic teaching he was giving (Malachi 4:56). And note that
the above prophecy is directed to the farthest easterly direction from the land of
Israel that one can go to the very rising of the sun itself. The Land of the Rising
Sun is, even in our modern parlance, Japan, and in the same region is China and
Southeast Asia.

Those areas of the world are soon going to be evangelized with the Gospel of Christ,
and they will begin to accept it on a wide scale. This will occur once Israel itself
begins to accept Christ Jesus as Zechariah 12:914 says will occur. We will not have
many years left to see these very things beginning to happen.
We Christians in the west need to focus our primary attention on presenting the
Gospel of Christ to the Jewish people in the best way we know how. They at first
gave us the Gospel by their Jewish apostles, and now it is our turn to return it to
them.

There are some exciting times to happen on earth in the not too distant future. The
prophecies show that even the Gentile nations in the Far East and to the West will be
given the Gospel of Christ as shown in the New Testament revelation (and Gentiles
will accept it in a basic sense). This is as certain as the rising of tomorrows sun. Just
as South Korea is now experiencing a new and revolutionary interest in Christ and
the New Testament, a groundswell of proper regard to Christ will soon begin to
sweep many areas of the world. China will begin to accept the teachings of the
Gospel.

According to Zechariah 13:16, people in the Land of Israel will commence a

campaign of getting rid of the idols and idolatrous ways that our western Christian
churches have placed in their false shrines in the Holyland and this will have a
rippling effect from Jerusalem throughout the world. All of us in Christ who now love
the Gospel are privileged to be the precursors for bringing forth the fruits of the
Gospel to Israel and then the world. That teaching from Israel will then reach out to
embrace the whole world. The result? All in China are destined to receive the Gospel
of Jesus Christ, and you and I are having a part in bringing this to pass.

Ernest L. Martin, 1995

Edited by David Sielaff, May

1 Regarding geniuses in China, I am presuming that the Chinese have the same
ratio of genius as other nationalities, just as they have the same ratio of left-
handed to right-handed people. I also presume that the ratio of geniuses is
consistent throughout the human race. After all, we all come from Adam. People
are people. Yes, the measure of genius is subjective, measured by such things as
Nobel Prizes, number of advanced degrees, number of inventions and patents,
etc. As the Chinese middle class grows, economic opportunity increases. That
allows talent, ability, and genius to be recognized, promoted, and not stifled by
culture, bureaucracy (an age-old problem in China), economic deprivation, and
brain damage from lack of food. All such factors are changing for the positive in
China today. The goal of Chinese society as a whole is economic well-being and
prosperity a better life for individuals who will have less care about the Chinese
state and the collective. Such is the nature of prosperity. DWS

2 See the internet article Chinas Economic Growth, 19782025

athttp://ihome.ust.hk/~socholz/Growth/Holz-China-Growth-2Nov05-web.pdf,
accessed May 2009. Only a disruption of present trends such as a major losing
war, civil unrest, a series of major natural disasters, or the breakup of China (as
did the Soviet Union) could cause such a projection not to occur. During the
current recession of 2008/2009 China is still growing (according to official
Chinese economic data) while other economies are in recession. DWS
3 Note also it is the times (plural) of the Gentiles that shall end. Several
prophetic trends involving the Gentiles shall end at that time. These need to be
discovered and understood. DWS

4 Langes Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Isaiah, Commentary on the Holy

Scriptures (New York: Scribner, 1878). It is also titled The prophet Isaiah /
theologically and homiletically expounded by C.W.E. Ngelsbach; trans. by
Samuel T. Lowrie and Dunlop Moore (reprinted by Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan,
195).
CHAPTER 6

Antichrist, the Basics

Let us review some elementary information from the apostle John that helps define
the idea of what an antichrist is. Then read Dr. Martins article for specifics about the
Antichrist. Note below that there exists a spirit of [the] antichrist (1 John 4:3).
This may indeed refer to a specific spirit personality or a number of spirit
personalities who influence, deceive, and lead humans to believe and act out the
teachings of antichrist. The definite articles in brackets are in the Greek texts:

(1) The Spirit of Antichrist was prevalent in apostolic times:

Little children, it is the last time [hour]: and as you have heard that [the]
antichrist [singular] shall come, even now are there many antichrists [plural];
whereby we know that it is the last time [hour]. They went out from us, but
they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have
continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest
that they were not all of us.

1 John 2:1819

John is showing that those individuals never were actually believers of the truth.
Their departure from the midst of believers was evidence that they were not
believers. They did not leave because they had minor doctrinal disagreements or
personality conflicts. They deceptively entered into a relationship with the members
of the ekklesia with the intent to deceive as an antichrist.

(2) Antichrist denies the Messiah and both the Father and the Son:

no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but he that denies that Jesus is the
Christ? He is [the] antichrist, that denies the Father and the Son. Whosoever
denies the Son, the same has not the Father: (but) he that acknowledges
the Son has the Father also.

1 John 2:2123

(3) The Spirit of Antichrist denies that Christ came in the flesh:

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try [test] the spirits whether they are
of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby
know you the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ is
come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesses not that Jesus
Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of [the]
antichrist, whereof you have heard that it should come; and even now
already is it in the world.

1 John 4:13
(4) Deceit is a characteristic of Antichrist, as John repeats the characteristic of
denying that Jesus came in the flesh, 2 John 1:7 (quoted below).

Those who repeat and promote the lies of Antichrist will also lie about their own
beliefs. Those who are antichrist do not truly believe that Jesus was actually the
Messiah, the Savior, who literally came in the flesh. The concept of antichrist
encompasses those who are against Christ as well as individuals who deny of the
truths about Christ. 2

We are not to act against those who oppose and exalt themselves above God
(2 Thessalonians 2:4). Our job is to instruct with meekness those that oppose
themselves (2 Timothy 2:25), presenting the truth to every mans
conscience in the sight of God. (2 Corinthians 4:2). Note the apostle Johns
statement.

And now I beseech you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment
unto you, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one
another. And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the
commandment, That, as you have heard from the beginning, you should
walk in it. 3 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not
that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

2 John 1:57

Thank You

Each of us has an obligation to promote the truth of God. Dont think for a moment
that the truth is something to be hoarded so you can have the knowledge of
salvation for yourself alone. The truth is to be spread like seed. God will bring the
increase as He wills (1 Corinthians 3:49).

Thank you for helping us continue Dr. Martins research and to spread the truth of
Gods Word abroad through the internet as He leads people to His truth, one
person at a time. ASK seeks to provide and present, as Paul wrote, the fullness of
the blessing of the gospel of Christ (Romans 15:29). Through your help, the
elements that teach the fulness of that Gospel can be studied by people at their own
pace in privacy or in a group. People can learn to become true worshippers [who]
shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeks such to
worship him (John 4:23). God the Father actually seeks such people!

Gods word is literally the word of life (Philippians 2:16; 1 John 1:1, referring to
John 5:24). If you neglect it, you deny yourself (and others) a wonderful gift. We
cherish your financial contributions and your gracious words. Thank you for all the
ways you give to ASK.

David W. Sielaff
david@askelm.com
 1 The Geography of Heaven is at http://www.askelm.com/doctrine/d990501.htm.
The entire Essentials book is available online at
http://www.askelm.com/essentials/index.asp.

2 At the time of the end there will be the Antichrist, an individual who will fulfill
specific prescribed actions against God, Christ, and humanity. God will allow
mankind to be deceived by the Antichrist to demonstrate that God is in total
charge of all His creation. Even when the entire world will believe in God, it can
easily be deceived. God will allow a similar thing to occur at the end of the 1,000
year reign of Christ (Revelation 20:3, 710).

3 The apostle John is referring to the commandment of Christ, that we are to

love one another. See John 13:3435:

A new commandment I give unto you, That you love one another; as I have
loved you, that you also love one another. By this shall all men know that
you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

See also John 15:12, 17; Romans 13:8; 1 Thessalonians 4:9, 1 Peter 1:22; 1 John
3:11, 23, 4:7, 1112; as well 2 John 1:57.

Antichrist, the Basics

Let us review some elementary information from the apostle John that helps define
the idea of what an antichrist is. Then read Dr. Martins article for specifics about the
Antichrist. Note below that there exists a spirit of [the] antichrist (1 John 4:3).
This may indeed refer to a specific spirit personality or a number of spirit
personalities who influence, deceive, and lead humans to believe and act out the
teachings of antichrist. The definite articles in brackets are in the Greek texts:

(1) The Spirit of Antichrist was prevalent in apostolic times:

Little children, it is the last time [hour]: and as you have heard that [the]
antichrist [singular] shall come, even now are there many antichrists [plural];
whereby we know that it is the last time [hour]. They went out from us, but
they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have
continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest
that they were not all of us.

1 John 2:1819

John is showing that those individuals never were actually believers of the truth.
Their departure from the midst of believers was evidence that they were not
believers. They did not leave because they had minor doctrinal disagreements or
personality conflicts. They deceptively entered into a relationship with the members
of the ekklesia with the intent to deceive as an antichrist.

(2) Antichrist denies the Messiah and both the Father and the Son:

no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but he that denies that Jesus is the
Christ? He is [the] antichrist, that denies the Father and the Son. Whosoever
denies the Son, the same has not the Father: (but) he that acknowledges
the Son has the Father also.

1 John 2:2123

(3) The Spirit of Antichrist denies that Christ came in the flesh:

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try [test] the spirits whether they are
of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby
know you the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ is
come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesses not that Jesus
Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of [the]
antichrist, whereof you have heard that it should come; and even now
already is it in the world.

1 John 4:13

(4) Deceit is a characteristic of Antichrist, as John repeats the characteristic of

denying that Jesus came in the flesh, 2 John 1:7 (quoted below).

Those who repeat and promote the lies of Antichrist will also lie about their own
beliefs. Those who are antichrist do not truly believe that Jesus was actually the
Messiah, the Savior, who literally came in the flesh. The concept of antichrist
encompasses those who are against Christ as well as individuals who deny of the
truths about Christ. 2

We are not to act against those who oppose and exalt themselves above God
(2 Thessalonians 2:4). Our job is to instruct with meekness those that oppose
themselves (2 Timothy 2:25), presenting the truth to every mans
conscience in the sight of God. (2 Corinthians 4:2). Note the apostle Johns
statement.

And now I beseech you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment
unto you, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one
another. And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the
commandment, That, as you have heard from the beginning, you should
walk in it. 3 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not
that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

2 John 1:57

Thank You

Each of us has an obligation to promote the truth of God. Dont think for a moment
that the truth is something to be hoarded so you can have the knowledge of
salvation for yourself alone. The truth is to be spread like seed. God will bring the
increase as He wills (1 Corinthians 3:49).

Thank you for helping us continue Dr. Martins research and to spread the truth of
Gods Word abroad through the internet as He leads people to His truth, one
person at a time. ASK seeks to provide and present, as Paul wrote, the fullness of
the blessing of the gospel of Christ (Romans 15:29). Through your help, the
elements that teach the fulness of that Gospel can be studied by people at their own
pace in privacy or in a group. People can learn to become true worshippers [who]
shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeks such to
worship him (John 4:23). God the Father actually seeks such people!

Gods word is literally the word of life (Philippians 2:16; 1 John 1:1, referring to
John 5:24). If you neglect it, you deny yourself (and others) a wonderful gift. We
cherish your financial contributions and your gracious words. Thank you for all the
ways you give to ASK.

David W. Sielaff
david@askelm.com

1 The Geography of Heaven is at http://www.askelm.com/doctrine/d990501.htm.

The entire Essentials book is available online at
http://www.askelm.com/essentials/index.asp.

2 At the time of the end there will be the Antichrist, an individual who will fulfill
specific prescribed actions against God, Christ, and humanity. God will allow
mankind to be deceived by the Antichrist to demonstrate that God is in total
charge of all His creation. Even when the entire world will believe in God, it can
easily be deceived. God will allow a similar thing to occur at the end of the 1,000
year reign of Christ (Revelation 20:3, 710).

3 The apostle John is referring to the commandment of Christ, that we are to

love one another. See John 13:3435:

A new commandment I give unto you, That you love one another; as I have
loved you, that you also love one another. By this shall all men know that
you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

See also John 15:12, 17; Romans 13:8; 1 Thessalonians 4:9, 1 Peter 1:22; 1 John
3:11, 23, 4:7, 1112; as well 2 John 1:57.

The False Millennium of the Antichrist

The non-1,000 year millennium lasts only 3 years and it is a false
millennium fraudulently proclaimed to the world by the Antichrist, or perhaps
by his false prophet. It will be called a millennium, but the Antichrist will be a
liar (as all antichrists are, 2 John 1:7).
As the false Christ he will declare that the millennium has begun. The world
will accept his false declaration and accept his rule when he announces he is
Christ returned from heaven.
This is when the Great Tribulation begins.
The True Millennium of Christ Jesus
This true millennium will begin with the true Christs return to earth when He
sets foot on the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:4) and the saints are caught
up into the sky (both the dead and the living) by the angels and brought to
Christ. This is the coming aion [age] (Mark 10:30 and Luke 18:30, Greek).
It is this millennium that the Bible anticipates, and during which the physical
salvation of Israel as a nation will occur (Genesis 12:3, 18:18, 27:29; Daniel
7:27; Revelation 5:10). All nations shall benefit from Christs rule of love and
service (Romans 15:12), which will happen slowly after a period of Christs
judgment upon the remaining peoples of the nations of the world, based
upon their treatment of Israel (Isaiah 42:1). There will be a period of
recovery of the physical earth to a situation where it can sustain and
strengthen physical life.
At the end of this 1,000 years Satan will be loosed to tempt the nations. He
shall succeed (Revelation 20:3). The nations will be judged and punished.
Another Millennium after Christs Millennium
After Christs rule over the nations, Israels supremacy, and Gods judgment
upon the nations, then the old heavens and earth will perish. A new heavens
and new earth will be brought forth. The heavenly New Jerusalem shall
descend upon the new earth. This period of 1,000 years shall inaugurate the
Great White Throne judgment.
Those not resurrected to spiritual life at Christs Second Coming will be
resurrected to physical life (Revelation 20:5). These individuals resurrected
to physical life during this period will live long lives. Some may come close to
living as long as did Methuselah who lived 969 years (Genesis 5:27).
The purpose of this period of physical resurrection is to instruct the great
mass of mankind about Gods plan of salvation through Christs loving acts
and His righteousness. I discuss this period of time in Addendum: The Age
of the Ages at the end of Dr. Martins article The Doctrine of the Ages in the
Bible.
This 1,000 year period of judgment and education will culminate in all
intelligent creatures (all children of Adam and all spirit beings) being
reconciled to God the Father (Colossians 1:1821 and Philippians 2:511).
At the end of that time Christ will give up the Kingdom to the Father. The
Kingdom of God will continue without end, but all rule and authority that had
been delegated to Christ will be returned to the Father. God the Father
(YHWH) shall then be all and in all (1 Corinthians 15:28).
This period of time is known as the aion of the aions or the age of the
ages spoken of in the New Testament (mistakenly translated as eternity in
several places in various translations). The two 1,000 year periods of Christs
reign together are called the aions [plural] of the aions or the ages of the
ages.
Please do not be overly concerned if you do not fully understand these
matters now. Understanding these concepts is not as confusing or difficult as
it may seem at first glance. It is all logical, makes sense, and thoroughly
biblical, without theological bias. The best single source of information on
these important biblical matters is Dr. Martins discussion in his book The
Essentials of New Testament Doctrine, chapter 16, The Resurrections from
the Dead, pp. 224227. See particularly footnotes 6365 (footnote 1012 in
the online version). See also the charts, Appendices 23, which list all uses
of aions in the New Testament, at the end of Gary Reid and Ernest Martins
article, The Time Periods for Salvation, Part 1.
If you have not already done so, I want to encourage you to read Essentials
from the beginning to receive the full impact of the basics of biblical Christian
doctrine. If you have read parts of the book or just look now at chapter 16,
please, please go back and read it from the
beginning. That is how Dr. Martin intended the book to be read and, just as
the Bible was compiled to be read in a particular best order to understand
its message, so too other books are also designed to be read in proper
sequence of information. Essentials is one such book.
Conclusion
As you read this months article, remember that there are three
millenniums in our future. The first two are particularly noted in the article:
1. The first millennium of the Antichrist that will last only 3 years. It
begins when his deadly wound is healed and Satan falls from heaven. It ends
with the destruction of the Antichrist when he is cast into the lake of fire.
This is a false millennium.
2. The next millennium is 1,000 years, when the world shall be ruled by God
through Christ. The nations will have access to God through Christ in the
Temple mentioned in the Book of Ezekiel. This is a true millennium.
3. The Great White Throne Judgment will also last 1,000 years. This is a true
millennial period.
As we examine and clarify the information and research put forth by Dr.
Martin it is important for us to check, recheck, and even go beyond the work
that he did as we come closer to the time of the end. Every day brings us
closer to the return of Christ to this earth, and to our own resurrection to
spiritual and immortal life.
David Sielaff
david@askelm.com
 The Life and Times of the Antichrist - Part 1
By Ernest L. Martin, Ph.D., 1992
Edited by David Sielaff, August 2009

The Bible prophesies two types of millenniums that the world will
experience. The first is a false millennium which will last only about 3
years, and is identified in the Bible as a worldwide empire of the Antichrist.
The second is the true millennium a universal world rule that will last for
a literal 1,000 years headed by our elder brother Jesus Christ. There will be
some similarities in the two millenniums:

Both will claim to have Christ at the head.

Both will have their capital city at Jerusalem.

Both will have the 7th day Sabbath, Mosaic calendar, and Holy Days as times
of official observance.

Both will ban open idolatry.

Both will confine images or pictures in depicting deity or symbols of heavenly

things to the interior of the Temple. 1

Both will have a period of peace and prosperity, one for 3 years, the other
for a full 1,000 years.
Regarding the first millennium, the world will falsely believe that the Kingdom of
God has arrived on the earth. So close in similarity will be the Antichrists rule to the
prophesied Kingdom of God that even the apostles would be close to believing its
validity. The real difference is that the first (and false) millennium will be headed by
the Antichrist and sustained by Satan the Devil, while the second (which occurs right
on its heels) will be headed by the true Christ and preserved by the Father. While
true Christians who understand the basic teachings of the Gospel can escape the
evils of Satan during this time, 2 we should all be aware of the insidiousness of this
counterfeit Kingdom of God.

A time of great deception will occur on earth just before the Second Advent of Christ.
It will be a time when a man whom the Bible calls the Antichrist will appear on earth.
He will at first claim to be the true Christ. Later, he will go even further and
pronounce to the world that he is God, calling himself by a name that no one had
ever heard before. He will place all the earth under his rule and he will make
Jerusalem his capital. This is prophesied in the Holy Scriptures and God the Father
and Christ Jesus will allow this universal world kingdom to emerge, to develop, and
then to succeed for a period of about three and a half years. This false kingdom will
be established to teach mankind some valuable lessons which most in the world
could only learn by experiencing the false system of the Antichrist.

To provide the people of the world with this learning experience (which God feels
they need), God will permit the kingdom of the Antichrist to take control of the earth.
It will be so clever in its deception that most people will think it is the prophesied
Kingdom of God to be initiated on earth at the Second Advent of Christ. The world
will believe that the Antichrist is the returned Christ. 3

Actually there will be three evil spiritual powers who will unitedly bring to pass the
Antichristian kingdom at the end-time. (1) One will be Satan, (2) another will be the
Beast, and (3) the third will be the False Prophet (see Revelation 16:13). The
deception will be manipulated by this triad of angelic powers, and humans will find it
difficult to distinguish each of them from one another. This trinity of angelic powers
will bring in the false Kingdom of God which will have every appearance of being
true.

In a word, the Antichrist and his false kingdom at its commencement will have the
external credentials of being the very Kingdom of God that is prophesied to occur on
earth at the end of the age. The world will be deluded into believing the lie of the
Antichrist because the Bible says the world at the time will not actually want to
accept the real truth of Jesus Christ. For this cause God shall send them strong
delusion, that they should believe a lie [Greek: the lie, with the definite
article] (2 Thessalonians 2:11). The world will accept the lie of the Antichrist
because Satan will send great signs and lying wonders (verse 9) accompanying
the Antichrists advent. Christ warned the apostles about this very thing.

For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great
signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the
very elect. Behold, I have told you before.

Matthew 24:2425 (cf. Mark 13:22)

Later I will explain why God permits several Christs under the rule of the Antichrist
to emerge on earth.

A False Second Advent

One of the cardinal events to occur at the end of the age will be a false Second
Advent. It will be performed by Satan and his angels, and it will be a glorious display
of power and beauty. Satan does not look like the fire-breathing, pitchfork-handling,
red-all-over, dragon-like creature normally pictured as the Devil. He actually looks
like a majestic and resplendent heavenly being, appearing beautiful and elegant like
an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:1415).

The world will confuse Satan and his angels being thrown out of heaven (described in
Revelation chapter 12) as being the Second Advent of Christ returning with His
angels (2 Thessalonians 1:78). To back up this false claim, the Antichrist, inspired
by Satan, will deceive the world by falsely saying that the Two Witnesses, whose
time of prophesying is recorded in Revelation chapter 11, should be identified as the
Beast and the False Prophet mentioned in Revelation chapter 13. To carry this
deception further, the actual Beast will claim to be the returned Christ while his False
Prophet will claim to be the prophesied Elijah to come (Matthew 17:11). In other
words, the Antichrist and False Prophet will convince a credulous world to confuse
the identities of the Two Witnesses with those of the Beast and False Prophet, while
the actual Beast and False Prophet identify themselves as the true Christ and the
Elijah to come (Matthew 17:11).

It will be a clever subterfuge. The Antichrist will try to duplicate all of the prophesied
actions the real Christ Jesus is supposed to accomplish when He returns. Of course,
it will be impossible to make an exact duplication. That is why there will be many
signs and wonders employed in the deception to cause people to overlook some
obvious errors that would prove the Antichrist not to be the real Christ. 4 Miracles,
signs, and wonders are powerful tools in convincing people to accept false doctrines,
especially if some points are not clearly understood. The Antichrist will utilize a great
number of miraculous events to secure his short tenure as being the returned Christ
from heaven.

Religious Requirements of the Antichrist

The Antichrist will put into immediate action (once he has come to his full power) the
external religious requirements that the real Christ will expect of people when He
returns. The Antichrist will put them into effect to substantiate and strengthen his
messianic credentials associated with his own reign. For example, the prophet Isaiah
said that when the real Christ appears on earth, He will bring back the 7th day
Sabbath (from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset) and the calendar of the Jews
dealing with observing new moon days each month and the Mosaic festivals. Notice
Isaiah:

And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from
one sabbath to another, shall all flesh [not just Israelites, but all flesh shall]
come to worship before me, says YHWH.

Isaiah 66:23
There are other verses telling people what the true Christ will inaugurate:

And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which
came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the
King, YHWH of hosts, and to keep the feast of Tabernacles.

Zechariah 14:16

This is plain teaching. Even Gentile nations will send delegates to Jerusalem to keep
the Feast of Tabernacles during the Millennium. The weekly Sabbath (not Sunday of
the Christians or Friday of the Muslims) will be the official time to worship God. Since
this is what the true Christ will establish on earth when He returns, the Antichrist will
know these easy-to-read scriptures and he will find a way in which to fulfill them so
he can be mistaken as Christ Jesus returned to the earth.

The Antichrist will be well aware of these well-known prophecies concerning the
Millennium. His object will be to establish a counterfeit Kingdom of God just before
the Second Advent of Christ. He will note that Isaiah 56:7 states that Gentiles will
legally be able to enter the Temple:

And the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to YHWH, to serve him,
and to love the name of YHWH, to be his servants, every one that keeps the
sabbath from polluting it, and takes hold of my covenant; even them will I
bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful IN [that is, INSIDE] my
house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted
upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called a house of prayer for all
people.

Isaiah 56:67

Since Christ Jesus will allow the Gentiles to enter the Court of the Temple in the
Millennium, so Satan the Devil also will inaugurate the same thing at the beginning
of his rule in Jerusalem. He will be mimicking Christ in all of the ways he is able.
Satan will cause such a clever counterfeit of the Kingdom of God that even the
very elect (this means all of us) would be close to accepting his imposture if we did
not know better (Matthew 24:2425).

Now Sabbath and Holy Day keeping are perfectly fine if a person or a family want to
honor God in a personal way on those days. But when men begin to demand that the
whole society observe the Mosaic system (like obedience to Islam is presently
demanded in Saudi Arabia) then that is a different matter. The Antichrist will see that
subjecting the world to the Mosaic system is a good barometer to know if people are
obeying his dictates because keeping the Law of Moses is a 24 hour affair.

To law keepers, ones life is dominated by the desire to keep the Law. For
example, the Antichrist will have state police looking for people who violate the
Sabbath laws. Christ reminded Christians at the time of the Great Tribulation that
they should pray that they do not have to flee Jerusalem or Judaea on the
Sabbath because such a violation of the Sabbath laws at that time would identify
such people as law breakers and enemies of the state (Matthew 24:1521).
Herods Example of an Antichrist Kingdom

In history we can witness such a Sabbath keeping and Holy Day keeping kingdom
that resembles the one that the Antichrist will inaugurate and lead at the end of the
age. That was the kingdom of Herod, called the Great. The Antichrist will have far
more outward credentials to satisfy his counterfeit claims as the true Christ than
the claims held by Herod. After all, Herod was an Idumean and not even a
descendant of David. Still, however, Herod had some Jews known as the Herodians
who pretended that his kingdom was legitimate (Matthew 22:16; Mark 3:6, 12:13).

Indeed, Herod embraced the keeping of the Sabbath, the Holy Days, the Mosaic
social laws, etc., within his kingdom. To show his devotion to God He also rebuilt
the Temple at Jerusalem at such great expense that it became the most majestic
building to exist in the Roman Empire at the time. The Antichrist will also help
construct (or to refurbish) the end-time Temple just before the Second Advent. As
Herod often called attention to his noble acts for God in maintaining Gods
government among his subjects, so the Antichrist will do the same thing. Yet the
Antichrist will finally outstrip Herod in authority by eventually bringing the whole
world under his domination.

Yes, Herods kingdom is a type of the reign that the Antichrist will establish. Just
because a king maintains the Mosaic laws over the people of his land, that is no
guarantee that the person is righteous and that his kingdom is approved of God. As a
matter of fact, the Sabbath keeping and Holy Day keeping kingdom of Herod the
Great with its grand Temple and ritualistic laws in operation was reckoned by most
Jews (and many modern scholars) as one of the most evil kingdoms ever to appear
on earth. There can be no doubt that this evaluation is true. The apostle Peter stated
that living under such a kingdom was one of bondage and servitude and it was a
government which a person could hardly bear (Acts 15:10). 5

Such domination by men was referred to by the apostle John when he said there was
not only to be the Antichrist to come at the end of the age but there were already in
the 1st century antichrists, plural. The apostle John said: now are there many
antichrists:

Little children, it is the last time: and as you have heard that antichrist
shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it
is the last time.

1 John 2:18

When men demand that people observe the Laws of Moses, even within a Christian
context, and through that means they rule the people with a rod of iron, those men
have set themselves up as Antichrists (those who rule in the place of Christ). They
govern the people with the same laws Herod the Great used to keep his subjects in
check. Doing so not only places them in positions of leadership over the people, they
can also demand tithes in order to keep their ecclesiastical governments and
lifestyles functioning and to keep their hierarchy in positions of monetary power. 6
Men who demand such things abuse the Law. Such people are clear examples of
being antichrists those who take the place of Christ on earth by ruling over
people in the guise of religion. This is wrong and Paul would have none of it for those
under his jurisdiction.
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, and
be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

Galatians 5:1

The Antichrist at the end of the age will once again place mankind into bondage, and
he will use the laws of Moses to do it. He will bring in another kingdom like that of
Herod the Great (with the 7th day Sabbath, the Mosaic Holy Days, etc.) and he will
rule with a rod of iron. In a later research study, I will clearly show the type of rule
that the real Jesus Christ will enact when he establishes his Kingdom on this earth. It
will be different from what most people imagine and it will not make men to be
slaves.

[NOTE: Material cut from original. 7]

What Is a Prime Doctrine of God?

The world would not believe the lie that will be sent into the world at the end of the
age if they would understand and accept one principal teaching of God. It is a
doctrine that all of you should know already. If you hold steadfast to it no matter
what the circumstances, you will never be deceived with the antics of Satan the
Devil, the Beast, or the False Prophet at the end-time. If you believe (and never
deviate from believing) this prime teaching, the evil powers with all their clever
deceptions, signs, and wonders would never deceive you during the Antichrists
kingdom. And because you know this principal teaching and its ramifications already,
there will be no need for the Father and Christ Jesus to subject you to the wiles of
the Antichrist and his False Prophet at the end-time. You can have a protection from
their evils during the time of their false reigns.

Just what is that doctrine? It is this: the Holy Scriptures teach that all humans who
have died since the time of Adam (and including Adam and Eve) are still dead in their
body, their soul, and their spirit. These individuals are very dead! They have not the
slightest consciousness because they are no longer alive. They are as dead as a
door nail as the popular phrase states. They have not the slightest knowledge of
anything that has transpired in history since the day they took their last breath of air.

For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing,
neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them [their ability to
have memory] is forgotten.

Ecclesiastes 9:5

For in death there is no remembrance of you [God]: in the grave who shall
give you thanks?

Psalm 6:5

His breath goes forth, he returns to the earth; in that very day his thoughts
perish.

Psalm 146:4
The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence.

Psalm 115:17

For the grave cannot praise you [God], death can not celebrate you: they
that go down into the pit cannot hope for your truth. The living, the living,
he shall praise you, as I do this day.

Isaiah 38:1819

The only hope that the apostles of Christ knew would give them life after their deaths
was the hope of the resurrection from the dead. The apostle Paul said that all of his
hope for a further life was the resurrection. He said: if by any means I might
attain unto the resurrection of the dead (Philippians 3:11). Of course, from the
moment Paul lost consciousness over 1900 years ago at the time of his death, it will
seem to him that he will be immediately in the presence of Christ (Philippians 1:21
23). This is because his consciousness thoroughly ceased at the moment he died.
Paul did not go to heaven to be with Christ immediately at his death, nor has any
other righteous saint of God. Paul is still unconscious and awaiting his resurrection
from the dead that will occur at the Second Advent of Christ. Paul is still dead.

This also means that Adam, Enoch, Moses, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, John the Baptist,
the apostles Peter and John, along with Mary (the mother of Jesus), and all the other
righteous saints of God who have died up to this very moment, are all dead in their
graves. They are not up in heaven nor in the bowels of the earth in some kind of
living state. They are all awaiting, with the apostle Paul, the Second Advent of
Christ in order to be resurrected from the dead. They have had no knowledge
whatever of anything that has happened on earth or in the heavens since the day
they took their last breath of air. They are totally dead!

This doctrine of the Holy Scriptures (not the false teaching of the so-called
Immortality of the Soul) is the prime doctrine that will keep you safe from all the
deceptions of Satan the Devil, the Antichrist and the False Prophet in the period of
the end-time just before Christ comes back to earth. With this proper understanding
in mind, you and I will be able to thwart all the intrigues of the evil powers (all of the
evil powers put together) and stand in triumph with Christ and his angels at the time
of his Second Advent.

To be sure, this is the one biblical doctrine that the world has the most difficulty in
believing. They want to believe that at the time of death, the soul or the spirit
continues living and that it departs immediately to heaven if one is righteous, or to
hell if one is bad (or to an intermediate stage if one is supposedly half good or half
bad). The teaching of the Immortality of the Mans Soul or Spirit is the prime
doctrine upon which the teachings of Satan the Devil hinge. This is why it is so
important that the real Christian understands this matter in a thorough way. The
simple truth is, the dead are dead and they will remain dead (without any
consciousness) until their resurrections from the dead at a date still future to us. The
basis of your protection from the wiles of Satan the Devil, the Antichrist, and the
False Prophet in the period just before Christs Second Advent depends upon your
knowledge and firm conviction that all the dead (either righteous or not righteous)
will remain unconscious until the Second Advent of Christ. The truth is, the dead are
very much dead!
Before Antichrist Comes, a New Christianity

Before the world will accept the Antichrist and his teachings, a new and dynamic type
of Christianity will come into the world which will sweep aside the current thrust
toward Islam in certain parts of the world, and the current desire to be a part of the
cultish New Age Movement which has some prominence in the world today. Indeed,
the new and revitalized type of Christianity that is now on the horizon will overthrow
many of the basic concepts of Constantinian and Middle Age Christianity which has
dominated the philosophical beliefs of Western Civilization for the past sixteen
centuries.

Even many of the essentials of Protestant doctrine which have secured a foothold in
the mainline Protestant churches will also be overthrown. A thorough house cleaning
will begin to manifest itself in the next few years. A transformation in the teaching of
basic Christian doctrines is about to occur. It will cause a radical change in doctrinal
beliefs to such an extent that within the coming decades people will witness profound
changes in Catholic and Protestant doctrines. This will also affect the Greek Orthodox
Church and the majority of other ethnic and nationalistic church denominations. In a
word, a revolution in religious understanding is about to emerge on the scene. It will
be a revolution back to the original and pristine teachings of the early New
Testament community of believers.

Many of the doctrines of the historical Christianity (since the time of Constantine in
the 4th century) will be jettisoned for teachings that are much closer to early New
Testament doctrines. Most of the Christian denominations will see the error of the
Trinity Doctrine which has been accepted by mainline Christianity as a prime teaching
of Churchianity since the time of Constantine (and especially since the Council of
Chalcedon). The majority of educated people will come to see that the doctrine of the
Trinity and other human-inspired doctrines, like the pagan rituals now found in many
mainline churches, are some of the most nonsensical teachings ever to be foisted
onto the mind of humanity. They will come to see that this false doctrine of the
Trinity is merely a Hellenistic philosophical way to explain the manner of the Godhead
which has no bearing on what the Bible teaches. Within a few years, scholars
throughout the world will begin to denigrate the absurd teaching of the Trinity and
they will begin to advocate a return to the simple teachings of the Bible in its
description of the Godhead.

With the abandonment of the Trinity, people in the world will begin to understand
that the Godhead is really a Family into which all humans can and will be born. They
will finally comprehend that God the Father and His firstborn son Jesus Christ are
showing the world that they are members of that divine Family in heaven. Frankly,
this is a wonderful thing for the world to know. Most of the educated people in the
world within decades will begin to understand this concept of New Testament
teaching that was advocated by the early fathers in the first three centuries after the
apostolic teaching began with Peter and Paul.

This will all begin to happen after God sends a spirit of grace and of
supplications on the inhabitants of the land of Israel and particularly Jerusalem
(Zechariah 12:10). What most people have not recognized is that this dynamic
spiritual thrust from God Himself will not only be sent to Jews in the land of Israel
(though it will have a special effect upon them), but the spirit of grace and
supplication will also be sent to Muslims and the few Christians who dwell in the land
of Israel at the time. Recall that the Bible prophesies that the renewing spiritual
thrust will come on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem (Zechariah 12:10).

What will be the result of this renewal of the spirit of God within the area of Israel
and Jerusalem? It will mean a massive conversion of the people (and especially the
Jews) of Israel and Jerusalem. They then will begin to get rid of the pagan idolatry
that now has a foothold in Jerusalem through the so-called Christian churches that
are there. In fact, the names of the idols shall no longer be remembered in
Jerusalem, and even the unclean spirits will be sent out of the land of Israel and
Jerusalem (Zechariah 13:2). Remember, this is all prophesied to happen before the
Second Advent of Christ to the earth.

What happens in Israel and Jerusalem will influence and have a profound effect in
every section of this globe. All people will then begin to understand what the original
New Testament taught and a major revolution will result. The spirit of grace and
of supplications will open their minds to the truths of Gods Word. This revival of
some of the real teachings of Christ will occur before the Antichrist establishes his
final kingdom on earth.

What we will see in the coming decades is a return to the original teachings (many of
them) of the New Testament. Only a few, however, will truly understand the full
teachings of the New Testament regarding The Mystery that the apostle Paul taught
in Ephesians and Colossians. But the majority of people in the world will begin to
respond to a new type of dynamic and revitalized Christianity (once many of the
Jews are converted to Christianity) that will make Islam and other religions of the
world begin to fade into a much lesser role of influence. What will happen in the
coming years is a revival and a new interest in the basic teachings of Christianity. It
is prophesied in the Bible to occur (as I have shown in previous publications 8) and it
will result in a new appreciation in the world of the Bible and its teachings.

National Movements as Preparation for the Antichrist Kingdom

During this period many ethnic groups will want to be separate from other
nationalities. While people will want to join together in economic leagues that will
insure their domestic prosperity and security, people in the world will want to divide
into ethnic and even religious groups (with those religious groups being transformed
in doctrines) that will give people the comfort of being with their own. The Bible
shows that there will be a renewal of monarchy as we approach the time of the end.
This will not be a dictatorial type of monarchical government known over the
centuries, but a limited monarchy system which will give each race and people a
national and world identity of which they can be proud and which they will want to
promote. The theme of this new world order will be trying to possess a united
financial and economic security while being separate from others in the world in a
social sense. While the principles of Western Civilization will predominate in the
world, the various races and cultures will want to be separate from a totally
pluralistic society in which racial and linguistic distinctions are fused. In the near
future, people will turn to being more ethnic and separate. 9

Actually, the new world order will comprise various peoples of diverse ethnic,
linguistic, and religious groups divided into their separate and individual units while
they be economically united within multiracial and multilingual trading units which
should provide all the diverse peoples with a supposed economic security. A renewal
of a dynamic and revitalized Christianity among the most powerful nations in the
world will help in securing these economic unifications while the nations themselves
will wish to remain socially separate from one another. 10

In the coming years we will witness the creation of many new nations in the world.
The formation of these nations will be based on ethnic, linguistic, and even religious
divisions which will emerge from the revolution that will come. It is obvious to see
that the Balkans region and what remains of the former Soviet Union will see new
ethnic, linguistic and religious nations that will be separate from their neighbors
politically and socially, but in the end they will unite together in overall economic
groups that will insure a reasonable standard of living amongst other nations and
groupings in the world. 11

We need to watch the Middle East in particular. That area is destined to see the
emergence of some new nations around a growing Israel. Israel is prophesied to
finally annex and occupy the area east of the Jordan River known anciently as Gilead
(Zechariah 10:10). There will finally be Ten Nations around Israel that will answer to
the Ten Nations of the Books of Daniel and Revelation. 12

The events of the time of the end as prophesied in the Bible cannot develop properly
without this swing back to the basic teachings of Christianity as shown in the New
Testament. To understand these things accurately, we must recognize the role that
angels and spirits will play in the future history of the world.

The Angels and World History

If the biblical student wishes to have an accurate understanding of what will occur in
the period of seven years just prior to the Second Advent of Christ (the period of the
rise and reign of the Antichrist), one will have to comprehend how the angelic powers
influence (and have influenced) affairs on earth. The primary actors in setting up the
kingdom of the Antichrist will be angelic powers who enter into a partnership with
human beings to create the last evil empire of this age. The Bible student will have
to realize how Satan the Devil and his angels (evil spirits) perform their duties
among men on earth. Once this is understood, then it will be easy to recognize what
will happen on earth during that period of 7 years at the end of the age and
particularly, the last 3 years.

1. What one will find is that Satan will motivate a human and use that human to
do his will on earth. Indeed, at the end Satan will possess that human as he
possessed Judas Iscariot on the eve of Christs crucifixion (Luke 22:3; John
13:2, 27).

2. Satan will also have as his helper the Beast (otherwise known as the
Antichrist) who is an angelic power called a Cherub who will also possess a
human to do his will.

3. And then there will be the False Prophet who is a third angelic power who
possesses a human to perform the tasks assigned to him.

These three angelic powers will work in unison to bring about a world government.
They are the evil triad of spirit beings who plan their actions together (Revelation
16:1216) and eventually will be judged together (Revelation 20:10).
To understand what will happen at the time of the Antichrist, let us review very
briefly some early biblical history about the manner in which angelic powers have
influenced men on earth in the earlier times. This knowledge will be instructive in
evaluating the manner in which Satan and his angelic cohorts will maneuver
themselves into positions of power at the end of the age.

[NOTE: Material cut from original. ]

13

We are heading for some major angelic activities in the near future (if it is not
happening already) when evil angels and spirits will once again possess people on a
grand scale in order to bring in the evil societies which they are allowed by God to
produce. We should look for a time in the near future when human beings will begin
to perform extraordinary signs and wonders that will produce a human antichrist, a
human Beast, and a human False Prophet who will be possessed by the real
power that motivates them. That real power will be Satan the Devil who will unleash
all his power.

The evil Cherub who fell in the time of Ezekiel will possess the Beast, and another
evil angelic power will possess the False Prophet. This means that the humans who
perform these evil exploits at the end of the age will have a dual nature if not more.
In actual fact, it is possible for a human being to be possessed by numerous evil
spirits all at the same time. Mary Magdalene had seven demons possessing her
before she was delivered of them (Mark 16:9) and the lunatic who lived near the
swine had a legion of demons inhabiting him (Mark 5:9). 14

So, in our evaluation of the end-time events associated with the Antichrist, it should
be borne in mind that at one moment the prophecies may be speaking about the
actions of human beings on earth and in the next they will be speaking about the
spirit powers prompting the humans into doing their evil. Note that Jesus spoke
directly to the evil spirits possessing the Gadarene lunatic, and at first he paid no
attention to the human himself (Mark 5:9). And so it is with many demon possessed
people. Sometimes it is the spirit (or spirits) one is communicating with, and
sometimes it the human himself. It is sometimes difficult to differentiate between the
two sources. The two personalities are often intertwined.

The apostle Paul said that the real enemies of Christians are the angelic powers
themselves and not the human beings who are possessed by them. Speaking about
the very time of the Antichrist (which he calls the evil day), Paul gave all of us
who understand the mature teachings of The Mystery (the final doctrinal teaching
from Christ) some excellent commands on how to defend ourselves from that evil
society. We already have all the weapons we need. Paul wrote:

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the
wiles of the Devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this
world, against spiritual wickedness in high places [Paul meant the evil angels
and spirits].

Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that you may be able to
withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand. Stand therefore,
having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breast plate of
righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of
peace; above all taking the shield of faith wherewith you shall be able to
quench all the fiery darts of the wicked [one]. And take the helmet of
salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying
always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto
with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.

Ephesians 6:1118

In this military posture you will notice that all the armaments of the Christian are for
offensive work (there is nothing to defend our rear). That is because at the time of
the Antichrist we can be completely triumphant and be thoroughly successful if we
make a definite stand for truth, justice, the real gospel, faith, the certainty of our
salvation, and using the sword of the Spirit which is our full knowledge of the Word
of God. God promises us that even in the midst of the evil one himself, we will be
victorious because we have the power of our Father and that of our Elder Brother on
our side. We who understand the final revelation of God called The Mystery should
have nothing to fear during that whole period of time. Let us now examine more
closely what will happen during the time of the Antichrist.

Who Is the Antichrist?

There has been a lot of confusion in prophetic circles regarding the identity of the
Antichrist. Some have thought him to be Satan manifested in the flesh. Others have
thought the Antichrist is simply a principle of evil and that he is not an actual person
(whether human or spirit). Others have felt he will be a human claiming to be the
returned Christ who is possessed by Satan the Devil much like Judas was possessed
on the eve of Christs crucifixion (John 13:27). Let us notice the scriptures that
inform us about his identity. Just who is the Antichrist?

In the long prophecy in Daniel known as the Scripture [Book] of Truth

mentioned in Daniel 10:21 and narrated in Daniel 11:1 through 12:3, the one whom
the apostle John calls the Antichrist is the King of the North, and he is called a
vile person (Daniel 11:21). He is responsible for taking away the daily sacrifice
from a Temple in Jerusalem and for the erection of the abomination that makes
desolate (verse 31) referred to by Christ in His most important Olivet prophecy
(Matthew 24:15).

There is one major point that must be understood in this research study. The
information in Daniels Book of Truth is NOT speaking of any historical events prior
to the time of Christ! The section from Daniel 11:6 and onward which speaks about
the Kings of the North is NOT referring to the kings known in history as the
Seleucid kings who followed the reign of Alexander the Great. The vile person in
verse 21 does NOT refer to the exploits of Antiochus Epiphanes who caused havoc
among the Jews in Jerusalem in the middle of the 2nd century BC. This Book has no
past history before Christs time.

In fact, much of the information in Daniels Book of Truth is still future to us. Why,
even Christ stated that the prophecy of the setting up of the Abomination of
Desolation in the Temple was still future to Him (Matthew 24:15). The message in
the Book of Truth is NOT history, it is prophecy prophecy for the time called the
end of the age. If one does not realize this important point, the information in the
Book of Truth will remain forever hidden from ones understanding. The whole of
the prophecy is an end-time affair, not one that has in most part already happened in
history either in type or in fact.

Indeed, looking carefully at the prophecy shows that there are only three Kings of
the North mentioned.

1. The first is referred to from Daniel 12:6 to 19 inclusively,

2. the second in only one verse (verse 20), and

3. the third and final King of the North whose career is described from verse
21 to the end of the Book of Truth.

This third (or, the final) King of the North is the 8th king in succession of kings
mentioned by Daniel in the Book of Truth.

The first four kings in Daniel are four Persian kings (Daniel 11:2), the fifth king is a
mighty king of Javan (verses 34), the sixth king in succession is the first King of
the North whose prophetic exploits at the end of the age (as I have said before)
are described in Daniel 11:619 inclusively. Those 14 verses of Daniel 11:619 refer
only to one King of the North. This particular king is the first King of the
North but he is the sixth king in succession in Daniels Book of Truth.

The seventh king in Daniels Book of Truth is the second King of the North
called a raiser of taxes. He rules only for a few days (verse 20). Then the eighth
(and final) king of the Book of Truth arrives on the prophetic scene. This eighth
king represents the third king called the final King of the North mentioned in this
long prophecy of Daniel.

EDITORS NOTE: Here is how Dr. Martins understanding of the Book of Truth charts out:

4 kings of Persia Daniel 11:2

5 king, the mighty king of Javan

th
Daniel 11:34 Past,
spirit/angelic,
6 king, the first King of the North
th
Daniel 12:619
occur in heaven
7th king, the second King of the North, the raiser of taxes Daniel 11:20

Future, human,
8th king, the third King of the North, the vile person Daniel 11:2112:3
occurs on earth

It is important to keep these distinctions in mind. If this is done, one will have the
sure knowledge that the information in the Book of Truth has nothing to do with
past historical events because there is nothing in any historical records which
supports a succession of four Persian kings, one king of Javan, then three Kings of
the North with the third and final king living at the end of the age. The information
in the Book of Truth is prophecy, not history.

There is further proof that demonstrates this fact conclusively. It is the clear
demonstration by the apostle John that he is giving a commentary on those eight
kings of the Book of Truth in the 17th chapter of the Book of Revelation. The
apostle John places his 6th, 7th, and 8th future kings as being parallel to the 6th, 7th,
and 8th kings of Daniels Book of Truth. John has these last three kings as
existing just before the Christs Second Advent. Before we mention Johns
commentary, let us note the angelic wars.

The Angelic Wars in Heaven

In the prologue to Daniels Book of Truth (Daniel 10:1321), the angel Gabriel tells
why he read to Daniel the contents of the Book of Truth in the first place. This was
because the angels Gabriel and Michael had been engaged in warfare (they were
being hindered) by the angelic prince who was in charge of the Persian realm. They
soon would have to fight with the angelic prince in charge of Javan (Greece). What is
important about this? It shows that these angelic princes were fighting one another
in heaven about matters happening here on earth.

Thus, the Book of Truth is a celestial record prepared by God for the angels to tell
them what will happen at the end of the age. It was not intended specifically for
humans. Though the Book of Truth describes certain events on earth (most of what
the Book of Truth reveals concerns territorial disputes on earth), those disputes
were prophesied to be raging with violence among the angelic powers in heaven. We
humans can only begin to understand the outcome of these heavenly wars
(Revelation 12:7) if (and when) the angelic hosts are expelled from heaven and
come to earth to continue their battles (Revelation 12:717). We can also begin to
comprehend such supernatural wars when some of the spirit powers are released
from their prison (called the abyss) located in the interior of the earth and they
come forth to do havoc on earth (Revelation 9:111).

Some people may feel that because we humans on earth do not witness the wars
that take place in heaven that those wars are mere symbols or figures of speech and
that there really are no such conflicts occurring in the heavenly spheres. People are
at liberty to believe what they wish, but the Holy Scriptures describe the wars as
being very real and that the effects of those wars can be felt on earth. This was
certainly the belief of Christ and the apostles.

The wars in heaven are looked on as very real in the Book of Revelation. Because of
the fact that a woman brought forth a man child who was to rule all nations on
earth (in other words, the child was going to take over Satans dominions on earth),
the woman then found herself being persecuted by enemies who did not want this
to occur. Opposition against the woman became so great that she had to obtain
protection from her enemies. As soon as she found a safe haven from the onslaught
of persecution:

there was war IN HEAVEN: Michael and his angels fought against the
dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither
was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast
out [of heaven], that old serpent, called the Devil and Satan, which deceives
the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast
out with him.

Revelation 12:79
This shows that affairs occurring on earth provoke even a war in heaven among the
heavenly hosts. In this case the adversarial angels are finally thrown out of heaven
and in turn they produce wars on earth. This shows that arguments instituted on
earth can widen in scope to include wars between the principalities and powers in
heaven (Daniel 8:1012).

These are the angelic authorities who claim a dominion over nations, societies,
religions, churches, businesses, governments, and individual human beings. These
angels can get into major battles with one another in heaven if they find their
territorial, national, or individual roles of authority among people on earth being
challenged. They do not take kindly to other angelic powers who try to wrest their
positions of rule away from them. This is the plain teaching of Revelation chapter 12
and it is supported by statements recorded in the Book of Daniel and other books of
the Bible.

While some disputes of angels are often settled by conferences that take place in
heaven between God, the Sons of God, and the angels, conducted in a civilized and
orderly way, 15 others can get quite belligerent (like those in the Books of Daniel and
Revelation). We must realize that these accounts in the Bible are not simply symbolic
and without basis of fact. Christ himself made it clear that violence can literally take
place in heaven among the angelic hosts when they realize their powers of authority
on earth are in jeopardy of collapse. He gave two illustrations of this.

Two Illustrations of Angelic Violence

(1) When the disciples returned to Christ telling of their experiences in casting out
demons and that the evil spirits had to be subject to the name of Jesus (Luke 10:17
20), Christ told them that those events were actually dislodging Satan from his
position of power in heaven. Their activities resulted in a fall for Satan from his
pinnacle of power which he tries to maintain in the heavenlies. This was Satans first
step downward in power and these initial events conducted by the disciples on earth
were a prelude to Satan finally being confined to the bottomless pit (the abyss) at
the Second Advent of Christ (Revelation 20:3).

Scripture shows that Satan and his angels will not give up their earthly
administrations without a fight (Revelation 12:717). They will resort to violence
against other angelic powers and mankind to retain their positions of authority. This
very thing began to occur with the preaching of John the Baptist. Note the teaching
of Christ on this matter.

(2) When John the Baptist started to preach, so many people in Judaea began to
repent of their ways that the society, customs, businesses, governmental agencies,
etc., began to be affected. The human powers who controlled that society were
beginning to take notice of this change of attitude among the people. In fact, Judaic
society was being disturbed (in a non-violent way) and the human authorities were
starting to worry what the outcome of Johns teaching might do to their jobs and
positions of influence.

The point is, all administrations within Judaic society on earth were under the
supervision of various angelic powers who ruled the people on earth from their
heavenly abode. So profound was this non-violent outcome of Johns preaching
against evil that the influences of those angels directing the society on earth began
to slip. This decline in influence occurring on earth in a peaceful manner had a very
opposite response among the angelic powers in heaven. These powers were
intelligent enough to realize the consequences of what these changes in Judaic
society would lead to. They saw a revolution under way on earth and they knew it
would have an effect on their positions in heaven. We are about to see the same
thing in our day.

The result was a major conflict in the time of Christ that began between angelic
powers in favor of the changes taking place in Judaea and those who wanted to
retain the old ways of society. Indeed, it was not a simple dispute that took place
between them; it was what we could rightly describe as outright war. Notice what
Christ Jesus said was happening. From the days of John the Baptist until now
the kingdom of heaven SUFFERS VIOLENCE, and the VIOLENT take it by
force (Matthew 11:12).

Look at this statement of Christ. He was talking about violence in heaven at that
moment. This has to be the case because we read of no violence whatever taking
place in Judaea among men in Christs time. This is important to note. The long
prophecy which we call Daniels Book of Truth, principally describes some major
conflicts between Persian, Grecian, and Israelitish powers (in this case, angelic
powers), but those wars were being conducted in heaven among angelic powers and
not yet on earth. At the time Gabriel told Daniel that he and Michael were going to
war with the King of Persia (and soon the King of Greece), this shows conflicts in
heaven, yet there was peace on earth between the Persians and Jews. In fact, Cyrus
(the first king of the Persian realm) had just allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem
and to rebuild the Temple.

This means that Cyrus, the human king, was not the Persian king that Gabriel and
Michael were fighting against at the time. Gabriel and Michael, who represented
Israels interests in heaven and on earth, went into conflict with the angelic power
(the angelic king) who was then governing Persia. Later, they went to war with the
angelic power (the heavenly king) who governed Greece, not a human king of
Greece. This means there was war in heaven between Gabriel and Michael (and their
angels) and the heavenly kings of Persia and Greece (and their angels). While these
wars were going on in heaven, there was actually peace on earth. This reveals that
heavenly wars do not necessarily show a fulfillment on earth at the same time.

This was certainly the case in the time of John the Baptist and the effect that his
preaching had on the world. The teachings of John were certainly non-violent. There
were then no real physical attempts to set up the Kingdom of God under Christ at
that time. But the reaction of the angelic powers in heaven was very different. They
had enough sense to realize that some profound social and religious changes were in
the initial stages of occurring and they wanted to put the matter to rest at its very
inception. What Christ was revealing to his disciples was that the heavenly realm was
so disturbed at the victories being accomplished on earth over the demon spirits that
the powers of heaven were being shaken by these affairs. The kingdom of
heaven SUFFERS VIOLENCE, and the VIOLENT take it by force (Matthew
11:12).

The violent ones who were engaged in that conflict were those angelic powers
endeavoring by force to take over heavenly positions of authority from those who
then controlled Judaic society in the time that Christ was on earth. At that time,
those righteous angels were winning! This shows that political or religious actions
that take place on earth (even of a non-violent nature) can have violent
repercussions among the angelic powers in heaven who supervise earthly
civilizations, governments, societies, religions, churches and individuals. And later,
when the evil powers finally lose their heavenly positions of authority and are
expelled to earth, then is when the earth can get caught up in the violence. Note that
all of Judaea went into a fierce war with the Romans that destroyed Jerusalem and
the Temple just over forty years after the time of John the Baptist, Christ Jesus, and
the apostles. This shows that the periods of wars in heaven are not necessarily the
same times for wars on earth. The wars on earth can occur several years later when
the angelic powers enter directly into our human arenas on earth.

So, when we look at Daniels Book of Truth which Gabriel revealed to him, it must
be understood that the information about the four kings of the Persians, the great
king of Greece, and the first two Kings of the North speaks of events that actually
occur between the angelic powers in heaven who control these nations on earth. The
prophecy of the Book of Truth does not necessarily describe events in which we can
find parallels in historical events on earth. The fact is, most of the events described
in the Book of Truth are heavenly in geography and they happen between the
angelic powers concerning the territories on earth mentioned in the prophecy, not
that they are actually on earth conducting the wars.

Indeed, the wars that are shown with the first seven kings of the Book of Truth,
could be happening in heaven while there is peace in their territories on earth. Only
when the Book of Truth reaches the eighth King of the North (when the Beast
comes out of the abyss and Satan is expelled from heaven) do we then find a clear
parallel between history on earth and the prophetic history mentioned in the Book of
Truth. From then on, the history of the angelic powers and that of humans on earth
becomes intertwined and the actors are often difficult to distinguish. 16

[Note: Now read Part 2 of this article DWS]

Ernest L. Martin, 1992

Edited by David Sielaff, August 2009

1 This was the only legal place in which Moses allowed images to exist such as the
cherubim and the images of bullocks in Solomons Temple. ELM

2 See Dr. Martins article How to Fully Escape the Great Tribulation at
http://www.askelm.com/prophecy/p010601.htm. This 1999 article has many
items of interest that relate to the Antichrist and Satans tribulation against the
ekklesia of God. DWS

3 The prefix Anti- in Antichrist does not mean that he will be simply against
Christ and the true teachings of God. Certainly, he will be antagonistic to the real
Christ, but the prefix Anti- means more than that. The prefix signifies that this
man will rule in the place of Christ. This is the intended meaning in the word
Antichrist. ELM
 4 People will reason that the preponderance of the many miraculous signs and
wonders that the Antichrist performs will seem to prove he is legitimate. In fact,
even their erroneous reasoning will be part of the deception sent from God (2
Thessalonians 2:111, particularly verses 1011). DWS

5 Indeed, some of you could testify that you have also been members of a Sabbath
keeping, Holy Day keeping, and Law keeping Christian denomination with a man
(or men) ruling at the top. The rulers normally lived like kings and they had strict
hierarchical rulers under them that the flock had to obey explicitly. This is ruling
in the place of Christ. Anyone on earth today who uses the laws of God as a
means to rule over the people as a king (or the sole ruler with appointed men like
princes ruling under him) is usurping the rule of Christ and is himself an
Antichrist according to biblical definition. He is the one who rules (not Christ)
and he sometimes rules with a rod of iron instead of the true Christ. ELM

6 By the way, it is biblically illegal for any organization today to demand or think
they can receive biblical tithes from ordinary Christians and it is equally wrong for
Christians to pay the biblical tithe to any man or hierarchy of men. For an
explanation of this matter, read our book: The Tithing Dilemma, available online
complete at http://www.askelm.com/tithing/index.asp. ELM

7 At this point in Dr. Martins original booklet he discussed the Mark of the Beast. I
cut those 10 paragraphs because Dr. Martin published an expanded article titled
Discovering the Mark of the Beast at
http://www.askelm.com/prophecy/p900501.htm and chapter 21, The Antichrist
Will Establish the Mosaic Law at http://www.askelm.com/essentials/ess030.htm
from his book The Essentials of New Testament Doctrine (2001). DWS

8 See Dr. Martins article The Coming Revolution in Knowledge at

http://www.askelm.com/prophecy/p060301.htm, and my short article The
Restitution of All Things, What to Expect at
http://www.askelm.com/news/n030621.htm. DWS

9 See Coming, the New World Order at

http://www.askelm.com/prophecy/p900601.htm. DWS

10 Dr. Martins article China in Prophecy at

http://askelm.com/prophecy/p950701.htm discusses the coming conversion to
Christianity of the peoples of Japheth which includes China, Japan, and many of
the peoples of Asia. DWS

11 See Dr. Martins article The Balkans in Prophecy at

http://askelm.com/prophecy/p971103.htm and The Importance of

Kosovo in Prophecy at http://askelm.com/prophecy/p990601.htm. DWS

12 See Dr. Martins article The Prophesied State of Palestine at

http://askelm.com/prophecy/p010401.htm. DWS

13 I cut some 15 paragraphs from the original 1992 publication about the Sons of
God, who at that time he thought were angels (like most Jewish and Christian
 commentators). Dr. Martin later came to understand that the Sons of God
mentioned in the Old Testament were not human beings. They were a separate
class of being of which Christ was the first. Christ was also the only begotten Son
of God. Dr. Martins most compelling research is found in his book The Essentials
of New Testament Doctrine, chapter 27, Our Inheritance The Family of God
at http://www.askelm.com/essentials/ess036.htm, and chapter 28, Who Are the
Sons of God at http://www.askelm.com/essentials/ess037.htm. These chapters
not only discuss Christian believers as children of God but also those mentioned
in the Old Testament as well. I hope you will be motivated to read Essentials from
the beginning as it was intended to be read. DWS

14 For more detailed information on how angels influence human beings and their
importance in creating world historical events, see my trilogy of research studies
written about the Angelic Powers: Why Did God Create Angels? at
www.askelm.com/doctrine/d001101.htm, Angels the Facts and the Fiction at
www.askelm.com/doctrine/d001001.htm, The Positive Good that Angels
Perform at www.askelm.com/doctrine/d010101.htm. ELM

How God Uses Angels to Govern the Universe at

www.askelm.com/doctrine/d010201.htm, chapter 15 of Dr. Martins Essentials
book Can Sinning Angels be Saved? at
http://askelm.com/essentials/ess021.htm, and my short article Jesus Was Not
an Angel at http://askelm.com/news/n040110.htm. DWS

15 Several such conferences or judgment scenes take place in the Bible. The most
notable are those mentioned in the first two chapters of Job where the Sons of
God gather with Satan attending also, Psalm 82 where judgment pronounced on
the Sons of God, and the conference with the spirits observed by the prophet
Micaiah recorded in 1 Kings 22:1423. ELM / DWS

16 See Dr. Martins 1999 article The Geography of Heaven at

http://www.askelm.com/doctrine/d990501.htm. DWS

Prompted by Dr. Martins writings, I wrote about the necessity of

demonstrating and believing that Jesus IS the prophesied Messiah. This
understanding is vitally important for everyChristian to learn and to
demonstrate from his or her own Bible. In fact, the entire purpose of
the New Testament is to proclaim that Jesus is the Messiah (John 20:31, 1
John 5:1).
Those who deny that fact of faith and witness are antichrists and liars. See
my article, Christ and Messiah. Whenever you read material written by
religious teachers or supposed Christian authors, consider the basic
question: do they seem to evidence belief or accept that Jesus is the
resurrected Messiah? The apostle John defines the term clearly and simply:
Who is a liar but he that denies that Jesus is the Christ [the Messiah]? He is
[the] antichrist, that denies the Father and the Son. Whosoever denies the
Son, the same has not the Father.
1 John 2:22231
As far the apostle John is concerned, an antichrist is an anti-messiah,
someone who denies that Jesus at this present moment is the Messiah,
having been resurrected from the dead and first proclaimed at Pentecost in
30 AD. That account is in Acts chapter 2.
Let me set out the above verse differently, focusing on the important word
denies, which is the Greek participle arnoumenos, identical in all three
uses:
Who is a liar but he that denies that Jesus is the Christ [the Messiah]?
He is antichrist, that denies the Father and the Son.
Whosoever denies the Son, the same has not the Father.
1 John 2:2223
1. Those who deny that Jesus is the Messiah (and should know better) are liars.
(Satan was the father of lies, John 8:44.) Every spirit should be tested to see if they
are telling the truth. See 1 John 4:1 3, 15 for other descriptions of the antichrist
mindset.
These denials imply knowledge of the truth, as John notes in verse 21. Those
making the denials are not deceived, they are deceivers. 2
An antichrist (and the Antichrist) is also someone who acts in place of Christ,
usurping His position as mediators between God and man. While actually this
is impossible, many church leaders today will tell you that they act on your
behalf to God and on Gods behalf to you. This is solely Christs prerogative,
His exclusive right and privilege. That was the purpose for which He suffered,
died, and was resurrected. The apostle Paul expressed it plainly:
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man
Christ
Jesus.
1 Timothy 2:5
There is not a body of men who are mediators. There is not a church that
mediates between God and men. There is only one. He is a man. He is Christ
Jesus, or more precisely Messiah Jesus.
As the apostle John indicates there are, however, many antichrists:
Little children, it is the last time: and as you have heard that antichrist
shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it
is the last time.
1 John 2:18
For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus
Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.
2 John 1:7
All the antichrists in our time and in the future before Christ returns will yield
to the ultimate Antichrist who will be energized directly by a spirit being, a
cherub, who in turn receives his power and authority from Satan. Remember
that any power Satan possesses is power derived from God to serve Gods
purposes. Gods purpose in allowing the Antichrist to perform his great acts
of deception is that the world must experience the evil of a false satanic
civilization so that they can appreciate the government of Christ that is true,
real, and loving in its administration.

Discovering the Mark of the Beast

By Ernest L. Martin, Ph.D., 1990
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The Antichristian empire that is prophesied to develop over all the world in
the period just prior to the Second Advent of Christ is characterized by an
identifying sign or mark- It is called in the Book of Revelation the "Mark of
the Beast." This beast represents the final world kingdom of mankind which
will exist through the auspices of Satan the Devil and with the full
approbation of God the Father and Jesus Christ. All people need to know the
tell-tale signs (or the central mark) that will be the standard of
identification for this end-time empire. Christians especially need to
understand what the Mark of the Beast entails in order to recognize the
signs identifying this world empire. This Prophetic Report will provide the
essential keys of identification.

A great counterfeit system to the prophesied Kingdom of God under the authority of
Jesus Christ is soon to emerge on the political scene. It will resemble so closely the
millennial kingdom of Jesus Christ that people on earth will come to appraise it as
indeed the very kingdom of Jesus Christ and that the person heading it is no less
than Christ himself returned to earth. What a shock will be in store for all people in
the world when they finally find out that this end-time empire is really that of Satan
the Devil himself.

Let us understand some of the main characteristics of Satan the Devil that many
people in the world know nothing about. They imagine Satan as looking like the very
epitome of a person with a forked tail, horns on his head, red all over, showing the
evil eye, pitchfork in hand, a goatee beard and uttering forth a continual stream of
obscenities and blasphemies from his mouth. This is the normal depiction of Satan
that has been foisted off on the world since the time of Constantine the Great in the
fourth century. But such a description is as far off as anyone could get. Indeed, this
is the very type of image that Satan himself wishes all people to imagine that he
looks like. In no way is such a description correct.

The Bible makes it clear that Satan the Devil appears to mankind as being the very
epitome of righteousness and goodness. The apostle Paul under divine inspiration
from Christ himself said that Satan appears with his ministers as righteous and holy
people. "For Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it
is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of
righteousness" (II Corinthians 11:14,15).

The Bible reveals that Satan is really an "old serpent" (very wise and cagey) who is
"called the Devil, and Satan, which deceives the whole world"
(Revelation12:9). He has deceived the totality of this world, at one time or another,
into believing that he is an evil looking personality which represents one of utter
repugnance and horror to all human beings no matter who they are in the world. As
a matter of fact, all human societies throughout the various ages of the world have
depicted some kind of supreme evil being who causes harm and destruction to
humans and they almost always depict him as looking like a hideous personality
which all humans would naturally abhor.

It is this "evil looking" Satan that Satan has wanted people to imagine the great
slanderer and adversary of mankind looks like. The reason for this is to deceive
mankind into accepting his teachings and manner of life. In no way does Satan
appear as an evil being with horrendous characteristics. He actually appears, as the
apostle Paul said, as an angel of light. He looks so good, so wonderful, so
resplendent and so righteous on the surface. Note that our first mother Eve was
quite attracted to the teachings and appearance of the "serpent" who instructed her
in the Garden of Eden. Eve was even able to equate him and his authority with that
of God himself. He appeared to Eve as a being that could compete with God and one
who had the appearance of authority and wisdom. Eve was deceived into believing
that Satan (that old serpent called the Devil) was a representative of heaven itself
and one who possessed the wisdom of the Almighty.

The Bible describes Satan and his servants (angels or men) as appearing righteous.
People would think them as "true men of God." Note that the spirit entity called the
"King of Tyre" was "full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in
Eden the Garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering.... Thou art
the anointed cherub that covereth [his symbolic wings covered the Ark of the
Covenant]" Ezekiel 28:12,13,14).

The truth is, when people would see Satan in vision or through some other kind of
manifestation (or his angelic cohorts), they would be witnessing resplendent beings
who to most people would show righteousness, beauty and Godly authority. Some
might even mistake them for Christ Jesus or the Father because of their actions and
beauty. Most people today (who imagine Satan as a very repugnant appearing
individual) would not think that an appearance of Satan in vision or through some
spiritual manifestation was actually Satan. They would be prone to believe that he
was a divine being who must be equal in status to Christ or the Father. And this is
how he appears to many people.

Indeed, Satan could very well appear to people as though he were Christ Jesus (or
perhaps the Father). Is this possible? Without a doubt this is possible. This is
because Satan was called by Christ Jesus as a spiritual being who did not abide "in
the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he
speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it" (John 8:44). He is
quite prone to lie to people and to tell them he is Christ or the Father.

The apostle John warned early Christians not to believe every manifestation of a
spirit being (in vision or whatever) because many of them are telling falsehoods in
the name of God. "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits
whether they are of God [as most spirits say they are]: because many false
prophets [lying prophets] are gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1). Notice that
the apostle John did not say a few false prophets had entered the world to deceive
people, but there were "many false prophets." Visionaries are often such "prophets."

These false prophets inspired by lying spirits (among whom Satan is the father) can
even come in the name of Jesus Christ claiming to be Christ's representatives. Christ
Jesus warned his people about these individuals. "And Jesus answered and said
unto them. Take heed that no man deceive you. For many (note that Christ
did not say the FEW, but he said the MANY) shall come in my name saying
[even admitting and confessing] I am the Christ; and shall deceive many [not
the few]" (Matthew 24:5).

The majority of people [the MANY, Christ described them] who come in the very
name and authority of Christ Jesus will deceive most in the world that they are
teachers of the truth and they will all look so good and righteous on the surface.
Since the apostle Paul recognized that Satan himself appears as an angel of light, he
felt that Satan's ministers would also appear in the same deceptive way. Paul said
that Satan's ministers would "also be transformed as the ministers of
righteousness" (II Corinthians 11:15).

These false ministers of Satan will even come in the name of Christ Jesus claiming
that Christ is Lord and asking people to accept Christ as their personal savior. Many
will even perform miraculous works in Christ's name and claim they are his divine
authorities. Some will even claim to have visions from him to "authenticate" their
ministerial works. But note Matthew 7:21-23.

"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom
Of heaven: but he that doeth the will of my father which is in heaven. Many
[note the word MANY, not the FEW] will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have
we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and
in thy name done many wonderfu1 works? And then will I profess unto
them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that commit iniquity."

A Counterfeit System is Prophesied

As shown in my previous Prophetic Report for April, 1990 titled "Coming: A New
World Order," the kingdom of the Antichrist will arrive on the scene just before the
Second Advent of Christ and raise up a worldwide economic and political dominion
that will resemble in many ways the prophesied Kingdom of Christ that will occur
during the Millennium. The word "anti" in Anti-Christ actually signifies "in the place
of," Christ. Its primary meaning is not "against" Christ. The apostle John meant that
this man's kingdom will be like Christ's kingdom and that it will be raised up by Satan
to replace the prophesied kingdom of Christ. It will be like the kingdom of Solomon
and it will emphasize peace, safety and prosperity for mankind, not military war and
destruction. [Read my April Prophetic Report for more information on the type of
kingdom or world empire this government of the Antichrist will be.]

When this Man of Sin (called the Antichrist or the Beast in the Book of Revelation)
appears on the world scene, he will govern a glorious empire. It will be the epitome
of man's endeavor to bring in the kind of society of peace and safety that mankind
has been looking for from the time of the Garden of Eden. It will resemble in almost
all its details the very kingdom of Christ, but it will actually be that of Satan the
Devil.

So cleverly deceptive will the exterior factors of this kingdom be shown to mankind
that most will come to the conclusion that this Satanic system is indeed the
prophesied kingdom of Christ on earth. Christ told his apostles that even they (and
the very elect themselves) would be within an ace of believing that this final kingdom
of man will be that of Christ and that the ruler of that kingdom is Christ Jesus
returned from heaven. Note what Christ said to his apostles about two days before
his crucifixion.

"Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it
not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show
great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall
deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they
shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth (to rally to him:
behold, he is in the secret chambers (inside the temple of God; believe it
not. For as the lightning (the Sun] comes out of the east, and shines unto
the west; so shall the coming of the Son of man be."

Matthew 24:28-27

Let's face it. If this human ruler called the Antichrist (the False Christ) would come
looking like some Babylonian Gentile priest with a mitre of Dagon the fish-god on his
head, demanding Sunday worship, the observance of pagan holy days associated
with the Spring Equinox or the Winter Solstice, and teaching that all should come
under the authority of a Gentile city in Europe, there would not be any apostle of
Christ (who lived in the first century) who would accept this man as the supposed
Christ.

Indeed, there will even be a fake "Second Advent" that the world will witness and
mistake as that of the true Christ. Recall that Satan and his angels will be thrown out
of heaven Revelation 12:7-17). These angels of Satan will even appear to some
people disguised as recently departed loved ones or prominent individuals and
people will mistake this for the resurrection of the dead that is prophesied to occur at
Christ's true advent. This will be just like the familiar spirit that came to Saul
disguised as Samuel though the real Samuel was dead in his grave and longer alive
(I Samuel 28:11,14). The majority of the world will actually believe that Christ has
returned and the resurrection from the dead has occurred for the "righteous." The
world will believe it because the apostle Paul said that "God shall send them
strong delusion that they should believe the lie" (II Thessalonians 2:11 Greek,
emphasis mine).

The Antichrist will look so much like the prophesied Christ that he will put into force
Sabbath observance (from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset), along with the biblical
holy days, and he will make his capital at Jerusalem. He will use the holy days of God
in order to control completely the daily, weekly, monthly and yearly activities of the
people of the world. So strict will he make the observance of the weekly Sabbath
that if anyone tries to flee from his authority on the Sabbath, he or she will be easily
spotted and rounded up for punishment (Matthew 24:20). While the Sabbath and
holy day laws of themselves are good and proper if people wish to adopt them in
order to worship God in a personal way, they can be a means of absolute servitude
to men if men put them into action in order to control and rule other men.

The prophecies of the Scriptures show that this Antichrist will adopt the Mosaic days
as well as the religious principles and teachings advocated by Moses (with Christian
interpretations) to control the affairs of mankind throughout the earth. His
procedures will look so much like people expect Christ to introduce at the Millennium
that even the very elect people of God would be close to accepting him as Christ
returned from heaven if they did not know better and this even includes the apostles
of Christ.

And look at this important point. The apostles who lived with Christ throughout the
span of his ministry on earth would not only know about the intimate teachings of
Christ given to them in private but they would be aware of all the personal nuances
of his physical and psychological characteristics that were associated with him.
Personal attributes such as these can normally help to identify a person in a precise
way. But even with the advantage of knowing these personal and unique nuances
associated with Christ's character, Christ still told the apostles that even they would
be close to accepting the claims of this man if they did not know better.

In order to deceive the world (and even the very elect if that were possible), the
Antichrist will force into action (in a wrong way) the very laws of God in order to put
yokes of subservience on the people just as the Jewish authorities demanded of the
Jews in the time of the apostles (e.g. Acts 15:10). Just because one establishes such
laws for world observance does not make the person or his kingdom righteous and
holy. After all, the Jewish society in the early first century was the most rigorous in
demanding Sabbath observance, holy day keeping and adhering to the principal laws
of Moses, yet Christ called that society a "generation of vipers" (Matthew 23:33).
That generation of Sabbath keepers wound up crucifying Christ and killing most of
the apostles of Christ.

What is the Mark of the Beast?

Once it is understood that the world empire of the Antichrist will be a counterfeit of
Christ's millennial kingdom (and that the Man of Sin inspired by Satan will misuse
the Mosaic legislation with Christian overtones to control the world), it will be easy to
recognize what the mark of the beast really is. In fact, any Jewish person reading the
Book of Revelation in the first century would have had no difficulty in comprehending
what the "mark" was. Let us notice the factors that identify the "mark."

"And he caused all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to
receive a mark in their right hand, or in their forehead. And that no man
might buy or sell, save he that had the mark."

Revelation 13:16,17

One of the cardinal rules for properly interpreting the Scriptures is to let the
teachings in other sections of the Bible (which use the same terms or principles in
other contexts) be the guide to understanding the more obscure sections. In the
Bible there is only one other usage of the phrases "in the hand" and "in the
foreheads." These are all in the Law of Moses and they refer to keeping the
commandments statutes, judgments and holy seasons or days given to the Israelites
in the time of Moses. The first reference is Exodus 13:9 where it states that the Days
of Unleavened Bread associated with the Passover were given "for a SIGN unto
thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes [in the
forehead]."

The word "sign" in the above verse is translated "mark" in its second occurrence in
the Bible and it refers to the "mark" given to Cain (Genesis 4:15). The biblical
definition of the "mark" (or "sign") in the hand and forehead is associated with holy
days on the Mosaic calendar. The next usage is recorded in Deuteronomy 6:8. There
it refers to the commandments, statutes and judgements that the Israelites were to
perform when they entered the land of Canaan. "Thou shalt bind them for a sign
[or MARK] upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes
[in the forehead]." The third reference is Similar to this and is given in Deuteronomy
11:18. The weekly Sabbath is described as such a "sign" [or MARK] in Exodus 31:12-
17.

If we thus let the Bible interpret the Bible then the MARK [or sign] in the hand and in
the forehead refers to the keeping of the Mosaic legislation (its holy day system and
regulations for the people of Israel in the land of Canaan). And this is precisely what
the Antichrist will subject the world to when he commences his reign in Jerusalem
just before the Second Advent. He will display to the world his supposed divinity (and
the world will accept it) and then he will sit himself with great ceremony in the
temple at Jerusalem and he will proclaim himself the true divinity which has come
from heaven to reside among men ('1 Thessalonians 2:4).

The Image of the Beast

The Book of Revelation mentions on eight occasions that the Antichrist will set up an
image of himself for the people to admire and recognize. And strange as it may
seem, even the image that the Antichrist will set up of himself in the very temple of
Yahweh to remind people of himself when he is away from Jerusalem is also found
within the Mosaic legislation. That's right. The making of such an image is even
allowed (it is actually commanded) in the Law of Moses. Let us understand this point
clearly because the Mosaic legislation will be used by the Antichrist to legitimatize the
setting up of his image in the temple itself. The Book of Daniel and Christ Jesus
called this the "abomination of desolation" (Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11; Matthew
24:15). The erection of this image will be a wrong use of the Law of Moses.

What many people don't realize is the fact that the Mosaic law does countenance
(indeed, it commands) that a single molded-together image (Exodus 37:7) of two
spiritual beings be positioned in the Holy of Holies (Exodus 25:18-22). That single
image shows a pair of cherubs whose symbolic wings overshadow the Mercy Seat
(the throne of Yahweh). It depicts in symbolic form the actual throne of God in
heaven. In the Scripture we are told that Yahweh sits between the "cherubim" (eg.
Psalms 80:1: 99:1) and the making of this single image of two cherubim with the
Mercy Seat was completely legal in the eyes of God. And it is this very image that
the Antichrist will restore in the temple at Jerusalem. He will even resemble the two
cherubs (both are identical twins in appearance). One is on the right hand of the
Father and the other on the left. Who do these two cherubs represent?

The Bible identifies one of the cherubs as "the king of Tyre" (the spiritual entity who
ruled or still rules the realm of Tyre - the great merchandising power which exercises
commercial authority in the world). He is called "the anointed cherub that covereth
[the Mercy Seat]" (Ezekiel 28:14), but he is also shown to be a fallen cherub. "Thou
wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity
was found in thee. By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the
midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee
as profane out of the mountain of God [He will be thrown out of the temple]:
and I will destroy thee, Oh covering cherub" (verses 15,16).
It is interesting that as soon as Satan is thrown out of heaven with his angels, the
"Beast" ascends from the sea or the "bottomless pit" (Revelation 13:1; 17:8) and
with his false prophet he begins to rule the world. He will set up an empire based on
merchandising and commerce (controlling economic factors on earth so that no one
can buy or sell without his permission). Since all of Revelation 18 emphasizes the
Beast's commercial control, this is a fit description of the King of Tyre becoming
Satan's full agent. This cherub is actually subordinate to Satan, as my research on
the Angelic Powers shows.

This Beast (called the Antichrist) will then set up a single image of two cherubs in the
temple at Jerusalem to be there when he is in other areas so that people will not
forget him or his authority. He will claim the authority of Moses to erect this image in
the temple (Exodus 25:18-22) and the whole world will observe this command of
Moses and accept it. He will also show the world that Ezekiel also prophesied that
cherubs would be depicted on some walls in the millennial temple (Ezekiel 41:17-
26). And Ezekiel even shows that a lion depicts a part of a cherubic image (verse 19)
and this could well be the reason that the Book of Revelation refers to the Anti-christ
also as a "Beast" - a wild beast!

The actions of the Antichrist could cause even the apostles themselves to accept his
credentials as the true Christ if they did not know better. Even the very elect would
be close to accepting them. This is because the Antichrist will not set up an idol of
Zeus (or some other pagan deity) in the Holy Place at Jerusalem. Why, no apostle or
elect person of God (or even the Jewish or Moslem people) would accept such
sacrilege. But to erect an image (molded together as one piece) of two cherubs with
a human and lion motif (the beast part) would be readily allowed because such a
thing is called for in the Law of Moses and even the millennial temple of Ezekiel
displays cherubs.

These two cherubs covering the Mercy Seat (associated with the Ark of the
Covenant) were located in the most holy place in the tabernacle of Moses and also in
the temple of Solomon. With the destruction of the temple by Nebuchadnezzar in the
sixth century before Christ, we no longer hear of the Ark of the Covenant in later
temples, either that of Zerubbabel or that of King Herod in the time of Christ. Once
the cherub called the "King of Tyre" was demoted in the time of Ezekiel, he was
disqualified from being in the temple.

Where is the Ark of the Covenant today (with its image of two cherubs)? We are told
in Revelation 11:19 that an Ark is in heaven (the word "testament" means
"covenant"). But John may intend the heavenly Ark of which the earthly was a type.
As far as the earthly Ark is concerned, we are told in II Maccabees 2:1-13 (written
about a hundred years before Christ) that early Jewish records stated that Jeremiah
buried it (along with other temple furniture) near the tomb of Moses when the
temple was destroyed in the time of Nebuchadnezzar. Jeremiah is reported to have
said that the Ark would one day be found so that it could be placed in a new temple
at Jerusalem and that fire would come down from heaven as a sign of dedicating the
temple. The Antichrist could be the one to discover this Ark. He could then place it in
the new temple even though one cherub was disqualified and it would be an
"abomination" for it to be there. But to show God's approval," fire will come down
from heaven as "Jeremiah" said (Revelation 13:13). God could permit this as a part
of the "great delusion."
The Other Cherub Covering the Mercy Seat

It is important to note that both cherubs with their symbolic wings stretched out over
the Mercy Seat are identical in appearance. No one would be able to distinguish them
if they were separated from the Ark of the Covenant. But one of them is a cherub
fallen from favor. Who does the other cherub represent?

Yahweh has an angel that in every way resembles him (see my three research
studies on the Angelic Powers which explain this). This angel can act with power of
attorney in any situation that Yahweh or Christ Jesus directs. He is called "the Angel
of the Lord [Yahweh]," and he is allowed to be called by the name "Yahweh." He so
acts like Yahweh that in the Bible they are indistinguishable in certain texts. Though
Christ is not an angel (Hebrews 1 & 2), he does use a special angel to represent him
(Revelstion 1:1). Christ is shown in superior rank on the Father's right hand, and in
Psalm 110 Christ is intimately united with a "right hand" angel (or cherub) called the
"King of Salem," or Melchisedec.

Now note this. Ezekiel calls the other cherub the "King of Tyre" and he now
represents Satan and his ways. The two cherubs are understood as being perfectly
identical in appearance. They are analogous to the two goats selected on the Day of
Atonement to carry away the sins of Israel (Leviticus 16). One of the goats was to be
Yahweh's (and be killed for the sins of Israel) and the other was the scapegoat (the
evil one) who was led away into the wilderness alive. The first in symbol refers to
Christ dying for the sins of Israel, while the other is Satan bearing those sins alive in
prison for 1000 years (Revelation 20:1-5).

Note that angelic beings (whether righteous or evil) often appear like the persons
they represent or over whom they are guardians. Christians thought "Peter's angel"
looked like Peter (Acts 12:15) and the lying spirit that appeared to Saul (the "familiar
spirit") also looked like Samuel to Saul (1 Samuel 28:7-21). Some powerful evil
spirits even try to assume the role of Christ Jesus. The spirit entity called the "King
of Babylon" was reckoned as the "Son of the Morning" (Isaiah 14:12), though this
is the proper title of Christ who is the "Bright and Morning Star" (Revelation
22:16).

There is, however, one sign that can identify the two cherubs on the Ark of the
Covenant. We are given a symbolic key of identification when it comes to false and
evil spirits. They are presently shown as having long hair -- like the hair of women
that flows down over the shoulders (Revelation 9:8). This denotes a sign of shame (1
Corinthians 11:14) which God and Christ do not have associated with them (verse
7). At the present, the cherub who represents righteous-ness has short hair (as he
always has had) but the fallen one is groomed with long, flowing feminine hair to
accord with the description of wicked spirits who emerge from the "bottomless pit."
Any long-haired deity is depicting a fallen spirit.

The Father and the true Christ are in appearance groomed with short hair and Paul
dogmatically stated this as fact (I Corinthians 11:3-16). Our modern pictures of a
long-haired "Jesus" are groomed after the pagan god Serapis (the Egyptian form of
Zeus). But Ezekiel said Yahweh's priests should have short hair "they shall only
poll [or trim] their hair" (Ezekiel 44:20). This is an important truth because the
priests were the stand-ins for God. When the people saw the priests, they were
supposed to be looking at God himself. Indeed, it was common custom for Jewish
males to have short hair and this is attested by Josephus the Jewish historian and
priest in the first century (Contra Apion I.172-175). Jesus did not have long hair
because he would have stood out among Jewish men. Recall that Judas had to kiss
Christ to identify him among others. Had he long hair it would have been simple to
point out the man with the long hair. And though Jesus was from the town of
Nazareth, he was not a Nazarite because he drank wine (Luke 7:33,34).

But who are depicted with long hair? Fallen spirits or angels who ascend from the
"bottomless pit" are shown as having long hair - "the hair of women" (Revelation
9:8). Christ went to these fallen angels after his resurrection and preached to them
(1 Peter 3:18,19) and Paul referred to this angelic visit in I Timothy 3:16 and also in
Ephesians 4:8 when he quoted Psalm 68:18 that Christ led captive the wicked angels
who had captivated humans and he then gave their angelic authority to the apostles,
etc.

Psalm 68 quoted by Paul spoke of those rebellious angels in their watery prison. "God
himself shall smite the head of his enemies, those proud sinners with their flowing
locks. The Lord says, I will return from the Dragon, I will return from the depths of
the sea" (verses 21,22, New English Bible). Remember that Paul said Christ had
actually gone "into the depths of the earth" -into the prison of the wicked angels
(Ephesians 4:9) - and that he returned (or ascended) from the underworld in order
to take away the captivity that wicked spirits had imposed on humanity (verse 8). Dr.
Moffatt and the Jerusalem Bible (Catholic) state that the Hebrew of Psalm 68:21
shows those rebellious ones in their watery prison are described as being "long-
haired" (the King James has "hairy scalp"). This agrees with what the apostle John
recorded about those evil spirits the prison called the "bottomless pit." They have
long hair - "the hair of women."

Even Josephus tells us that Jewish men who were similarly in human prisons
expressed their shame for their crimes by letting their hair grow long (Antiquities
XIV. 172). Ordinary Jewish males shunned wearing long hair like women because of
its association with criminals and those wicked spirits who were normally consigned
to the "bottomless pit" (Psalm 68:21; Revelation 9:8). And remember, the Beast (the
Antichrist) ascends from the "bottomless pit" (Revelation 17:8). It is interesting that
most of the cherubs of the Gentiles who were reckoned as their spiritual rulers were
depicted in ancient times with long hair (see my work on the Angelic Powers for their
pictures). If a being (either in vision or in person) appears with long hair flowing
down to the shoulders (like the hair of women), it is clearly a lying spirit from the
underworld.

And what about the cherub called the "King of Tyre'? From the time of Ezekiel, that
cherub became an evil angel who was then thrown out of his position next to Yahweh
in the temple. That cherub is now abominable and under the sway of Satan. It then
became improper to place him in same position with the righteous cherub within the
temple. Thus, Jeremiah buried the Ark with its cherubs and stated that the time was
coming when no Ark of the Covenant will be needed in worshipping Yahweh
(Jeremiah 3:16). This is one reason why there was no Ark with its two cherubs in the
temples of Zerubbabel or Herod nor in Ezekiel's millennial temple. Ezekiel's temple
(which will be located at Shilo, not Jerusalem, to accord with the prophecy of Genesis
49:10) has cherubs only pictured on the walls and doors of the Holy Place. But if II
Maccabees is recording reliable information from Jeremiah, he did say that the Ark
(with its two cherubs) would again be discovered and dedicated in a new temple.
This could only be the "Anti-Christ's temple" when the Beast will install his cherubic
image in his temple at Jerusalem.

Remember, the two cherubs with the Ark were like twins in appearance (though one
now has long hair). They are like Jacob (Israel) and Esau (Edom). Esau was the
"hairy one" who was defrauded of his birthright and blessing by Jacob, his deceptive
brother and twin. Jacob was not "hairy" like Esau. He is described as being a
"smooth" man. The Pulpit Commentary states: "The primary idea of smooth is
to cut off the hair" (Vol I, p.335). In a word. Esau was uncultivated in grooming -
"a cunning hunter, a man of the field." Esau was more hairy. The hair of his head
was long and his right and left hand sides (not hands alone) were "hairy." But Jacob
was "smooth of the neck" - he had short hair.

In order to deceive Isaac, Jacob had to wear the skins of goats on his head and the
sides of his body. Note what Keil and Delitzsch say about this covering of hair. "We
must not think of our European goats whose skins would be quite unsuitable for any
such description. It is the camel-goat of the East, whose black, silk-like hair was
used even by the Romans as a substitute for human hair. See Martial xii.46" (Vol I,
p.275). The long straight hair with its jet black color is referred to in the Song of
Solomon as equal to the natural hair of beautiful women (4:1; 6:5).

This account in Genesis of Esau (Edom) and Jacob (Israel) shows that Esau was not
only more hairy in body than Jacob but he also wore his hair long, while Jacob was
different in his grooming and exposed the "smooth of the neck" -he wore his hair
short. But Esau (Edom) had his birthright and blessing taken away from him by the
deceptive tactics of Jacob. Isaac did give (Edom) a different blessing and told him
that a time was coming when his descendants "shall have the dominion and that they
would break the yoke of Jacob from his neck (Genesis 27:40). That time would come
at the end-time.

And Isaiah said that the final end-time worldly kingdom that God will destroy is that
of Edom (Isaiah 34). Indeed, much of the cardinal teaching of the Book of Revelation
comes directly from Isaiah 34 about Edom. The world empire of the Beast will
actually be the kingdom of the "hairy one" - Edom The word "Edom" when vowel-
pointed correctly means "man" or "mankind" and James interpreted it that way in
Acts 15:17 when he quoted Amos 9:12. The number of the Beast is 666 - the
number of man or Edom.

The final world empire will be activated by Esau (Edom) trying to recover from Jacob
(Israel) the birthright and blessing stolen from him by his twin brother. Since Jacob
deceived his father Isaac by putting on the hairy mantle, the "King of Tyre"
(representing "Edom") will think it proper to deceive the world by taking off his
covering of long-hair. (In a future Prophetic Report I will give historical proof that
Tyre was colonized by Edomites and that the literal "King of Tyre" was actually an
Edomite.) Since we are told that God will send the world "strong delusion" to believe
the lie (II Thessalonians 2:11), the fallen cherub will once again appear "righteous."
Indeed, he will claim to be Christ returned from heaven. He will finally proclaim that
the daily animal sacrifices are no longer needed as a substitute for him (Daniel 9:27;
12:4) and he will even (finally) dispose of the Ark of the Covenant and his image to
accord with Jeremiah 3:16.
But how can the Antichrist pull off this strategy since the Book of Revelation makes it
clear in chapters 13, 17 and 18 what he and his false prophet will do? There is a
simple way if one has the wisdom to see it- Before the career of the Antichrist begins
in a full way, there will appear on earth two witnesses from God who will prophesy
from the temple at Jerusalem (Revelation 11). These two witnesses have roles that
resemble those of Moses and Elijah. In fact, it may well be that one of these two
witnesses (who will certainly be priests because they are able to enter the Holy
Place) will be the prophesied Elijah to come (Malachi 4:5,6; Matthew 17:11).

Now look at this. The world will not like these two witnesses. They have power to
stop the rains and they can turn the waters of the sea into blood (verse 6). The
world will not like their prophesyings and they will be put to death by the Antichrist
(verse 7). Then the Antichrist will establish his world empire of "peace."

Since the Antichrist will claim to be the returned Christ (though the Beast will
actually be inspired by Satan expelled from heaven Revelation 12:7-17), he will
point to chapter 13 of Revelation and state to the world that those two witnesses
were in fact the Beast and the False Prophet mentioned in Revelation and that they
have now been destroyed and the rule of the "true" Christ with his "true" Elijah can
now begin.

The Beast and False Prophet will charge the two witnesses with being the Beast and
False Prophet of the Book of Revelation and that they are the returned "Christ" and
the prophesied "Elijah." After all, this False Prophet will be able to bring down fire out
of heaven in the sight of men (Revelation 13:13) like Elijah did when he countered
the prophets of Baal (1Kin~ 18:38).

Malachi said that an "Elijah" would be sent to the Jews just before the Day of the
Lord to turn the children to the fathers (4:5,6). This is one reason why the Beast and
the False Prophet will reintroduce the Law of Moses. However, instead of this
applying to the Jews in the Holy Land, they will extend its strictures for all the world
-- including Gentiles. The true Elijah will restore this for the Jews only, and all Jews
will be expected to adhere to the Law's precepts. Let's face it, the Law of Moses is
the law of God for the Jewish people and that it is a proper legislation for those to
whom it was (or will be) intended. But it was never designed to be used for Gentiles
or to make God's people to be the slaves of the religious hierarchies of men. Christ
said that "duty" was not the reason for establishing the Sabbath: "I will have
mercy, and not sacrifice" (Matthew 12:7). The Sabbath day of itself was made for
the benefit of man. It is even acceptable for people to assign the days on the Mosaic
calendar as days for reflection on biblical themes if they voluntarily wish to do so
(though observing them is not necessary for salvation - Romans 14:1-6; Galatians
4:10; Colossians 2:16,17). Some Christians may even wish to keep the various
Sabbaths for nostalgic reasons. God will allow it, but Paul said such people are "weak
in the faith" since "days" are no longer required (Romans 14:1).

The Mosaic legislation of itself (with its Sabbaths, holy days, judgments and statutes)
is not bad. The law is actually "holy, just and good" (Romans 7:12) if a person
uses it properly. Paul stated this fact with dogmatism. "But we know that the law
is good, if a man use it lawfully" (I Timothy 1:8). But herein lies the problem.
What man has ever used the law lawfully? The Jewish authorities did not use it
lawfully in the days of Christ or the apostles, and the apostle Peter absolutely stated
this to be the case (Act8 15:10). I know of a number of denominations today who
use a part or all of the Mosaic laws to rule over their people and making them to be
slaves to the church hierarchies. They are using the "Mark of the Beast" already and
Paul knew it: "For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who
now lets [hinders] will let until he be taken out of the way. And then shall
that Wicked [One] be revealed" (II Thessalonians 2: 7,8).

The Man of Edom (666) will use "Moses" in an unlawful way to bring the world under
his religious slavery. But Christ's real kingdom will be different- He will loose us from
slavery, make us to be kings, and come down from his throne to serve us at table
(Psalm 23:5; Luke 12:37; 22:24-30). In the Prophetic Report for April, 1990, I gave
scriptural assurances that we who will live at the time of the Antichrist can have
protection from God to escape his slavery. Protection is ours. Remember: "Cast all
your care upon him (Christ); for he cares for you" (I Peter 5:6,7).

The Antichrist Will Establish the Mosaic Law

This chapter shows what is the Mark of the Beast.

The Bible says the Mark of the Beast will be the establishment of Mosaic Law as the religious law of
the land. ELM

The Antichristian empire prophesied to develop all over the world

in the period just prior to the Second Advent of Christ is characterized by an
identifying sign or mark. It is called in the Book of Revelation the Mark of the
Beast (specifically in Revelation 16:2 and 19:20). This beast represents the final
world kingdom of mankind that will exist through the agency of Satan the Devil. And
it will exist with the full approbation of God the Father and Jesus Christ. All people
need to know the telltale signs that will be the standard of identification for this end-
time empire. Christians especially need to understand what the Mark of the
Beast entails in order to recognize the signs identifying this world empire.

A great counterfeit system to the prophesied Kingdom of God under the authority of
Jesus Christ (the true Messiah) is soon to emerge on the political scene. It will so
closely resemble that millennial kingdom and people will appraise it as the very
kingdom of Jesus Christ and that the person heading it is no less than Christ Himself
returned to earth. What a shock for all people in the world when they discover this
end-time empire is ruled by Satan.

Let us understand some of the main characteristics of Satan the Devil that people in
the world know nothing about. They imagine Satan as looking like the epitome of
evil: a being with a forked tail, horns on his head, red all over, showing the evil eye,
pitchfork in hand, a goatee beard, and uttering a continual stream of obscenities and
blasphemies from his mouth. This is the normal depiction of Satan foisted on the
world since Constantine the Great in the 4th century C.E. But such a description is far
from the truth. Indeed, this is the very image that Satan himself wishes all people to
imagine in order to deceive them. In no way is such a description correct.

The apostle Paul under divine inspiration from Christ Himself said that Satan appears
to mankind as being the epitome of righteousness and goodness, and his ministers
appear the same way.
For Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no
great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of
righteousness.

2 Corinthians 11:1415

The Bible reveals that Satan is really an old serpent (very wise and cagey)
called the Devil, and Satan, which deceives the whole world (Revelation
12:9). He has deceived the totality of this world, at one time or another, into
believing that he is an evil looking personality who represents utter repugnance and
horror to all human beings. All human societies throughout the ages have illustrated
some kind of supreme evil being who causes harm and destruction to humans, and
almost always depict him as looking hideous. They show him to be a revolting and
bad person.

It is this evil looking Satan that Satan has wanted people to imagine as the great
murderer, slanderer, and adversary of mankind. The reason for this is to deceive
mankind into accepting his teachings and manner of life.

In no way does Satan appear as an evil being with horrid characteristics. He actually
appears, as the apostle Paul said, as an angel of light. He looks so good, so
wonderful, so resplendent, and so righteous on the surface. Note that our first
mother Eve was attracted to the teachings and appearance of the serpent who
instructed her in the Garden of Eden. Eve equated Satan and his authority with God
Himself. He appeared to Eve as a being that could compete with God and one who
had the appearance of authority and wisdom. She was deceived into believing that
Satan (that old serpent called the Devil) was a representative of heaven itself and
one who possessed the wisdom of the Almighty.

The Bible describes Satan and his servants (angels or men) as appearing righteous.
People would think them as true men of God. Note that the spirit entity called the
King of Tyre was

full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. You have been in Eden the Garden of
God; every precious stone was your covering. ... You are the anointed
cherub that covers [his symbolic wings covered the Ark of the Covenant].

Ezekiel 28:1214

The truth is, when people would see Satan in vision or through some other kind of
manifestation (or his angelic cohorts), they would be witnessing resplendent beings
who to ordinary humans would show righteousness, beauty, and Godly authority.
Some might even mistake them for Christ Jesus or the Father because of their
actions and their glory. Most people today, who imagine Satan as appearing
repugnant, would not think such an appearance in vision or some spiritual
manifestation was actually Satan. They would be prone to believe that he was a
divine being equal in status to Christ or the Father. This is how Satan appears to
many people.
Indeed, Satan could very well reveal himself to people as though he were Christ
Jesus (or perhaps the Father). Is this possible? Without a doubt it is the case. Christ
Jesus called Satan a spiritual being who did not abide

in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he

speaks of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

John 8:44

He is prone to lie to people and to tell them he is Christ or the Father.

The apostle John warned early Christians not to believe every manifestation of a
spirit being (in vision or whatever) because many of them tell falsehoods in the name
of God.

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of
God [as most spirits say they are]: because many false prophets [lying prophets]
are gone out into the world.

1 John 4:1

Notice that the apostle John did not say a few false prophets entered the world to
deceive, but there were Many false prophets. Visionaries are often such
prophets. These false prophets, inspired by lying spirits (among whom Satan is the
father), can come in the name of Jesus Christ claiming to be His representatives.
Christ Jesus warned his people about these individuals.

And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive
you. For many [Christ did not say FEW, but He said MANY] shall come in my
name saying [even admitting and confessing] I am the Christ; and shall deceive
many [not the few].

Matthew 24:5

The majority of people [MANY, as Christ described them] who come in the name and
authority of Christ Jesus will deceive the world that they are teachers of the truth
and they will all look good and righteous on the surface. Since the apostle Paul
recognized that Satan himself appears as an angel of light, he felt that Satans
ministers would also arrive in the same deceptive way. Paul said that Satans
ministers would also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness (2
Corinthians 11:15).

These false ministers of Satan even come in the name of Christ Jesus stating that
Christ is Lord and asking people to accept Christ as their personal savior. Many will
even perform miraculous works in Christs name and proclaim they are His divine
authorities. Some will even admit having visions from Christ to authenticate their
ministerial works. But note:

Not every one that says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom
of heaven: but he that does the will of my father which is in heaven. Many
[note the word MANY, not the FEW] will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have
we not prophesied in your name? and in your name have cast out devils?
and in your name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto
them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that commit iniquity.

Matthew 7:2123

A Counterfeit System Is Prophesied

The kingdom of the Antichrist will arrive on the scene just before the Second Advent
of Christ and raise up a worldwide economic and political dominion to resemble in
many ways the prophesied Kingdom of Christ that will occur during the Millennium. 1
The word anti in Antichrist actually signifies in the place of Christ. Its primary
meaning does not signify against Christ. The apostle John meant that this mans
kingdom will be like Christs kingdom and that it will be raised up by Satan to replace
the prophesied kingdom of Christ. It will resemble in many ways the kingdom of
Solomon, and will emphasize peace, safety, and prosperity for mankind (not military
war and destruction).

When this Man of Sin (called the Antichrist or the Beast in the Book of Revelation)
appears on the world scene, he will govern a glorious empire. It will be the epitome
of mans endeavor to bring in the kind of society of peace and safety that mankind
has sought for since the Garden of Eden. It will be similar in almost all details to the
very Kingdom of Christ, but it will actually be that of Satan the Devil. This is the
grand deception.

So cleverly deceptive will the exterior factors of this kingdom appear to be, that most
of mankind will conclude that this Satanic system is indeed the prophesied kingdom
of Christ on earth. Christ told His apostles that even they (and also the very elect)
would be within an ace of believing that this final kingdom of man is that of Christ
and the ruler of that kingdom would be mistaken as Christ returned from heaven.
Note what Christ said to His apostles two days before his crucifixion.

Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it
not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show
great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall
deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they
shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth [to rally to him]:
behold, he is in the secret chambers [inside the temple of God]; believe it not.
For as the lightning [the Sun] comes out of the east, and shines unto the
west; so shall the coming of the Son of man be.

Matthew 24:2327

Clearly, if this human ruler called the Antichrist (the False Christ) would come looking
like a Babylonian Gentile priest with a miter of Dagon the fish god on his head,
demanding Sunday worship, the observance of pagan holy days associated with
Spring Equinox or Winter Solstice, and teaching that all should come under the
authority of a Gentile city in Europe, no apostle of Christ of the 1st century C.E. would
accept this man as the supposed Christ.
Indeed, there will even be a fake Second Advent that the world will witness and
mistake as that of the true Christ. Recall that Satan and his angels will be thrown out
of heaven (Revelation 12:717). These angels of Satan will even appear disguised as
recently departed loved ones or prominent individuals. People will mistake this for
the resurrection of the dead prophesied to occur at Christs true advent. These false
spirits will appear like the familiar spirit that came to Saul disguised as Samuel
though the real Samuel was dead in his grave and no longer alive (1 Samuel 28:11,
14). The majority in the world will actually believe that Christ has returned and the
resurrection from the dead has occurred for the righteous. The world will believe it
because the apostle Paul said, God shall send them strong delusion, that they
should believe the lie (2 Thessalonians 2:11 Greek, emphasis mine).

Rules for the Counterfeit System

The Antichrist will look so much like the prophesied Christ that he will put into force
Sabbath observance (from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset), along with biblical holy
days, and he will make his capital at Jerusalem. He will use the holy days of God in
order to control completely the daily, weekly, monthly and yearly activities of the
people of the world. So strict will he make the observance of the weekly Sabbath
that if anyone tries to flee from his authority on the Sabbath, he or she will be easily
spotted and rounded up for punishment (Matthew 24:20). While the Sabbath and
holy day laws of themselves are good and proper if people wish to adopt them to
worship God in a personal way, at the same time they can be a means of absolute
servitude if used to control and rule other men.

The prophecies of the Scriptures show that this Antichrist will adopt the Mosaic days
as well as religious principles and teachings advocated by Moses (with Christian
interpretations) to control the affairs of mankind throughout the earth. His
procedures will look so much like what people expect Christ to introduce at the
Millennium, that the very elect people of God would be close to accepting him as
Christ returned from heaven if they did not know better and this includes the
apostles of Christ.

And look at this important point. The apostles who lived with Christ throughout the
span of His ministry on earth not only knew about the intimate teachings of Christ
given to them in private but they were aware of the personal nuances of His physical
and psychological characteristics. Personal attributes such as these can normally help
to identify a person in a precise way. But even with the advantage of knowing
personal and unique nuances associated with Christs character, Christ still told the
apostles that even they would be close to accepting this man's claims. He would not
deceive the apostles dressed like a Babylonian priest.

In order to deceive the world, the Antichrist will force into action in a wrong way
the very laws of God in order to put yokes of subservience on the people just as
the Jewish authorities demanded of the Jews in the time of the apostles (e.g., Acts
15:10). Just because one establishes such laws for world observance does not make
the person or his kingdom righteous and holy. Jewish society in the early 1st century
C.E. was most rigorous in demanding Sabbath observance, holy day keeping, and
adhering to the principal laws of Moses, yet Christ called that society a generation
of vipers (Matthew 23:33). That generation of Sabbath keepers wound up
crucifying Christ and killing most of His apostles.
What Is the Mark of the Beast?

Once it is understood that the world empire of the Antichrist will counterfeit Christs
millennial kingdom (and that inspired by Satan he will misuse the Mosaic legislation
with Christian overtones to control the world), it will be easy to recognize what the
mark of the beast really is. In fact, any Jewish person reading the Book of Revelation
in the 1st century C.E. would have had no difficulty comprehending what the mark
was. Notice the factors that identify the mark.

And he caused all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to
receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads. And that no man
might buy or sell, save he that had the mark.

Revelation 13:1617

One of the cardinal rules for properly interpreting the Scriptures is to let teachings in
other sections of the Bible (which use the same terms or principles in other contexts)
be the guide to understand more obscure sections. In the Bible the only usage of the
phrases in the hand and in the foreheads are all in the Law of Moses and refer to
keeping the commandments, statutes, judgments and holy seasons or days given to
Israelites in the time of Moses. The first reference is Exodus 13:9 where it states the
Days of Unleavened Bread associated with the Passover were given for a sign unto
you upon your hand, and for a memorial between your eyes [in the
forehead].

The word sign in the above verse is translated mark in its second occurrence in
the Bible and it refers to the mark given to Cain (Genesis 4:15). The biblical
definition of the mark (or sign) in the hand and forehead is associated with holy
days on the Mosaic calendar. The next usage refers to the commandments, statutes
and judgments that the Israelites were to perform when they entered the land of
Canaan.

You shall bind them for a sign [or mark] upon your hand, and they shall be
as frontlets between your eyes [in the forehead].

Deuteronomy 6:8

The third reference is similar to this and is given in Deuteronomy 11:18. The weekly
Sabbath is described as such a sign (or MARK) in Exodus 31:1217.

If we let the Bible interpret the Bible then the MARK (or sign) in the hand and in the
forehead of Revelation 13:1617 refers to the keeping of the Mosaic legislation its
holy day system and regulations for the people of Israel in the land of Canaan. And
this is what the Antichrist will subject the world to when he commences his reign in
Jerusalem just before the true Second Advent. He will display to the world his
supposed divinity, the world will accept it, he will sit himself with great ceremony in
the temple at Jerusalem, and then proclaim himself the true divinity come from
heaven to reside among men (2 Thessalonians 2:4).

The Image of the Beast

The Book of Revelation mentions on eight occasions that the Antichrist will set up an
image of himself for the people to recognize and admire when he is away from
Jerusalem. And strange as it may seem, the image that the Antichrist will set up of
himself in the temple of Yahweh is also found within the Mosaic legislation. In fact,
the making of such an image is even commanded in the Law of Moses. Let us
understand this point clearly because the Mosaic legislation will be used by the
Antichrist to legitimatize the setting up of his image in the temple itself. The Book of
Daniel and Christ Jesus called this the abomination of desolation (Daniel 9:27;
11:31; 12:11; Matthew 24:15). The erection of this image will be a wrong use of the
Law of Moses. But, the Antichrist will endeavor to follow Moses closely.

What many people do not realize is that the Mosaic Law commands that a single
molded image (Exodus 37:7) of two spiritual beings be positioned in the Holy of
Holies (Exodus 25:1822). That single image shows a pair of cherubs whose
symbolic wings overshadow the Mercy Seat (the throne of Yahweh). It depicts in
symbolic form the actual throne of God in heaven. In the Scripture we are told that
Yahweh sits between the cherubim (e.g., Psalms 80:1; 99:1) and the making of
this single image of two cherubim with the Mercy Seat was commanded by God. It is
this very image that the Antichrist will restore in the temple at Jerusalem. He will
even resemble the two cherubs who are identical twins in appearance. One is on the
right hand of the Father and the other on the left. Who do these two cherubs
represent?

The Bible identifies one of the cherubs as the king of Tyre, the spiritual entity
who ruled or still rules the realm of Tyre the great merchandising power which
exercises commercial authority in the world. He is called the anointed cherub
that covereth [the Mercy Seat] (Ezekiel 28:14), but he is also shown to be a fallen
cherub.

You were perfect in your ways from the day that you were created, till
iniquity was found in you. By the multitude of your merchandise they have
filled the midst of you with violence, and you have sinned: therefore I will
cast you as profane out of the mountain of God [he will be thrown out of the
temple]: and I will destroy you O covering cherub.

Ezekiel 28:1516

Interestingly, as soon as Satan is thrown out of heaven with his angels, the Beast
ascends from the sea or the bottomless pit (Revelation 13:1; 17:8) and with his
false prophet he begins to rule the world. He will set up an empire based on
merchandising and commerce, controlling economic factors on earth so that no one
can buy or sell without his permission. Since all of Revelation 18 emphasizes the
Beasts commercial control, this is a fit description of the King of Tyre becoming
Satans full agent. 2

This Beast (called the Antichrist) will then set up a single image of two cherubs in the
temple at Jerusalem to be there when he is in other areas so people will not forget
him or his authority. He will claim the authority of Moses to erect this image in the
temple (Exodus 25:1822); and the whole world will observe this command of Moses
and accept it. He will also show the world that Ezekiel prophesied that cherubs would
be depicted on walls in the millennial temple (Ezekiel 41:1726). And Ezekiel even
shows that a lion depicts a part of a cherubic image (verse 19), and this could well
be the reason that the Book of Revelation refers to the Antichrist also as a Beast
a wild beast!

The actions of the Antichrist could cause even the apostles themselves to accept his
credentials as the true Christ if they did not know better. Even the very elect of God
will be close to accepting them. This is because the Antichrist will not set up an idol
of Zeus (or some other pagan deity) in the Holy Place at Jerusalem. No apostle or
elect person of God (or even the Jewish or Muslim people) would accept such
sacrilege. But an image of two cherubs, molded as one piece, with a human and lion
motif (the beast part) would be readily allowed because such a thing is called for in
the Law of Moses. Even Ezekiel's millennial temple displays cherubs.

These two cherubs covering the Mercy Seat and associated with the Ark of the
Covenant were located in the most holy place in the tabernacle of Moses and in the
temple of Solomon. With the destruction of the temple by Nebuchadnezzar in the 6th
century C.E. before Christ, we no longer read about the Ark of the Covenant in the
later temples of Zerubbabel or of King Herod in the time of Christ. Once the cherub
called the King of Tyre was demoted in the time of Ezekiel, he was disqualified from
being in the temple.

Where is the Ark of the Covenant today, with its image of two cherubs? We are told
in Revelation 11:19 that an Ark is in heaven (the word testament means
covenant), but John may intend the heavenly Ark of which the earthly was a type.
As far as the earthly Ark is concerned, we are told in 2 Maccabees 3 2:113 that
early Jewish records stated that Jeremiah buried it along with other temple furniture
near the tomb of Moses when the temple was destroyed in the time of
Nebuchadnezzar. Jeremiah is reported to state that the Ark would one day be found
and be placed in a new temple at Jerusalem and that fire would come down from
heaven as a sign of dedicating the temple. The Antichrist could be the one to
discover this Ark. He could then place it in the new temple even though one cherub
was disqualified and it would be an abomination for it to be there. But to show
Gods supposed approval, fire will come down from heaven as Jeremiah said
(Revelation 13:13). God could permit this as a part of the great delusion.

The Other Cherub Covering the Mercy Seat

It is important to note that both cherubs with their symbolic wings stretched out over
the Mercy Seat are identical in appearance. No one would be able to distinguish them
if they were separated from the Ark of the Covenant. One of them is a cherub fallen
from favor. But who does the other cherub represent?

Yahweh has an angel that in every way resembles Him. His special name is the
Angel of the Lord. He has great authority. This angel can act with power of attorney
in any situation that Yahweh or Christ Jesus direct. Called the Angel of the Lord
[Yahweh], he is allowed to be called by the name Yahweh. He so acts like Yahweh
that in the Bible they are indistinguishable in certain texts. Though Christ is not an
angel (Hebrews 1 & 2), he does use a special angel to represent Him (Revelation
1:1). 4

Now note this. Ezekiel calls the other cherub the King of Tyre and he now
represents Satan and his ways. The two cherubs are understood as identical in
appearance and are analogous to the two goats selected on the Day of Atonement to
carry away the sins of Israel (Leviticus 16). One goat was to be Yahwehs and be
killed for the sins of Israel, and the other was the scapegoat (the evil one) who was
led away into the wilderness alive. The first goat in symbol refers to Christ dying for
the sins of Israel, while the other is Satan bearing those sins alive in prison for 1000
years (Revelation 20:15). The two goats and two cherubs looked like identical
twins.

Note that angelic beings (whether righteous or evil) often appear like the persons
they represent or over whom they are guardians. Christians thought Peters angel
looked like Peter (Acts 12:15) and the lying spirit that appeared to Saul (the familiar
spirit) also looked like Samuel to Saul (1 Samuel 28:721). Some powerful evil
spirits even try to assume the role of Christ Jesus. The spirit entity called the King
of Babylon was reckoned as the Son of the Morning (Isaiah 14:12), though this
is the proper title of Christ who is the Bright and Morning Star (Revelation
22:16).

There is, however, one sign that can identify the two cherubs on the Ark of the
Covenant. We are given a symbolic key of identification when it comes to false and
evil spirits. They are presently shown as having long hair like the hair of women
flowing down over the shoulders (Revelation 9:8). This denotes a sign of shame (1
Corinthians 11:14) which God and Christ do not have associated with them (verse
7). Indeed, the cherub who is righteous has short hair. He is the Angel of the Lord
on and above the right side of God. The Scripture (1 Corinthians 11:14) prohibits any
male angel who represents God from having long hair. Earlier (before the King of
Tyre rebelled), both cherubs were like twins and had short hair. 5

But who are those depicted with long hair? Fallen spirits or angels who ascend from
the bottomless pit are shown as having long hair the hair of women
(Revelation 9:8). Christ went to these fallen angels after his resurrection and
preached to them (1 Peter 3:1819). Paul referred to this visit to angels in 1 Timothy
3:16 and Ephesians 4:810 quoting Psalm 68:18 that Christ led captive the wicked
angels who once held humans spiritually captive.

Psalm 68 spoke of the rebellious angels in their watery prison.

God himself shall smite the head of his enemies, those proud sinners with
their flowing locks. The Lord says, I will return from the Dragon, I will
return from the depths of the sea.

Psalm 68:2122, New English Bible

Remember that Paul said Christ had actually gone into the depths of the earth
into the prison of the wicked angels (Ephesians 4:9) and that he returned (or
ascended) from the underworld in order to take away the captivity that wicked spirits
imposed on humanity (verse 8). Dr. Moffatt and the Jerusalem Bible (Catholic) state
that the Hebrew of Psalm 68:21 shows those rebellious spirits in their watery prison
are described as being long-haired (the King James has hairy scalp). This
agrees with what the apostle John recorded about those evil spirits in their
subterranean prison called the bottomless pit. As an identifying mark, they have
long hair the hair of women.
Josephus tells us that Jewish men who were in prisons expressed shame for their
crimes by letting their hair grow long (Antiquities XV,172). Ordinary Jewish males
shunned wearing long hair like women because of its association with criminals and
with those wicked spirits consigned to the bottomless pit (Psalm 68:21;
Revelation 9:8). And remember, the Beast (the Antichrist) ascends from the
bottomless pit (Revelation 17:8). It is interesting that most of the cherubs of the
Gentiles reckoned as their spiritual rulers were depicted in ancient times with long
hair. 6 If a spirit, either in vision or in person, appears with long hair flowing down to
the shoulders (like the hair of women), it is clearly a lying spirit from the underworld.

And what about the cherub called the King of Tyre? From the time of Ezekiel, that
cherub became an evil angel who was thrown out of his position next to Yahweh in
the temple. That cherub is now abominable and under the sway of Satan. It then
became improper to place him in the same position with the righteous cherub (the
Angel of the Lord). It is attested in Second Maccabees that Jeremiah buried the Ark
with its cherubs.

In Scripture Jeremiah stated the time was coming when no Ark of the Covenant
would be needed in worshipping Yahweh (Jeremiah 3:16). This is one reason why no
Ark with its two cherubs was in the temples of Zerubbabel or Herod, nor will there be
in Ezekiels millennial temple. Ezekiels future temple (located at Shilo, not
Jerusalem, to accord with the prophecy of Genesis 49:10) has cherubs pictured only
on the walls and doors of the Holy Place. But if Second Maccabees is recording
reliable information from Jeremiah, he said that the Ark (with its two cherubs) would
be discovered and dedicated in a new temple. This could only be the Antichrists
temple when the Beast will install his cherubic image in the temple at Jerusalem.
Both cherubs of this one image (though one is a rebel) will appear with short hair
as Moses depicted. This allows both cherubs to look righteous (or like Christ appears
as a Son of God). Though the King of Tyre (now demoted) has long hair like most
Gentile cherubs, he will soon (deceptively) cut his hair.

In a past Prophetic Report I gave historical proof that Tyre was colonized by
Edomites and that the literal King of Tyre was actually an Edomite. The other
cherub was the Angel of the Lord who was the Angel of the King of Salem
(Melchizedek, who was a Son of God, not an angel). Actually, the early Canaanite city
of Jebus was finally named Salem which subsequently became Jerusalem. These
two cherubs are top angels. The right hand cherub was the Angel of the King of
Salem (Jerusalem) and the other cherub was the Angel for the human King of Tyre.

Remember that the two cherubs with the Ark were twins in appearance, like Jacob
(Israel) and Esau (Edom). Esau was the hairy one who was defrauded of his
birthright and blessing by Jacob, his deceptive brother and twin. The Bible shows
that Jacob was not hairy like Esau. He is described as being a smooth man. The
Pulpit Commentary states: The primary idea of smooth is to cut off the hair. 7
In a word, Esau was uncultivated in grooming a cunning hunter, a man of the
field. So, Esau was more hairy.

In order to deceive Isaac, Jacob had to wear the skins of goats on his head and the
sides of his body. Note what Keil and Delitzsch say about this covering of hair.

We must not think of our European goats, whose skins would be quite
unsuitable for any such description. It is the camel-goat of the East, whose
black, silk-like hair was used even by the Romans as a substitute for human
hair.

Martial xii.46 8

Such long straight hair of these goats with their jet-black color is referred to in the
Song of Solomon as equal to the natural hair of beautiful women (4:1; 6:5).

This account in Genesis of Esau (Edom) and Jacob (Israel) shows that Esau was not
only more hairy in body than Jacob but he also wore his hair long, while Jacob was
different in his grooming and exposed the smooth of the neck, i.e., he wore his
hair short. But Esau (Edom) had his birthright and blessing taken away from him by
the deceptive tactics of Jacob. Isaac gave Esau (Edom) a different blessing and told
him a time was coming when his descendants shall have the dominion and they
break the yoke of Jacob from his neck (Genesis 27:40). That time will come at the
end-time when the Antichrist will appear.

And Isaiah said that the final end-time worldly kingdom that God will destroy is that
of Edom, controlling the whole world (Isaiah chapter 34). Indeed, the cardinal
prophetic teaching of the Book of Revelation comes directly from that chapter in
Isaiah about Edom. The world empire of the Beast will actually be the kingdom of the
hairy one Edom. The word Edom in Isaiah chapter 34, when vowel pointed
correctly, means man or mankind, and even James interpreted it that way in Acts
15:17 when he quoted Amos 9:12. The number of the Beast is 666 the number of
man (Edom).

Esau (Edom) will activate the final world empire to recover from Jacob (Israel) the
birthright and blessing stolen from him by his twin brother. Since Jacob deceived his
father Isaac by putting on the hairy mantle, the King of Tyre (representing
Edom) will think it proper to deceive the world by taking off his covering of long-
hair to be like the Angel of the Lord (the other cherub in the Holy of Holies who
represents Israel). We are told that God will send the world strong delusion to
believe the lie (2 Thessalonians 2:11) and the fallen cherub will once again appear
righteous. Indeed, he will claim to be Christ returned from heaven. He will finally
proclaim that the daily animal sacrifices are no longer needed as a substitute for Him
(Daniel 9:27; 12:4) and he will even (finally) dispose of the Ark of the Covenant and
the image to satisfy the statement in Jeremiah 3:16.

But how can the Antichrist pull off this strategy since the Book of Revelation makes it
clear in chapters 13, 17 and 18 what he and his false prophet will do? The solution is
simple if one has the wisdom to see it. Before the career of the Antichrist begins in a
full way, there will appear on earth two witnesses from God who prophesy from the
temple at Jerusalem (Revelation 11). The roles of these two witnesses resemble
those of Moses and Elijah. In fact, it may well be that one of these two witnesses
(who will certainly be priests because they are able to enter the Holy Place) will be
the prophesied Elijah to come (Malachi 4:56; Matthew 17:11). These two witnesses
will be put to death by the Antichrist (verse 7). The Antichrist will then establish his
world empire of peace.

The Antichrist will claim to be the returned Christ even though the Beast will actually
be inspired by Satan expelled from heaven 12:717. He will point to chapter 13 of
Revelation and state to the world that the two witnesses were in fact the Beast and
False Prophet mentioned in the Revelation, that they have now been destroyed and
the rule of the true Christ with his true Elijah can begin. After all, this False
Prophet will bring down fire out of heaven in the sight of men (Revelation 13:13) like
Elijah did when he countered the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:38). What deception!

Malachi said that an Elijah would be sent to the Jews just before the Day of the
Lord to turn the children to the fathers (4:56). This is one reason why the Beast
and the False Prophet will reintroduce the Law of Moses. However, instead of
applying this to the Jews in the holy-land, they will extend its strictures for all in the
world including Gentiles. The true Elijah will restore this for Jews only and all Jews
will be expected to adhere to the Laws precepts at this period of time.

To sum up, the Law of Moses is the Law of God for the Jewish people and is proper
legislation for those to whom it was (or will be) intended. It was never designed to
be used for Gentiles or to make Gods people slaves of the religious hierarchies of
men. Some Christians may wish to observe the various Sabbaths for nostalgic
reasons, and God will allow it, but Paul said such people are weak in the faith
since days are not required (Romans 14:1).

The Mosaic legislation of itself (with its Sabbaths, holy days, judgments and statutes)
is not bad. The law is actually holy, just and good (Romans 7:12), if used
properly. Paul stated this fact with dogmatism. But we know that the law is
good, if a man use it lawfully (1 Timothy 1:8). But herein lies the problem. What
man ever used the law lawfully? Jewish authorities did not use it properly in the days
of Christ or the apostles, and the apostle Peter absolutely stated this to be the case
(Acts 15:10).

I know of a number of denominations today who use a part or all of the Mosaic laws
to make their members slaves to the church hierarchies. They are using the Mark
of the Beast already and Paul knew it: The Man of Edom (666 the Antichrist)
will use the Law of Moses in an unlawful way to bring the world under his
religious slavery and rebellion to God. The irony of the matter is that Satan will use
Gods Mosaic Law to turn the world against Christ.

1 See my article: Coming: A New World Order at

http://www.askelm.com/prophecy/p900601.htm for more detailed information on
this matter. ELM

2 This cherub is subordinate to Satan as shown in my research study on

Discovering the Mark of the Beast at
http://www.askelm.com/prophecy/p900501.htm. ELM

3 The first and second non-canonical books of Maccabees were written about a
hundred years before Christ. They contain generally reliable historical material.
ELM

4 Christ is shown in superior rank on the Fathers right hand; and in Psalm 110
Christ is intimately united with the King of Salem, or Melchizedek. The King of
Salem is NOT an angel. He has Christs title. ELM
5 Recall that we are told Christ and the Father are now groomed with short hair as
Paul dogmatically stated (1 Corinthians 11:316). Modern pictures of a longhaired
Jesus are groomed after the pagan god Sarapis (the Egyptian form of Zeus).
Jews shunned long hair. Ezekiel said Yahwehs priests should have short hair
they shall only poll [or trim] their hair (Ezekiel 44:20). This is important
because the priests were stand-ins for God. When people looked at the priests,
they were observing representatives of God. Jesus did not have long hair;
otherwise He would not have been permitted into the Temple precincts. But Christ
went into the Temple at will. Jewish males commonly had short hair as attested
by Josephus the Jewish historian and priest (Contra Apion 1.172175). Judas had
to kiss Christ to identify Him among others. Long hair among Jewish men was not
socially acceptable. Though Jesus was from Nazareth, He was not a Nazarite
(temporarily with longer hair) since He drank wine (Luke 7:3334). ELM

6 See my work on How to Identify False Prophets at

http://www.askelm.com/prophecy/p970401.htm. ELM

7 H.D.M. Spence, et al., The Pulpit Commentary, vol. I (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,
1909, 1950), p. 335. ELM

8 Kiel & Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament,vol. I (Edinburgh: T&T Clark,
1874), p. 275. ELM
CHAPTER 7

Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan Commentary for April 17, 2009 Comparisons and
Relationships The nature of the modern nations of Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan can
be understood somewhat better by noting some comparisons between the countries of this
important area. The areas comprising Syria and Iraq decrease in size going from Iran
west. Afghanistan to the east is 1/2 the size of Iran.

The Euphrates River, currently within Iraq, along with the Tigris River formed the
homeland for the riverine civilizations of ancient Ur, Assyria, and Babylon. In the future
the Euphrates River will become very important to everyone in the world (Revelation
9:1421, 16:1214). Iran today comprises most of the original ancient land of Persia. The
state of Afghanistan directly influences this important area of the world, and will do so
even more in the future.1

Conflict Relationships

While conflict in Iraq seems to be winding down, conflict in Afghanistan is increasing.

Civil conflict in Iran is possible due to bad governance and mishandling of the economy
by the Islamic fundamentalist rulers of Iran. The United States and allied countries have
troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan, in other words on either side of Iran. The United
States Navy dominates all sea approaches to Iran from the south potentially cutting off all
sea-borne trade.

Afghanistan, the site of major conflict as I write this, is larger than Iraq by almost one
third, and its territory is filled with mountainous terrain with some of the worlds tallest
mountains. Iraq is relatively flat by comparison. Afghanistan also has a larger population
than Iraq. The population of Iran is greater than Iraq and Afghanistan combined, although
interestingly Irans population is mostly in the north.1

1 See Dr. Martins article Afghanistan (Gog and Magog) and in Iran in Focus and particularly Dr.
Martins Iran in Prophecy. Both of Dr. Martins articles have Byte Show accompanying programs. See
also Dr. Martins The Damascus Phase of End-Time Prophecy. and Prophetic Geography and the Time
of the End.
Note the physical relationship of these three countries to Israel and Palestine of the Bible.
Iran dominates the land mass area in the Near East. Going west from Iran, note that Iraq,
Syria, and then Lebanon and Israel combined are noticeably and significantly smaller
than Iran. The population ratios also reflect the same relationship: Iran the largest, then
Iraq, Syria, then Israel and Lebanon with comparatively tiny populations.

Iran dominates the area in terms of population. Note the population differences between
Iraq and Afghanistan. The population of Iran is double that of Iraq and Afghanistan. In
fact, the population of Iran is greater than Iraq and Afghanistan combined. Note the
literacy rates of the various countries, how high it is in Syria, Iran and Iraq, and how low
it is in Afghanistan, particularly for females. Read and take note of the interesting details
and relationships:

Table 1: Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan Comparisons [important facts in

blue] a. Source: CIA World Factbook, retrieved April 2009, updated regularly
Syria Iraq Iran Afghanistan
Area 437,072 sq 185,180 sq 1,648,000 sq km 647,500 sq km
km km
Population 20 million 29 million 66+ million 33+ million
Languages Arabic; Arabic, Persian and Afghan
Kurdish, Kurdish, Persian Persian
Armenian, Turkoman (a dialects 58%, or Dari 50%,
Aramaic, Turkish Turkic dialects Pashto 35%,
Circassian; dialect), 26%, Turkic
some Assyrian Kurdish 9% languages
French, (Neo- (Uzbek
English Aramaic), & Turkmen)
Armenian 1%
Religion Sunni Sunni Shia Muslim Sunni Muslim
Muslim Muslim 89% 80%
74%, other 32%-37%, Shia Muslim
Muslim 16%, Shia Muslim 19%
Christian 10% 60%-65%
Sunni Muslim
9%
Ethnic Arab 90.3%, Arab 75%- Persian 51%, Pashtun
Groups other 9.7% 80%, Azeri 42%,
Kurdish 15%- 24%, Tajik 27%,
20% Gilaki/Mazandarani Hazara
8%, Kurd 9%, Uzbek 9%
7%, Arab 3%
Literacy total: 79.6% total: 74.1% total: 77% total: 28.1%
male: 86% male: 84.1% male: 83.5% male: 43.1%
female: 73.6% female: 64.2% female: 70.4% female: 12.6%

At present the eyes of the world are focused on Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan. Soon the
focus will proceed even more west to Syria, Lebanon, the future Palestinian state, and
increasingly upon Israel itself, Jerusalem in particular, and most specifically the true site
of the Temple within Jerusalem. The importance of international geography will increase
as we approach the time of Christs return. Relationships and interplay between the
relative size of countries, their populations, languages, religion, ethnic groups, and
literacy rates within countries each of these factors have their importance and will play
a role in future biblical events. Borders will begin to change to the final status.

The ability to communicate with the world, settling of religious disputes, ethnic peace,
and the ability to read the Bible in various languages all will take place before Christs
return. The stage is being set for major changes in these important countries. The players
are approaching the stage. Soon the star players of the performance will come on the
world stage. Pray that soon we will be able to identify individuals indicated in the Bible
as soon as possible so we can understand where they fit in the plot. David Sielaff
david@askelm.com

Afghanistan (Gog and Magog)

By Ernest L. Martin, Ph.D., 2001

Whenever the general of an army in the past looked at the land of

Afghanistan and its immediate neighbor countries to the west, north and
east with an eye to conquer and to control them politically and militarily,
those countries through the ages have met with a great deception that
almost always meets with the intruding army. If the army invading the
countries is powerful and concentrated and always on the move (and
especially if the army is using the territory to traverse to other areas and is
not engaging the natives of the region), it can roam at will without unusual
fear of being defeated. Armies from the east have traversed the areas in the
past. But when those armies began to settle in the region and try to control
it from within, the harshness of the region and its many desert-type
mountains, valleys and adverse hinterlands give the native populations
superior positions to engage in wars of attrition.

Ordinary armies operating in the region of Afghanistan are at a disadvantage in

having any long-term success. Alexander the Great was marginally successful in his
time because he came and he went (leaving only pockets of Greek influence in the
vast region). Genghis Khan was also able to achieve recognition by doing his exploits
in a similar fashion. But when the Soviets tried to bring them into a part of the
USSR, it was a calamitous operation. In truth, only a form of colonial-type of
government exercised by a strong world power such as will exist under the Antichrist
in the future will have any success in the effort (even that will be temporary) of
keeping these people in a reasonable civilized state. It is hopeless to do so with
external military power alone. Of course, when the Kingdom of God arrives with
Christ Jesus at it head, the people will be forced to become properly civilized in the
manner that we in the west reckon as appropriate.

Why is it that the peoples of Afghanistan do not adhere to democratic institutions?

Because throughout their history, the peoples inhabiting those geographical regions
have such an unusual desire for sheer independence from other nearby families,
other nearby tribes or other nearby groups trying to tell them what to do that the
natives are at constant war with their neighbors. Most of people do not live in cities
and their loyalties are normally to kinship alliances and ethnic societies (local families
and regional ones) and also in religious beliefs that they express in a variety of
traditions and customs. In history, their populations have normally been fighting one
another in all their local areas. The region has to be acknowledged as one of the
most uncontrollable and wild regions of the world (and there is no exception to what
is happening there even at the present time when the United States and Britain are
bombing the areas).

In a word, if one tribal group gets the temporary superiority over another and
defeats it in battle (like when the present Taliban will be defeated in the central
area), then another warring group takes its place and it is as cantankerous as the
former community. Religious beliefs or versions of such beliefs (notably variations in
the teachings of Islam) can be deceptive in this region because Islams mainline
appeal to international co-existence (especially with Christians and Jews) is not
paramount among such groups. Islam in these locales is simply a vehicle for
promoting their own brand of tribal traditions and political unrest that is endemic in
this vast area. The people are too diverse in beliefs to unify as a nation or into a
variety of ethnic groups that are capable of having a homogeneous society like we in
the United States or in Britain.

With these points in mind, they should serve as an example of what the United
States, Britain and its allies must do in this new type of war against terrorism. They
can be successful if they do like Alexander and Genghis Khan in their maneuvers.
That is, get into the area and perform what the stated purpose of the intrusion into
Afghanistan is supposed to do (that is, to bring to justice the present perpetrators of
the recent terrorist acts), and then get out as soon as possible. It is not a matter of
retreating, because there should be no intention whatever of occupying the area for
any considerable period. It is not yet time for the Antichrist to bring the whole of the
world under his control (as he will certainly do) before the Second Advent of Christ
back to this earth. Indeed, it is during the last year of the Antichrists rule over the
earth that we find this area of Afghanistan prominently featured in biblical prophecy.
Let us see. Look at Ezekiel 38:1-8.

"And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face
against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and
prophesy against him, And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold,
I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will
turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and
all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of
armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling
swords: Persia, Ethiopia [Hebrew: CUSH or the area of the Hindu Kush
Mountains, that is: Afghanistan], and Libya [Hebrew: PHUT or the area of
India] with them; all of them with shield and helmet: Gomer, and all his
bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his
bands: and many people with thee. Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself,
thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard
unto them. After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years [in the
time of the Antichrist] thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from
the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of
Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the
nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them."
The Antichrist will at first take over control of the world in stages. The first stage will
be securing the ten nations of Revelation 17 and 18 to unite to form his single
government for the Middle East. This will be centered in the Middle East with
Jerusalem as its capital. From there the rest of the western world will come under
the Antichrists domination (that is, Europe and the remainder of western
civilization). Once this is accomplished, the prophet Daniel states that he will hear
rumors from the north and the east (Daniel 11:44) directly from the region of
Persia [Iran] and Afghanistan which will be giving audible and visible signs that the
rest of the world community in the Orient (the Land of Magog) will be ready to move
toward the west and to conquer Israel and the western regions of the world who will
have revolted from the sovereignty of the ten kings of Revelation 17 and 18. At this
time, Israel will be an unwalled country and it will be a nation without armaments (all
weapons were surrendered to the Antichrist). (Ezekiel 38:8).

And then, from the very region of Iran and Afghanistan (and from the surrounding
regions) the armies of Gog [the invigorated Antichrist] will bring under his control the
armies of "the Land of Magog." The Book of Revelation informs us that this Gog will
lead these armies from the Magog (this land will represent the far-flung regions of
the earth [from all four cardinal directions of the inhabitable earth] (see Revelation
20:8-10). These vast armies will assemble in Iran and Afghanistan (and surrounding
areas) to come across the Euphrates River to invade the unwalled nation of Israel (as
Israel will then exist in the time of the Antichrist) (see Revelation 16:12). These
armies of Gog will come from the north and east. The River Euphrates will dry up and
allow them to move freely toward Israel. This is when they finally assemble in the
Valley of Megiddo (at the biblical site of Armageddon). At this final assemblage to
mount a war against Jerusalem, God will destroy the armies of Gog who come from
the Land of Magog (Revelation 16:16-21).

For example, in the Book of Revelation, the people of MAGOG are shown as
inhabiting regions in the extremities of the earth and away from the area of the
Middle East. It mentions the people of MAGOG as being located in the four quarters
of the earth (Revelation 20:8). Look at their history. People in the first century knew
MAGOG as inhabiting regions at the antipodes of the earth (a term which would
embrace both the American continents today). Indeed, in prophecies dealing also
with the End-Time, we find the people of JAVAN mentioned in the Table of Nations in
Genesis Ten (see Genesis 10:2) who were no longer located in Europe where early
biblical geographers put them, but at the End Time they are associated with MAGOG
and also TUBAL (another son of JAPHETH) who were a type of eastern Mongolian
people. So far from Europe did JAVAN finally migrate that the Isaiah said they came
to know nothing about the God of Israel (Isaiah 66:19). If this were a reference to
JAVAN in Europe (where they first settled after the Flood), it would make no sense
because most southern Europeans since the Exodus of Israel were aware of the
practices of Israels God. These End Time people, however, are to be far away.

The JAVAN whom Isaiah was speaking at the End Time are aligned with TUBAL (a
Mongolian people) who in turn will be associated with Magog. Even in Ezekiel
27:13,19, we also find Ezekiel no longer associating the people of JAVAN with
Europeans. The people of JAVAN had long left the area of southern Europe (though
the name JAVAN still retained it geographical hold on the southern region of Europe,
particularly in Greece). But Ezekiel in his day was now placing JAVAN (along with
Isaiah) with the mongoloid peoples of TUBAL who in turn were allied with MAGOG.
The people of JAVAN take their name even into the southeastern Asian area of
Indonesia where modern people are called JAVANESE.

It is not uncommon for people to give a name to a region and then the original
people move on to other areas (or are killed off) and the original geographical name
becomes associated with completely different people. An example of this is our state
in the United States called Massachusetts. If one would have traveled to the area
500 years ago there would have been numerous native tribes calling themselves the
Massachusetts people, but within 300 years (primarily because of disease that
Europeans brought among them) every single indigenous tribesman who was of the
original Massachusetts race of people died out and has been replaced by people of
European and African origin (with a smattering of most races in the world) who now
call themselves the people of Massachusetts. This has happened in other areas of
America. Thus, Shemitic peoples (and others) took over the areas of JAVAN in
Europe (with his four descendants named ELISHAH, RODANIM, KITTIM, and
TARSHISH). The same thing has occurred to the people of MAGOG in Asia and the
Americas. People from Europe and Africa have come into the original territory
colonized at first by MAGOG and now the people in North America have become a
minority group.

And what about the KITTIM (another son of JAVAN)? They were the original ones
who settled Cyprus and finally Italy, but they were pushed northward and east by
Shemites coming from the areas cited above. They finally went into the central areas
of Asia-to the area we call China today (an early name of China was CATHAY that
comes from the root word Khitai which answers to KITTIM).

All of this may appear complicated (and the study of history from the beginning of
creation is not an easy subject to understand because so many people have moved
to other areas of the world than where they first settled after the Flood of Noah).
However, what I have presented above is a general over-view of where the people of
MAGOG, JAVAN, KITTIM finally moved (oriental nations plus the aboriginal
populations of both North and South America). These nations from the extremities of
the earth will assemble at first in the region of Iran and Afghanistan (PERSIA and the
Hindu Cush, or AFGHANISTAN) and then, under the Antichrist they will sweep
westward to cross the Euphrates and regroup at Armageddon (Revelation 16).

The AFGHANISTAN that the United States and Britain are attacking is an area in
which we should NOT get entangled with troop concentrations and mired in the
politics of the area. If people do, our armies are not equipped to sustain guerilla type
of warfare in such inhospitable areas. Even now, it will be difficult to weed out all
terrorists from the region. Still, the answer to world affairs in the near future is NOT
Afghanistan, it is Jerusalem! It is Jerusalem that holds the answer to whether we
have a temporary peace for the near future and a stop to this present terrorism. If
things get cleared up in Jerusalem, the whole world will be a safer place for our form
of democratic western civilization to thrive and to progress.

The Lake of Fire Where Is it Located?

The nature of Gods judgment upon mankind has been a subject of great interest and
even concern to people throughout history. They want to know: what will happen to
me, my family, friends, and acquaintances; and even what might happen to my
enemies and the enemies of God when He judges the world with fire? The article this
month by Dr. Ernest L. Martin discusses one important aspect of Gods judgment at
the time of the end. The article is a clarification and significant expansion of Dr.
Martins original 1981 article The Lake of Fire Where Is it Located? 1

Most all scholars and theologians consider the idea of the Lake of Fire to be
figurative, used by the apostle John in the Book of Revelation as a metaphor to tell
about the terrible intensity of Gods judgment. A few might acknowledge that the
Lake of Fire was a historical reality, but fewer still would ever think that the Lake of
Fire will exist again in the future. After all, John only intended his references to be
symbolic.

If Johns mention of the Lake of Fire was not simply figurative, then what was the
reality of that Lake? If the Lake of Fire had a reality in the past, what about the
prophecies of a future Lake of Fire? Dr. Martin, differing from other scholars,
considers the prophetic to be just as true as the historic and symbolic. All are rooted
in biblical reality.

As you will read in this article, there are numerous and detailed historical accounts
that show that the Lake of Fire did exist in the past, and Johns audience knew
perfectly well the location and phenomena associated with that Lake referred to in
Johns prophecies. Dr. Martin shows that the Lake of Fire is literal and it will catch fire
again just before Christ returns to this earth.

Fire and God in Scripture

Understand that fire is often associated with Gods presence. Recall the burning bush
that appeared to be on fire and was not consumed (Exodus 3:2-4). Fire came out
from before YHWH (Leviticus 9:24). God Himself is described as a consuming
fire (Deuteronomy 4:24; Hebrews 12:29). In vision, Daniel saw fire emanate from
Gods throne:

I beheld and the Ancient of days did sit, his throne was like the fiery
flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth
from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten
thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and
the books were opened.

Daniel 7:910

Fire is used as a purifying agent (Zechariah 13:9; Malachi 3:23). Gods Holy Spirit
also purifies and is likened to literal fire of judgment (Matthew 3:11; Luke 3:16), and
at Pentecost Gods Spirit had an appearance like tongues of fire when it came upon
the apostles at Pentecost (Acts 2:14).

In the past God used fire to show His approval of sacrifices made by patriarchs and
leaders of Israel (Genesis 8:20, 15:1718; Leviticus 6:9, 13, 9:24; Judges 6:21; 1
Kings 18:24, 38; 1 Chronicles 21:26; 2 Chronicles 7:1, 3). Fire was used as a
demonstration of Gods power at Sinai (Exodus 19:18) and as a guide for Israel
(Exodus 13:21). When necessary, God punished directly by fire (Genesis 19:24;
Exodus 9:23; Numbers 11:13; 16:35; Leviticus 10:12).
Certain sacrifices were to be performed by fire (Leviticus chapter 1, 7:5). The smell
of sacrifices burnt by fire (roasted meat) was pleasing to God (Exodus 29:18;
Leviticus 1:9, 2:3, 3:5, 9). At least one time an entire city was burned as a burnt
offering to YHWH (Deuteronomy 13:16). Because fire purifies, Gods word is
compared to fire: Is not my word like as a fire? Says YHWH (Jeremiah 23:29),
and:

Wherefore thus says YHWH God of hosts, Because you [Jeremiah] speak
this word, behold, I will make my words in your mouth [like] fire, and this
people [like] wood, and it [the fire] shall devour them.

Jeremiah 5:14

Some of Gods judgments against mankind will come by fire (Psalm 50:3, 97:23)
and:

For, behold, YHWH will come with fire, and with his chariots like a
whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.
For by fire and by his sword will YHWH plead with all flesh: and the slain of
YHWH shall be many.

Isaiah 66:1516

This passage is referenced by the apostle Paul in 2 Thessalonians 1:78.

God will destroy the world by fire in the future:

Now the day of the Lord will be arriving as a thief, in which the heavens
shall be passing by with a booming noise, yet the elements shall be
dissolved by combustion [pur in Greek], and the earth and the works in it
shall be found.

At these all, then, dissolving, to what manner of men must you belong in
holy behavior and devoutness, hoping for and hurrying the presence of
Gods day, because of which the heavens, being on fire, will be dissolved,
and the elements decompose by combustion! Yet we, according to His
promises, are hoping for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteous-
ness is dwelling.

2 Peter 3:1012 Concordant Version

Fire is referred to as an insignia and badge of severe trials or misfortunes. Indeed,

our works of faith will be tried by fire as Christ tells us in Luke 12:4953, and as Paul
and Peter tell us:

Every mans work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it,
because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every mans work
of what sort it is. If any mans work abide which he has built thereupon, he
shall receive a reward. If any mans work shall be burned, he shall suffer
loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
 1 Corinthians 3:1315

The trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that
perishes, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor
and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.

The Lake of Fire: Where Is it Located?

By Ernest L. Martin, Ph.D., 1981
Edited by David Sielaff, February 2010

The new information in this article may come as a surprise, but it can be
shown from the Bible and history that the Lake of Fire is presently in
existence on this earth! You could be taken there, see it for yourself, and
come away without your hair being singed. Incredible? Not at all! This is
one article that all biblical students should read. It is not a quack theory
given simply to gain attention. It is a serious study with practical
information about this intriguing subject.

The New Testament mentions the existence of a lake which is destined to become the
place of judgment for the Beast, the False Prophet, Satan (after the Millennium), and
wicked human beings. It is called The Lake of Fire, or more accurately, The Lake of
the Fire. It is the Fire which makes the lake unique, and that fire is the fire of
judgment! The fuel that feeds the fire in this lake is brimstone (an old name for
sulfur).

Is there such a lake on earth today that fits the description of this Lake of the Fire?
The answer is yes. In fact, this lake has been in existence for at least 4000 years.
People have traveled to its region and have reported seeing fire and columns of
smoke ascending from its central sections. Such eyewitness reports have been given
from earliest times. They also have testified to the presence of sulfurous fumes
coming from the lake. And one scientist in our modern era has observed a hue of
absinthe (the Wormwood of Revelation 8:11) hovering on occasion over the lake.

Where is this biblical lake located? It is not difficult to discover its whereabouts if one
will pay attention to some of the identifying factors associated with the lake. Lets
notice some of these points.

(1) The first important matter to consider is what constitutes a lake as humans
are able to perceive it. The dictionary defines a lake as an area of depression in the
earth that contains a liquid (normally water). It always has higher ground
surrounding it, and in the case of ordinary lakes, it represents the central area of a
drainage region into which streams and/or rivers flow. Since the apostle John in the
Book of Revelation used the common term for lake, it could be reasonably believed
that he had a conventional lake in mind though he said it was The Lake of THE
Fire!

(2) Second, this particular lake had fire associated with it, and the fire was fueled
by sulfur. Someway, that chemical must be found in its midst.
(3) Third, John tells us that the lake will be in existence and active with fire prior to
the Millennium (Revelation 19:20). This means it will be fully in evidence before the
Second Advent of our Lord to this earth.

(4) Fourth, the Beast and False Prophet who fight against Christ at His coming will
be thrown into it. Since it is made plain in the Bible that the final battles to be fought
just prior to the Millennium will be at or around Jerusalem, it could reasonably be
suggested that the lake would be located in the same vicinity. Indeed, it is plainly
shown that the wicked will be tormented with fire and brimstone

in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb; and
the smoke of their torment ascends up for the ages of the ages: and they
have no rest day or night.

Revelation 14:1011

This is a direct reference to Isaiah 34:810:

For it is the day of YHWHs vengeance, and the year of recompense for the
controversy of Zion. And the streams [of Edom] shall be turned into pitch,
and the dust into brimstone, and the land [of Edom] shall become burning
pitch. It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke shall go up forever
[for the age]: from generation to generation it shall lie waste.

Isaiah 34:810

This burning of Edom (an area that borders the southern and southeastern portions
of the Dead Sea) occurs when the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the
heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll (Isaiah 34:4) just like the Book of
Revelation says will happen at the Second Advent of Christ (Revelation 6:14). This
region of Edom will have its streambeds flowing with rivers of fire. This pitch and
brimstone will flow into the Dead Sea located just east of Jerusalem. Since this
judgment takes place so near to Jerusalem, it could be reasoned that The Lake of
the Fire was nearby.

(5) There is also a fifth point. John says the lake has the factor of death associated
with it. The Lake of the Fire ... is the second death. This is where Hades (hell)
and Death are to be cast (Revelation 20:14). This reference shows that the Lake of
the Fire cannot be a symbol of the ordinary grave (Hades), because Hades is
thrown into it.

(6) Sixth, the lake cannot be Gehenna (another name of hell in the King James
Version). The area of Gehenna (sometimes called Tophet) is a valley located on the
southern edges of Jerusalem. In no way can the Valley of Hinnom (Gehenna) be
considered a lake.

It is also not the bottomless pit (Greek: abyss) because that is a pit in the earth
with a door that a key can open (Revelation 9:12). Admittedly, the description of
the abyss is figurative, but it is hardly suitable to connect a door and a key with the
entrance to a lake!
(7) A final seventh factor to consider is Johns teaching that this Lake of the Fire will
cease to exist after the Great White Throne period. This is because John says the
former things [including the Lake of the Fire] are passed away. Behold, I make
all things NEW (Revelation 21:45). The area in which this lake is found will one
day be healed and made new. Interestingly, there are some important scriptures that
speak of a prominent lake being healed.

These seven factors are not of themselves enough to identify the lake, but they give
us some excellent clues that become significant when we look at other scriptures and
a number of historical indications.

A Major Key

There is a prime New Testament reference which goes a long way in solving the
identification of The Lake of the Fire. It is found in the Book of Jude. This New
Testament writer was the brother of James, and the half-brother of our Lord. He said
that there was, in his time, an EXAMPLE of eternal fire [age-lasting fire] that was
an active and present witness to what the judgment of God would be like in the
future. That example was the geographical area where the cities of Sodom and
Gomorrah once existed. Jude called attention to the ruined condition of that region,
as well as the fire that was still burning in the locale. That is correct; the area around
the ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah was still having fires and smoke in the
time of Jude! Notice carefully what he said on the matter.

Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner,
giving themselves over to fornication [promiscuity] and going over to strange
flesh, are set forth [are presently set forth] for an EXAMPLE, suffering [are
presently suffering] the vengeance of age-lasting fire.

Jude verse 7

When one looks at that verse closely, it tells us very much about the environment
around the Dead Sea as it existed in the time of Jude! There were then active fires
and smoke in the area. Strabo, the 1st century geographer, described the
neighborhood as a land of fires. 1 Some of the fires were fed by the seepage of
naphtha (an old name for petroleum), bitumen, and other gaseous fumes.

A hundred years before Strabo, there is the record of a Jewish author who described
the Dead Sea area.

Wisdom saved a man [Lot] from a destruction of the godless, and he

escaped the fire that came down on the Five Cities, cities whose wickedness
is still attested by a SMOKING waste.

Wisdom of Solomon 10:7

This historical reference indicates that the Dead Sea region was then, back at that
time, still smoking from subterranean fires. Diodorus Siculus, who also lived in the 1 st
century BC, said: The fire which burns beneath the ground and the stench
render the inhabitants of the neighboring country sickly and very short-
lived (Book 2.48.8).
A few years later, in the time of Christs childhood, the Jewish writer Philo gave
witness to the burnings and smoke that were still ascending.

The fire of the lightning is most difficult to extinguish, and creeps on

pervading everything and smoldering. And a most evident proof of this is to
be found in what IS SEEN TO THIS DAY: for the smoke which is still emitted,
and the sulphur that men dig up there, are a proof of the calamity which
befell that country.

On Abraham 1.140141, Yonge translation 2

This fire and smoke was also seen coming from the midst of the Dead Sea as well.
The geographer Strabo called the Dead Sea a lake (as did Josephus, the early
Jewish historian 3 ) , and described the fiery characteristics which came from its
center. Strabo wrote:

In the midst of the lake is the source of the fire and also there are great
quantities of asphalt in the middle. The eruption is uncertain, because the
movements of fire have no order known to us, as it is of many other gases.

The Geography of Strabo, Book XVI, chapter 2, 44 4

Strabo continues:

Together with the asphalt there arises a great deal of soot, smoke, and
[gases] invisible to the sight, by which brass, silver, and everything shining,
even gold, is tarnished.

The Geography of Strabo, Book XVI, chapter 2, 42

Around the area were drops of pitch distilling from the rocks [petroleum], and
boiling streams.

The lake was formed by earthquakes and boiling outbursts OF FIRE, and
hot water impregnated with bitumen and brimstone [sulfur].

The Geography of Strabo, Book XVI, chapter 2, 44

It is interesting to note that the eruptions of fire, smoke, and asphalt were not
continuous. Only at irregular times did such phenomena occur, but the occasions
were frequent enough that eyewitnesses around the time of Christ and the apostles
called it a lake of fire and smoke. In fact, we are told by Henry Maundrell (an English
traveler to Palestine in 1697 AD) that most of the mapmakers prior to the 17th
century show smoke ascending above the surface of the water. 5 However,
when Maundrell visited the area, no smoke was seen by him. Yet the explorer Volney
in 1787 AD was told that smoke periodically could be observed coming out of the
Dead Sea.

The south of Syria, that is, the hollow through which the Jordan flows, is a
country of volcanoes [volcanic activity]: the bituminous and sulfurous sources
of the Lake Asphaltis [the Dead Sea], the lava, the pumice stones thrown
upon its banks, and the hot-baths of Tiberius, demonstrate that this valley
has been the seat of subterranean fire, which is not yet extinguished.
Clouds of smoke are often observed to issue from the lake, and new crevices
to be formed upon its banks.

Volney, Travels, vol. 1, pp. 281282

Volney was a very astute observer and he customarily inquired of the inhabitants
about the characteristics of the lands in which he visited. It seems, then, that as late
as the 18th century, there were still some rare outbursts of smoke and fire coming
from the middle of the lake. There have been no actual reports since that time to my
knowledge. It is true, however, that after major earthquakes, a great deal of asphalt
has broken up in the bottom of the lake and arisen to the surface. The lake itself has
seemingly been rather quiet compared to activity formerly described near the time of
Christ.

The first scientific investigation of the Dead Sea by Lynch in 1848 AD recounted that
there was a strong smell of sulfuretted hydrogen, a fetid sulfurous odor in
the night, the north wind was quite fresh and accompanied with a smell of
sulfur (Journal of R. Soc. vol. XVIII, p. 127). This describes some of the factors
comprising The Lake of the Fire and Brimstone [sulfur] in the Book of
Revelation, but, of course, there was no actual smoke seen by Lynch. He did,
however, on another occasion report a strange phenomenon that happened. One
time there appeared to be smoke coming from the center, though Lynch attributed
it to an illusion.

At one time today the sea assumed an aspect peculiarly sombre. ... The
great evaporation enveloped it in a thin, transparent vapor its purple tinge
contrasting strangely with the extraordinary color of the sea beneath, and,
where they blended in the distance, giving it the appearance of smoke from
burning sulfur It seemed a vast cauldron of metal, fused but motionless. In
the afternoon of the same day it looked like molten lead. At night it had the
exact hue of absinthe [or Wormwood].

Journal of Royal Society, ibid. pp. 276, 324

In the Book of Revelation, absinthe is called Wormwood (Revelation 8:11) which

caused waters to become bitter. What the explorer Lynch observed is interesting. The
scene gave the impression of smoke from burning sulfur ascending above the surface
of the Dead Sea, while parts of the lake gave the appearance of a vast cauldron of
molten lead. Is this illusory occurrence seen by Lynch what the ancients were talking
about? Maybe ... in part! But there is simply too much evidence from competent
observers of the past to dismiss all the eyewitness accounts as illusionary. Indeed,
only at certain times in the past did the lake erupt with its fiery display. And for the
last 200 years (maybe much longer), the lake has been relatively inactive.

The prophecies, however, suggest (and we will show this later in the article) that a
new and more violent eruption of sulfurous fire and smoke is destined to emerge
from the lake and surrounding areas, and that The Lake of the Fire mentioned in
the Book of Revelation will be very much active at the time of Christs Second Advent
to this earth. Such a possibility should surprise none of us moderns because we have
all witnessed the eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington State in 1980. The
Dead Sea area may well be getting ready for a renewal of its fiery activity. There are
yet a few years ahead of us before this will occur. In fact, it will happen at an exact
time in prophetic history.

The Lake of the Fire is the Dead Sea!

We will now show biblical evidence that the Dead Sea is the prophesied Lake of the
Fire. Let us recall that Jude said that the area of Sodom and Gomorrah was a
present example (in Judes time) for the eternal (age-lasting) fire that God has
designed for the punishment of the wicked (Jude verse 7). The Bible tells us that
those cities of which Jude spoke are now under the Dead Sea. The former Valley of
Siddim in which Sodom and Gomorrah were situated is the salt sea (Genesis
14:3).

These cities were positioned in the northern parts of where the Dead Sea now is.
They were not in the southern part of the lake! This is made plain in the biblical
revelation. Abraham and Lot looked over Sodom and Gomorrah from the site of
Bethel located about ten miles north of Jerusalem. In no way would it have been
possible for Abraham and Lot to have seen the southern part of the lake from Bethel
(Genesis 13:10). The Bible, on the other hand, makes the clear statement that those
two cities were east of Bethel (Genesis 13:11), not south-by-east!
 Figure 1: US Geological Survey, http://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/project-
pages/dead_sea/tectonic.html,
accessed January 4, 2010

Even the biblical description of the four northern kings attacking Sodom and
Gomorrah, shows them circling the Valley of Siddim on the east and then south, and
finally attacking Hazazon-tamar EnGedi [now half way up the western side of the
Dead Sea] before they encountered the King of Sodom (Genesis 14:78). This,
again, shows that Sodom and Gomorrah lay in the northern regions of the Dead Sea.
We are also told that the Wilderness of Zeboim (a near spelling of Zeboiim, the
neighbor city of Sodom) was directly east of Beth-boron and Bethel (1 Samuel
13:18). This also leads one from Bethel eastwards towards Jericho. Again, this
directs us to the northern parts around the Dead Sea, not its southern section.

The northern half of the lake is its deepest part. Its surface is about 1300 feet below
normal sea level, and soundings have been made in its northern sector of another
1300 feet to reach its bottom. It is truly the lowest area on earth below normal sea
level.
The Dead Sea is a part of what is called the Jordan rift a great depression (or fault
line) in the earth that starts north of Mount Hermon and continues southerly with the
Jordan River, the Sea of Galilee, and the Dead Sea in its nether regions. The rift
continues south to the Gulf of Aqaba, the Red Sea, into Africa, and ends up near the
source of the Nile River. It is the longest known fault line on earth. From satellite
pictures, it is a very prominent feature on the surface of the earth, well distinguished
from other land formations.

The Chasm of the Jordan the Example of Punishment

There is a reason why Jude centered his example of future judgment on the ancient
area of Sodom and Gomorrah. To him the Dead Sea (with its sulfurous smoke and
fiery characteristics) was the perfect exemplar given by God for His vengeance upon
evil angels and wicked humans. He could simply point to the smoldering cauldron of
the Dead Sea and tell the rebellious people that they would finally experience the
ravages of that Lake of Fire when it would burst forth in a final and catastrophic
eruption at the end of the age. Jude could also point to historical examples to
substantiate his prophetic beliefs. His prototypes of punishment were recorded in the
Book of Genesis! In fact, Judes reference to judgment went back before the Flood of
Noah. Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah, was a prophet that foretold even the
Second Advent of Christ (Jude verse 14). He was also a prophet that gave many
warnings of judgment. He even foretold the exact year for the occurrence of the
Flood of Noah. The son of Enoch was Methuselah. The names of individuals often had
prophetic meaning to them in ancient times. The name Methuselah, when broken
down into its elements, meant Die-Will-Send.

Philo, the Jewish philosopher in the early period of Christs life, acknowledged that
this was the meaning of his name (Posterity of Cain 1.44 and 1.73). This name was a
prophecy by Enoch of the coming judgment upon the pre-Flood world. It actually
meant that when this son of Enoch would die, It [the Flood] would be sent. And
amazingly, the Flood of Noah started in the very year that Methuselah died. The
prophecy came true! Methuselah did not die in the Flood; he died just a few days or
weeks before it! The reason Methuselah lived to be the oldest man who ever lived
(969 years of age) was to show that God will give people a long, long time to repent
of evil before He will execute any prophesied judgment!

That may all be fine and good, but what has this to do with the judgment on Sodom
and Gomorrah which was an example of the end-time vengeance of God? It has very
much to do with it. One should pay careful attention to the fact that Noah (the man
who was saved through the Flood) was the TENTH GENERATION of man (Genesis
chapter 5 and 1 Chronicles 1:14). God gave the pre-Flood world exactly ten
generations before their judgment came.

The fact that the Flood happened in the tenth generation from creation was
important to early biblical interpreters. This is because Enoch, according to Jude, also
prophesied of the second judgment to occur on earth when the Lord would appear
from heaven with ten thousands of his saints (Jude verses 1416). This particular
judgment was to be with fire, not water! Moreover, God promised that no more
universal punishment would come through the agency of water (Genesis 8:2122).
When one compares later prophecies of the Bible, the next adjudication was to arrive
on earth in the form of fire and brimstone. In ancient times it became popular to
view history and prophecy as occurring in a cyclical fashion (Ecclesiastes 1:9). Things
significantly reoccurred! Note that Noah was the tenth generation of man: (1) Adam,
(2) Seth, (3) Enos (4) Cainan, (5) Mahalaleel, (6) Jared, (7) Enoch, (8) Methuselah,
(9) Lamech, and finally (10) Noah in whose time the Flood destroyed the world!

Now note the next generation to follow Noah after the Flood. It was (1) Shem, then
(2) Arphaxad, (3) Salah, (4) Eber, (5) Peleg, (6) Reu, (7) Serug, (8) Nahor, (9)
Terah, (10) Abraham. The tenth generation from the watery destruction in the time
of Noah was Abraham. With Noah, God began a new creation in a physical way, but
with Abraham (also the tenth generation), God began a new spiritual creation. But
He also did something else. A further judgment against rebellion and sin took place
in that tenth generation just as one took place in Noahs tenth generation. God did
not bring the later destruction by water, but it was to be by FIRE! This was the time
that fire and brimstone fell on Sodom, Gomorrah, and the Valley of Siddim. So
thorough was the devastation that the whole of the Jordan Valley appeared as
though there was a thorough burning up of the entire world.

That opinion was expressed by Lots daughters. There is not a man [left] in the
earth, was their appraisal (Genesis 19:31). They thought the world had come to an
end by the fire and brimstone. After all, it was the tenth generation from Noah! What
a surprise they had when they discovered that only the Jordan rift valley was
destroyed. It was a great enough devastation, however, that it became the example
of the future judgment that God will rain down on rebellious men at the end of the
age.
In order to
warn men of
this future
judgment,
Jude
understood
the Jordan
Valley as a

contemporary example of a bursting forth of periodic flames of sulfurous origin, with

columns of smoke coming from the land and the lake. It was a further admonition of
what would occur at the end of the age, only this time with even more intensity. This
is why Jude placed the example of Gods judgment for the future directly into the
Jordan rift valley of his time right to the area of the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea was
once The Lake of the Fire, and it is destined to become that same Lake of the
Fire at the time of Christs Second Advent.

Further Testimony
We should briefly remind ourselves of the parable given by Christ about Lazarus and
the Rich Man (Luke 16:1931). The locale of that story is precisely in the area of the
Jordan rift and the northern region of the Dead Sea. Here was the Rich Man after
death in the place of fire. He looked and saw Lazarus in the bosom of Abraham.

Between Abraham and the Rich Man was a great gulf fixed (Luke 16:26). The
great gulf is clearly the Jordan rift valley. The Rich Man was east of the Jordan River,
and Lazarus and Abraham were west of it. The latter two were inheriting the
promises of the land of Palestine given to Abraham, but the Rich Man (Judah) was
not allowed to enter. He had to remain in the region of the fires! That area was just
east of Jordan, north of the Dead Sea, but in an area of continual and unrelenting
flames.

The significance of the parable (and it was a parable, not an actual occurrence), was
to show that the region of the great gulf was a place of punishment. It was in the
same location that Jude placed the example of age-lasting fire to try the wicked in
the future (Jude verse 7). 6

The Valley of Hinnom

With the information that the great chasm or gulf of the Jordan rift (with the smoking
Dead Sea in its midst) is the place of punishment for the wicked, we can now
understand much better the position of Gehenna, the Valley of Hinnom, in this
scheme of future punishment. Our Lord frequently referred to Gehenna as a place of
fiery judgment (Matthew 5:22, 2930, 10:28; Mark 9:47; Luke 12:5, etc.). This
particular valley was situated outside the southern walls of Jerusalem. It was a place
where the fires to the pagan god Moloch were sanctified (Jeremiah 32:35; Ezekiel
20:31). It was also called Tophet.

For Tophet is ordained of old, yea, for the king [the evil king] it is prepared;
he has made it deep and large: the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the
breath of YHWH, like a stream of brimstone, does kindle it.

Isaiah 30:33

It is the prison where some high ones (angels) and kings on earth will be
incarcerated. Within the stretch of its confines is a very deep pit (a bottomless pit)
and is the place of containment for evil angels and finally for Satan during the
Millennium (Revelation 20:13). We will see in a moment that indications show that
this pit of imprisonment (the abyss) is associated with the Valley of Hinnom (Tophet).

The Valley of Hinnom commenced at Jerusalem and journeyed eastwards at a

precipitous rate until it emptied into the northern parts of the Dead Sea. The
watercourse is known to this very day as the Wady (the streambed) of FIRE! This
Valley of Hinnom (the Gehenna of scripture) was about fifteen miles long. It
plummeted into the Dead Sea (The Lake of the Fire). This means that Gehenna and
the Lake of the Fire were typically connected.

The ceremony of the Scapegoat (Azazel) on the Day of Atonement was a part of this
typical story (Leviticus chapter 16). Two goats were selected. One was to be
sacrificed in Jerusalem, while the other was to be taken by an able-bodied man into
the wilderness east of Jerusalem. Indeed, the Scapegoat was to be taken down the
Valley of Hinnom to a place about three miles east and south of Jerusalem called
Beth Chaduda where the goat was allowed to go over a very deep cliff (like an abyss)
so that he would never come in contact with civilization again (Yoma 67b; Targum
Pseudo Jonathan 14:10 and Targum Onkelos Leviticus 14:10).

This part of the wilderness was where the demons were supposed to be. It was near
this region where Christ was tempted of the Devil (Matthew 4:111). The place was
a part of the drainage system of the Wady en-Nar the extension of Gehenna, the
Streambed of Fire! From this area, the Valley of Fire (Gehenna) ran directly
eastwards into the Dead Sea (The Lake of the Fire). This region between Beth
Chaduda and the Dead Sea contained the abyss mentioned in the Book of Revelation.
It will be a place of temporary confinement of Satan and his angelic powers for the
Millennium.

And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key to the
bottomless pit [the abyss] and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on
the dragon [just like the fit man of Leviticus 16:21 with the Scapegoat], that old
serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and
cast him into the abyss, and shut him up [away from mankind and civilization],
and set a seal on him that he should deceive the nations no more, till the
thousand years should be fulfilled: after that he must be loosed a little
season.

Revelation 20:13

The place that the Azazel Goat (the Scapegoat) was taken in the ritual of the Day of
Atonement is where Satan will be kept for the Millennium. Again, it is also the place
in the wilderness where Christ defeated Satan during His forty days of temptation.
Everything fits perfectly in this prophetic scenario.

The Place of the Scapegoat

No one can adequately grasp the typical teaching about Gehenna, the abyss
(bottomless pit), and the Lake of Fire, without realizing what the area is like in which
the Scapegoat was taken. The geographical name of the region is the Wilderness of
Judaea. It is one of the unique areas on earth. That wilderness is an utter desert of
the worst kind, and yet it was right next door to the region of olive oil, and
honey: a land wherein you shall eat bread without scarceness, you shall not
lack any thing in it (Deuteronomy 8:89). The margin between paradise and
utter desolation is often no more than one, two, or three miles. People who travel
to the area are amazed at the abrupt contrast.

George Adam Smith, who wrote the classic book The Historical Geography of the
Holy Land, gave some graphic descriptions of this wasteland to the east of
Jerusalem. Though I have seen it myself many times, the words of a professional
geographer cannot be surpassed for description. Note what Professor Smith had to
say about this land of the Scapegoat:
 [T]he wilderness of Judaea. In the Old Testament this land is called
the Jeshinion, a word meaning devastation (p. 312).

It is one of the driest and most poisoned regions on our planet (p.
269).

Those fifteen miles of chaos [east of Jerusalem], sinking [downward] to

a stretch of the Dead Sea, you begin to understand the influence of
the desert on Jewish imagination and literature. It gave the ancient
natives of Judaea the sense of living next door to doom; the sense
of how narrow is the border between life and death; the awe of the
power of God, who can make contiguous regions so opposite in
character (p. 314).

For hours, as you travel across these hills, you may feel no sign of
life, except the scorpions and vipers which your passage startles, in
the distance a few wild goats or gazelles, and at night the wailing of
the jackal and the hyenas howl (p. 317).

From the heart of the country near Jerusalem, the wilderness of Judaea
carries the violence and desolation right down to the Dead Sea Valley
(p. 313314).

There could hardly be an area more foreboding and awesomely stark on the surface
of this earth! What is so striking is the contrast. A beautiful and well watered land on
the west side and crests of the Holy Land, that then so quickly and abruptly changes
to the thorough desolation of the Land of the Scapegoat, the region traversed by
Gehenna (the Streambed of Fire), the location of the abyss (bottomless pit), and
reaching to the Dead Sea (the Lake of the Fire).

This is the very region where Christ battled Satan for forty days and won! But this is
also where Satan will be bound (the area of the Scapegoat) for 1000 years
(Revelation 20:13). There could be no harsher area for confinement. This is the
region of the abyss (the bottomless pit) of the Book of Revelation.

The abyss into which Satan is shut up is not the Lake of Fire! He is only placed in the
abyss for 1000 years. Only after the Millennium is Satan cast into the Lake that
burns with Fire and Brimstone (Revelation 20:10). Satan will be kept in a deep pit (a
prison) east of Jerusalem between Beth Chaduda and the Dead Sea within the region
of the Valley of Fire, the eastern parts of Gehenna.

Mention in the Book of Enoch

In a book written about 100 years before the birth of Christ and attributed to Enoch,
we have more information about these matters as understood by Jewish people who
lived back at that time. This Book of Enoch is not a canonical book of the Bible, but it
is referred to by Jude in verses 1415 of his epistle. It does describe a great deal of
information that is very compatible with teachings found in the Book of Revelation.
The Book of Enoch gives much typical teaching about Gehenna, the Abyss, and the
Lake of Fire, as believed in many Jewish quarters in the time of Christ.
In this book, the ancient Enoch was supposed to have seen in vision the manner in
which God would judge evil angels and wicked men. In Enoch 54:1, he sees a deep
valley with burning fire. This is the streambed of Gehenna as it leaves Jerusalem
for its eastward trek to the Wilderness of Judaea and the Dead Sea. Once a person
starts down the streambed, he gets closer to the wilderness. He then comes in
contact with the kings and the mighty mentioned in Isaiah 24:2122. This is the
place of the pit (or the abyss). It answers to the Beth Chaduda region where the
Scapegoat (the Azazel) is cast into an abyss down a steep and precipitous cliff. The
Book of Enoch says this is where iron chains are placed on those who descend
into its bosom. The bosom of the abyss is the place (or places) where the evil
angels will be confined temporarily.

These are being prepared for the hosts of Azael, so that they may
take them and cast them into the abyss [the bottomless pit] of complete
condemnation (Enoch 54:5).

And God will imprison those angels, who have shown

unrighteousness in that burning valley [that is, the eastern parts of
Gehenna, the Wady en-Nar] in the mountains of Israel (Enoch 67:4).

This was the very place where the Scapegoat (the Azazel goat) was taken in the
ritual of The Day of Atonement. As said before, this was in an area down the Wady
en-Nar east of Beth Chaduda (also spelled Hadudo) about three miles easterly of
Jerusalem (see Mishnah, Yoma, 6.5). 7 The Book of Enoch goes on to say that it is
the same place where a star had fallen from heaven ... into the abyss: now
that abyss [the bottomless pit] was narrow and deep, and horrible, and dark
(Enoch 88:12).

The apostle John in the Book of Revelation spoke of the same place.

I saw a star fall from heaven into the earth: and to him was given the key
to the bottomless pit [the abyss]. And he opened the bottomless pit; and
there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace.

Revelation 9:12

The Book of Enoch also said the archangels of God will take hold of Azazel (the
Scapegoat) with his angels and cast them into the burning furnace (Enoch
54:6).

A Temporary, Not a Final Prison

The Book of Enoch (as does the Book of Revelation) recognizes the abyss as only a
place of temporary punishment. Professor R.H. Charles, who translated the Book of
Enoch, said this prison is the burning valley (Gehenna) and this is the
preliminary prison, not the final. 8 The apostle John in the Book of Revelation
said the same thing. Satan will be placed in the abyss for 1000 years. He is only
placed in the Lake of the Fire (a different place from the abyss) after the Millennium
is over (Revelation 20:110).
As said before, the typical location of this abyss is where the Scapegoat was taken a
few miles east of Jerusalem down the Valley of Fire (the eastern extension of
Gehenna). This abyss was somehow supposed to be connected with the lowest
waters under the earth and sometimes those waters were considered hot and
boiling. This is where angels and Satan are to be bound. These are the ones that the
apostle Paul refers to when he spoke about those under the earth in Philippians
2:10. The apostle Peter said that some angels had been placed there as early as the
Flood of Noah (1 Peter 3:1920). Christ even went to preach to those angels in that
prison back in the time of Noah.

But as said before, this abyss is not the final place of punishment for the rebellious.
That last place is The Lake of the Fire. That lake is located farther on down the
mountain from the abyss just east of Beth Chaduda. It descends further to the
lowest habitable spot on this earth, which is the Dead Sea (the Lake of Fire). The
Book of Enoch calls this area the valley of the angels who led astray mankind
burned beneath that land (Enoch 67:7). This is a reference to the Jordan rift
valley where the Dead Sea is located.

This was the area mentioned by Jude, set forth as an example of age-lasting fire
(Jude verse 7). The depths of Tartarus (where the evil angels were kept) were
somehow connected with these final waters of judgment. Into these depths will flow
streams of fire, according to the Book of Enoch (67:7). 9

Remarkably, there is a prophecy of the future (connected with Christs Second

Advent) that says all the streambeds of the country of Edom, located in the
southeastern watershed of the Dead Sea area, will become filled with fire and
burning pitch.

For it is the day of YHWHs vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the
controversy of Zion. And the streams shall be turned into pitch, and the dust
into brimstone, and the land [of Edom] shall become burning pitch. It shall
not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for the age
[olam]: from generation to generation it shall lie waste.

Isaiah 34:810

This happens at the exact time the heavens depart as a scroll (Isaiah 34:4) and this
is directly quoted in the Book of Revelation as a time associated with Christs Second
Advent (Revelation 6:14).

These are the several streams of Edom that will flow into the Dead Sea. The streams
will traverse part of the Valley of Jehoshaphat called in Joel 3:1214 the Valley of
Decision. This area of the southern portion of the Dead Sea will be the location of the
greatest military action in history. The nations of the world will assemble at
Armageddon and journey to Jerusalem and to this Valley of Decision at the southern
end of the Dead Sea to fight with Christ at his Second Advent. 10 This is the same
battle when Gog (the leader of these armies in the Valley of Decision) will have
great hailstones, fire, and brimstone coming down on him and his rebellious
army. The whole countryside near the Dead Sea will once again become a fiery
furnace when the judgment of God begins to occur at the coming of Christ back to
this earth.
Future Reactivation of the Dead Sea Fires

The Dead Sea east of Jerusalem is the Lake of Fire mentioned in the Book of
Revelation. Today when one goes to the area, there are no fires or smoke to be seen
coming from its midst. Throughout most of the historical period since the time of
Abraham, however, it was normally described as a lake that periodically erupted with
sulfurous flames and columns of smoke could be seen emerging from its center. But
for some reason over the past two centuries or so, the lake has been quiet. Though
some earthquakes have occurred in the region which have loosed a great deal of
asphalt from its bottom, and this has risen to the surface, nothing has happened that
would cause any of us to call the Dead Sea a Lake of Fire as most people of the
past would have described it.

This will all change. The Book of Revelation shows clearly that the Lake of the
Firewill be in existence at the Second Advent (Revelation 19:1920). We may not
have many years left to see its reactivation occur. An event is mentioned by the
apostle John that could well be the catalyst that reactivates the fire. When the sixth
seal of the Book of Revelation is opened, a most remarkable thing takes place.

And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great
earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon
became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig
tree casts her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the
heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain
and island were moved out of their place.

Revelation 6:1214

This gigantic earthquake is associated with the time when the heavens depart as a
scroll. There is only one place in the entire Bible that speaks of this exact
phenomenon. That is when the streams of Edom will become burning pitch:

For it is the day of YHWHs vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the
controversy of Zion. And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and
the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning
pitch.

Isaiah 34:89

This occurs when:

all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled
up together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falls off
from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree. For my sword shall be
bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Edom, and upon the
people of my curse, to judgment.

Isaiah 34:45

These fiery streams of Edom will flow directly into the Dead Sea.
But there is more! This event that Isaiah tells about is also the exact time that the
sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great
and the terrible day of YHWH come (Joel 2:31). This is when the nations of the
world assemble in the Valley of Jehoshaphat.

Assemble yourselves, and come, all you heathen [nations], and gather
yourselves together round about. ... Let the heathen [nations] be wakened,
and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the
nations round about.

Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of YHWH is near
in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the
stars shall cease their shining. ... And the heavens and the earth shall
shake.

Joel 3:1112, 1416

At the great earthquake, and when the nations are gathered around the Dead Sea
area (in the Valley of Jehoshaphat), that is when the sun, moon, and stars are
darkened. Since the streams of Edom (which are in the same general region) will
become burning pitch, and fire and brimstone will rain down on the heathen at the
great shaking against Gog and his forces (Ezekiel 38:1922), there will be a great
conflagration from heaven around the Dead Sea.

Christ said there will also be darkness and obscurity over Jerusalem (Matthew
24:29). In another place Christ said to remember the example of Lot (Luke 17:22
37). Lot fled from the cities of the plains of Jordan from the Dead Sea area. That was
when the whole of the Jordan rift valley went up in smoke. Jude said this area was
the example of the future judgment that was to come upon the rebellious (Jude
verse 7).

This is the exact region of the Valley of Jehoshaphat, though that location is in the
southern part of the Dead Sea area. Throughout the region we are told that the
blood will flow as high as horses bridles. It will do so for 1600 furlongs (stadia). That
equals about 184 miles (Revelation 14:20). The valley in which this will happen is
without the city. The city under discussion was Mystery Babylon, which is
Jerusalem at the end of the age.

The Jordan rift valley from Mount Hermon to the end of the watershed south of the
Dead Sea is almost exactly 1600 furlongs in length. This again is clearly the rift
valley east of Jerusalem, the great chasm or gulf where Sodom and Gomorrah once
were. It is also where the Dead Sea is! Since the whole of the Jordan rift depression
went up in fire and smoke and brimstone in the time of Abraham and Lot (Genesis
19:2829), this territory will once again become the fiery crucible that it once was.
Jude tells us that the first incineration was only a type, an example of the final
holocaust. Jude said: Likewise [in the same fashion], will the judgment occur
when YHWH comes with ten thousands of his saints (Jude verse 14). 11

It is primarily the smoke that comes from the reigniting of the Dead Sea that causes
the sun, moon, and stars to be darkened. This is when the Dead Sea will once again
become The Lake of the Fire that it was periodically in the time of Christ. Even
the sun being darkened at the time of Christs crucifixion could have come by an
eruption of the Dead Sea (Matthew 27:45), and Peter must have been referring to a
recent darkening of the sun and moon when he mentioned Joels prophecy in Acts
2:1720. That darkening smoke referred to in the prophecy had to emerge from the
Valley of Jehoshaphat in the area south of the Dead Sea. God could have bestowed
at Christs crucifixion a foretaste of the judgment to come from the Lake of Fire.

This all means that the Dead Sea region is once again to become The Lake of the
Fire. It will occur just before the Day of the Lord when gigantic earthquakes and
heavenly disturbances take place. There are yet, however, a few more years before
this occurs. There is a day coming when the Dead Sea will erupt with a holocaust
that will make Mount St. Helens of recent date [1980] seem like childs play. It will
be a spectacle to see. Thankfully the Bible teaches that all of Gods people will be
able to escape (as did Lot) this wrath of Gods vengeance to come (1 Thessalonians
5:9).

The Lake of the Fire to be Healed

Once Christ has returned to this earth and established his kingdom, Ezekiel says that
a river of fresh water will emerge from underneath a new temple that will be built in
the high country of Israel (Ezekiel chapter 47). This fresh water stream will go
eastwards into the Dead Sea. It could well follow the old watercourse of the Wady
(the Streambed) of Fire and change the characteristics of the land bordering it. This
is no doubt what will occur because we are told that an abundance of fruit trees and
medicinal plants will flourish around its banks (Ezekiel 47:12). This would mean that
there would no longer be any Gehenna (Valley of Fire) going through that terrible
wilderness. In fact, we have the express teaching of the Bible that Gehenna
(otherwise called Tophet) will become holy to the Lord.

And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields
unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate toward the east,
shall be holy unto YHWH.

Jeremiah 31:40

This will be the end of Gehenna!

With the Book of Ezekiel telling us that a river of fresh water will issue forth from the
new temple (and gets larger as it approaches the Dead Sea), perhaps the river is fed
by other streams as it descends and this will result in parts of the Wilderness of
Judaea being healed (especially those quarters on the banks of the river). The region
of the abyss, however, where Satan will be imprisoned, will remain in desolation as
well as parts surrounding the Dead Sea (Ezekiel 47:11).

The great quantities of fresh water flowing into the Dead Sea will cause it to become
fresh and clean with a great number of fish within its borders.

And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from En-gedi
even unto En-eglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish
shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea [the
Mediterranean], exceeding many.
 Ezekiel 47:10

How long it will take the Dead Sea to become alive is not recorded. Since there will
be a long period of time when peace and safety will be on earth, and a time when
many of the deserts will blossom, it could be that several years or even centuries will
take place before the whole of the Jordan rift area is healed. But it will be healed and
made beautiful once again!

More Fire to Come

This is still not the end of the Lake of the Fire, however! The Book of Revelation
says there will yet be one more outburst of fire and brimstone that issues from the
lake. It will once again, at the end of the Millennium, become a Lake of Fire. This will
happen when God sends down fire out of heaven (Revelation 20:9) to judge the
wicked at the conclusion of the 1000 years!

This happens when Satan is finally released from the abyss (the bottomless pit) and
he is allowed to cause a final rebellion to God. Dire consequences will come from God
because of this. And no wonder! People on earth will have witnessed for such a long
time the beauties and blessings of the Kingdom of God on earth even with Gehenna
and the Lake of the Fire healed, and yet they allow themselves to be tempted of
Satan the Devil. Because of this, God will re-activate the old area of punishment.
This time, Satan will be cast into the renewed Lake of Fire. This will last throughout
the ages of the Great White Throne.

EXCURSUS: The Bible nowhere tells us how long those ages within that judgment
period will last. Some have applied the reference of Isaiah 65:1725 to this space of
time. This is not possible. The scene in Isaiah is millennial, and is not applicable to a
later period. It could mean that in the Millennium a generation could be reckoned a
hundred years. If so, the millennial duration would answer to ten generations of
peace before the judgment at the end of the Millennium when Satan is released from
the abyss. If so, then there would have been

1. ten generations for the pre-flood world until a destruction; also

2. ten generations until the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah in Abrahams

day; and

3. ten generations of the Millennium that will see a fiery judgment also at its
end.

It could well mean that the ages that accompany the Great White Throne may also
last for a similar period of 1,000 years. No one, of course, can know this for sure! 12
ELM

The Lake of Fire to Permanently Cease

When the time of the Great White Throne period is over, God will then create a new
heavens and a new earth (Revelation 21:1). All the former things (including the
Lake of the Fire) will pass away (Revelation 21:45). Behold, I make all things
NEW (Revelation 21:5).
This is when God the Father himself finally comes down to this earth to establish his
residence here (Revelation 21:23). There will be a New Jerusalem totally unlike any
Jerusalem that preceded it. There will be no need for any earthly temple (Revelation
21:22), but there will be a river of water come forth from the throne of God
(Revelation 22:12). The physical example of water coming from the temple that
existed in Ezekiels prophecy (the millennial temple) will have served as a foretaste
to this one in the new earth.

There will even be nations that God will allow to be on earth at that time (Revelation
21:2426; 22:25). These will be a new creation of humans, because all humans
who will have lived from the time of Adam to the end of the Great White Throne will
now be spiritual beings (1 Timothy 2:46). This new creation of humans could well
be a hint that God has further creations of human beings in mind both for this
earth, and other regions of the universe because the heavens were capable of
receiving inhabitants (Deuteronomy 30:4).

Since the prime characteristic that describes God is His role as creator (Genesis
1:1), it could be that the creation of new sons and daughters will continue
throughout all eternity. We could no doubt play a part in helping God in His continued
creation. After all, we are His children and we shall not only see Him as He is, we
shall be like Him (1 John 3:2). Our present human race has a destiny that is
awesome in potential and glorious in scope.

Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of
man, the things that God has prepared for them that love him.

1 Corinthians 2:9

The time is coming when death will be abolished for all who have ever lived (1
Corinthians 15:26). And the final conclusion of all things is that God will become all
and in all! (1 Corinthians 15:28). There will then be no more Gehenna, no more
abyss, no more Dead Sea (Lake of the Fire). All that will be left is LIFE and the
beginning of a series of new creations in which we can participate for all eternity
that lies ahead of us! 13

Ernest L. Martin, 1981

Edited by David Sielaff, February 2010

1 The Geography of Strabo, XVI, chapter 2, 4344, in Vol. VII, H.L. Jones
translation, Loeb Classical Library edition, 1932, accessed November 10, 2009.
DWS

2 The Works of Philo Judaeus, the Contemporary of Josephus, trans. by C.D. Yonge
(London: Henry G. Bohn, 185455). DWS

3 Here is Josephus extended description of the Dead Sea in his Wars of the Jews
4.476485, Whiston translation:
 The nature of the Dead Sea is also worth describing. It is, as I have said
already, bitter and unfruitful. It is so buoyant that it bears up the
heaviest things that are thrown into it; nor is it easy for anyone to make
things sink therein to the bottom, if he had a mind so to do. Accordingly,
when Vespasian went to see it, he commanded that some who could not
swim, should have their hands tied behind them, and be thrown into the
deep, when it so happened that they all swam, as if a wind had forced
them upwards.

Moreover, the change of the colour of this lake is wonderful, for it

changes its appearance thrice every day; and as the rays of the sun fall
differently upon it, the light is variously reflected. However, it casts up
black clods of bitumen in many parts of it; these float on the top of the
water, and resemble both in shape and size headless bulls; and when the
labourers that belong to the lake come to it, and catch hold of it as it
hangs together, they draw it into their ships; but when the ship is full, it
is not easy to cut off the rest, ...

This bitumen is not only useful for the caulking of ships, but for the cure
of mens bodies: accordingly, it is mixed in a great many medicines. The
length of this lake is about seventy-three miles, where it is extended as
far as Zoar in Arabia; and its breadth is about nineteen miles.

The country of Sodom borders it. It was of old a most pleasant land, both
for the fruits it bore and the riches of its cities, although it be now all
burnt up. It is related how, for the impiety of its inhabitants, it was burnt
by lightning; in consequence of which there are still the remainders of
that divine fire; and the traces [or shadows] of the five cities are still to be
seen, as well as the ashes growing in their fruits, which fruits have a
colour as if they were fit to be eaten, but if you pluck them with your
hands, they dissolve into smoke and ashes. And thus what is related of
this land of Sodom has these marks of credibility which our very sight
affords us. DWS

4 Here is a different translation of The Geography of Strabo, XVI, chapter 2, 44, in

Vol. VII, H.L. Jones translation, Loeb Classical Library edition, 1932, accessed
November 10, 2009.

Many other evidences are produced to show that the country is fiery; for
near Moasada [Masada] are to be seen rugged rocks that have been
scorched, as also, in many places, fissures and ashy soil, and drops of
pitch that emit foul odours to a great distance, and ruined settlements
here and there; and therefore people believe the oft-repeated assertions
of the local inhabitants, that there were once thirteen inhabited cities in
that region of which Sodom was the metropolis, but that a circuit of
about sixty stadia of that city escaped unharmed; and that by reason of
earthquakes and of eruptions of fire and of hot waters containing asphalt
and sulphur, the lake burst its bounds, and rocks were enveloped with
fire; and, as for the cities, some were swallowed up and others were
abandoned by such as were able to escape. DWS
 5 Henry Maundrell, p. 454, Bohn Edition that Dr. Martin referenced. The full title is A
Journey from Aleppo to Jerusalem: At Easter, A.D. 1697: to which is Added an
Account of the Authors Journey to the Banks of the Euphrates at Beer, and to the
Country of Mesopotamia (S.G. Simpkins, 1836), p. 143 from the Google scanned
edition, accessed November 10, 2009. DWS

6 Dr. Martin explains the interpretation of this parable in his article The Real
Meaning of Lazarus and the Rich Man. DWS

7 Mishnah Yoma 6:5 [words in brackets are in the original Rodkinson translation]:

The high-priest was told: The goat has reached the desert. How was
the fact known? Watches were stationed on high towers [meaning
doubtful], who lifted up flags [to give signals]. Said R. Jehudah: They could
have excellent evidence [by calculating the time]. From Jerusalem to Beth
Hadudo was three miles. DWS

8 R.H. Charles, The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament, Vol. 2,
Oxford, 1913, 2004), p. 231. DWS

9 Enoch 67:7:

And through its valleys proceed streams of fire, where these angels are
punished who had led astray those who dwell upon the earth. DWS

10 For even greater detail regarding these very end-time events, see Dr. Martins
article New Prophetic Discoveries Concerning the End Time, where the Valley of
Jehoshaphat and the Valley of Decision are indicated in prophecy, complete with
maps showing these vital areas. The visual understanding of the text given by
these maps will greatly clarify the next several paragraphs. DWS

11 This is when these events will intersect directly with your life, at your resurrection
from the dead. See my article Your Resurrection and the other important
articles listed by Dr. Martin on this subject, and particularly in his book The
Essentials of New Testament Doctrine (Portland, OR: ASK Publications, 2001),
available both online and for sale as a printed book. The apostle Paul gives more
information about this moment in 2 Thessalonians 1:710 (Concordant Version):

and to you who are being afflicted, ease, with us, at the unveiling of
the Lord Jesus from heaven with His powerful messengers, in flaming
fire, dealing out vengeance to those who are not acquainted with God
and those who are not obeying the evangel of our Lord Jesus Christ
who shall incur the justice of eonian extermination from the face of the
Lord, and from the glory of His strength whenever He may be coming
to be glorified in His saints and to be marveled at in all who believe
(seeing that our testimony to you was believed) in that day. DWS

12 In 1997 Dr. Martin wrote in his article The Time Periods for the Resurrections:

After the Millennium, Satan will be released to cause a final war, and
then he will be placed in the Lake of Fire. Then comes the age of the
 Great White Throne judgment (which Peter says will also last 1000 years
2 Peter 3:8). This period begins with the earth and the heavens fleeing
away (Revelation 20:11) which results in a new earth and a new heaven
described in Revelation 21:1 (these two events are the same). This age
begins with a resurrection of all those of the first 6000 years (from Adam
to the Second Advent) who were not resurrected at Christs Second
Advent (Revelation chapters 21 & 22).

See also my Addendum: The Age of the Ages to Dr. Martins 1984 article The
Doctrine of the Ages in the Bible which discusses that aion of 1,000 years after
the millennium. Both will be ruled by Christ. Only after this final aion or age will
Christ give up all rule to the Father (1 Corinthians 15:28). This is a problem for
believers in the trinity and theologians call this subordinationism. Such
subordination of Christ to God the Father has always been the case since Christs
creation. It will always be a fact on into the future, even beyond the end of the
ages, beyond the plan of God for mankind. For a quick background understanding
of this subject, see the Wikipedia article Subordinationism. For further study
refer to the basic sources listed there. DWS

13 For more information on the matter of Gehenna, Hades, Tartarus, and future
punishment, see Dr. Martins article The Biblical Teaching of Hell. Some have
had problems with Revelation 21:8:

But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers,
and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have
their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone: which is the
second death.

This verse seems to refer to events that occur after Revelation 21:5 where all
things are created new, including the Lake of Fire. In 21:5 the Lamb tells the
apostle John to write the words of Revelation 21:68 that refer to a time before
all things are made new. Death has an end (Isaiah 25:8). Regarding the end of
death throughout Gods creation, see The Death of Death. ELM/DWS