Table of Contents
The General Close Of Probation
We know that there are two separate “closings of probation”: one for SDAs and one for everyone else. This article addresses only the second close of probation, which applies to everyone worldwide. We now have a clear indication of exactly when this will take place. And the answer is found in the book of Daniel in the Bible! We don’t know the date yet, but we do know exactly what event will mark the close of probation! And we know that this event is indeed VERY CLOSE!
What follows is the content from a video made by AmazingDiscoveries.Org, and I have embedded a link to their video below.
It’s Happening! The Bible Predicted What is Happening in the Middle East | Part 1
Hi everyone, we have a very special program for you today. We’re going to be discussing what the Middle East has to do with Bible prophecy, and I’m not going to pose any questions. I’m going to tell you straight that it does have a lot to do with Bible prophecy.
I’m here with Tabea, my wife. Hi there. And we have Jacob, our research assistant.
Hi, glad to be here. We have Wendy, our president. Hello.
And we’re going to be discussing this very important topic of the Middle East, what’s happening there right now, and is it in the Bible? I think this is a very important subject for right now. As we can see, the wars that are going on in the Middle East, there are some serious action, and a lot of other nations are threatening to either get involved or are getting involved. And where is it going to take us, and does the Bible have anything to say about it? I think that’s a very important question.
Now, I want to begin in Daniel chapter 8, because this is going to give us context to understand the areas that we see getting involved in the wars right now, namely Israel and Iran. So we’re going to see, are those locations mentioned in the Bible? And in fact, they are. But before we do this, I would just like to bow our heads for prayer.
Our Heavenly Father, as we approach your word, we need your divine wisdom. We thank you so much that we can come together and that we can study your amazing scriptures. Lord, give us wisdom that we can understand the truths and the prophecies that are unfolding right before our very eyes.
We thank you for this. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Amen. I would like to start in Daniel chapter 8. Daniel chapter 8, and we’re going to take a look at verse 3. Could someone read verse 3? I can. Then I lifted up mine eyes and saw, and behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns.
And the two horns were high, but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last. Okay. So we have, and I’m going to back up to verse 2 and read one line.
And I saw in a vision. So is Daniel actually seeing this thing take place? Like in real life? Well, he’s seeing it in a vision, not actually in the moment of it. Right.
He wasn’t sitting on a hill somewhere. He’s seen this ram come up and do this. No.
He’s in vision. So this is a vision of God that God is trying to show him events that are going to transpire. Right? So now we have this ram that he’s seeing.
And who is this ram? Well, we don’t have to guess. Can someone please read verse 20 of the same chapter? Daniel 8, 20. Sure.
The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. Okay. So we have Media and Persia represented by this ram with two horns.
So now let’s continue into verse 4. Can someone read verse 4? I saw the ram pushing westward and northward and southward. Let me stop you there. So we have three directions mentioned.
What are these three directions? North, west and south. Okay. So if he’s pushing towards the north, towards the south and towards the west, what area is he coming from? East.
From the east. Okay. Now we need to ask the question, where is Persia located? It is in the east.
It’s in the east, right? But east of where maybe should we ask? So that’s a very good question. When we’re discussing things in the Bible, you don’t see world kingdoms come into play or anything like this unless they start to have connection to God’s people. So God’s people is the center of attention in the Bible.
And in this case, we’re talking about the area of Israel or Palestine, you know, this location between the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. Well, the angel was talking to Daniel and Daniel’s people are there. And so he would have placed them within that context.
Right. Okay. So now we have this ram and we know he’s coming from the east.
And this is Persia, which interestingly enough, Iran is modern day Persia. It’s the exact location. That’s where Persia was.
And still people speak Farsi, which is Persian. So now let’s jump down to verse five. And can someone read verse five? And as I was considering behold, and he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth and touched not the ground and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.
Okay, so now we have another kingdom being introduced. And why am I saying kingdom here? Well, as we go through Daniel, if we go back one chapter, Daniel seven, and we look at verses 16 and 17. And can someone read that and just kind of walk us through that? Verse number 16 of Daniel chapter seven says, I came near unto one of them that stood by and asked him the truth of all this.
So he told me and made me know the interpretation of the things. These great beasts, which are for our four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. And then if we skip down to verse 23, it says, thus, he said, the fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom upon earth.
So if we let the Bible interpret itself, a beast symbolizes a king or kingdom. So in Daniel, chapter eight, when we see these beasts, a ram and a he go, these are kingdoms. Okay, I also just want to point out to a very important point that came out in 16.
Is it sometimes the Bible talks in figures, things that would break natural law, a he go that’s doing a bunch of things that a normal animal wouldn’t do, or looks like an animal that isn’t on this earth, breaks natural law. And so that gives us an indication that we need to go and look for the interpretation of that figure. And this is exactly what the angel is giving us right here.
There was a bunch of figures earlier in the chapter of chapter seven. And now Daniel comes to the angel and says, I want to know the truth of this. And so he made me to know the interpretation.
So that’s what we have to do as diligent students. So when we see a figure, go and look for the interpretation in the Bible. I think that’s a really good point.
And that brings us to one of Miller’s rules. And if we take a look at verse our rule number 11, Miller’s rule number 11, which Ellen White says, if we are to be preaching the three messages, we will use Miller’s rules in order to do this. How to know when a word is used figuratively, exactly like you said, if it makes good sense as it stands, and does no violence to the simple laws of nature, then it must be understood literally, if not figuratively.
And these are rules that were compiled simply while he was studying the scripture and finding the points in the scripture that told him how to study it. These were not made up rules that he thought would make sense, but rather this was something that he found in the Bible that said, take it as a figure if it breaks natural law. And there’s Bible verses beside each rule.
And if you would like a copy of William Miller’s rules, you can contact our office at bookmarks.amazingdiscoveries.org. And you can ask us to send you one of William Miller’s bookmarks. So with that context, and again, we already read in verse 20, that the ram represents Medo-Persia. Now we have this goat, and he’s coming from the West.
So we have one coming from the East. We have another coming from the West. And if we look at verse 21, it says, and the rough goat is the king of Grisha.
And the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. And let me just pull that up on the screen so that everybody can see that. So we’ll go to verse 21.
The rough goat is the king of Grisha. So we see this here clear in the Bible. We don’t have to guess.
It makes that abundantly clear. But this is giving us our bearings for where things are located. So Grace is in the West.
And then we have the ram, which is in the East. Now, there’s more to this. If we continue down, and it referenced the notable horn, this is Alexander the Great.
This is actually a really important point. And that’s why the Bible is emphasizing it so much. And we see it more times than this.
If we go down to verse six. So we’re going to go to verse six here on the screen. And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power.
And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with collar against him, and smote the ram, and break his two horns. And there was no power in the ram to stand before him. But he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him.
And there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand. So we have this ram, which is, or this goat, which is Grace, and Alexander the Great. And he goes, and he conquers the Medo-Persian Empire, which is in the East.
The next really important point is in verse eight. So if we take a look at verse eight, can someone please read that? Verse number eight. Therefore the he-goat waxed very great.
And when he was strong, the great horn was broken. And for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven. Okay.
So this is a very important point. Because Alexander the Great died at a young age, and instead of his kingdom being given to his children, it was divided, ended up being divided into the four main generals who were over these four localities. So we have Lysimachus, Cassander, Ptolemy, and Seleucus.
And they took over north, south, east, and west, each going towards the four points of the compass. That’s what the four winds of heaven refer to. It refers to the four points of the compass.
Exactly. So now let’s go to verse nine, because it’s going to give us some key things that we’re going to talk about later. We’re not going to address a lot now, but we’re going to get back to them.
Verse nine, and out of one of them, so what is, what does this mean? Out of one of the geographic locations, or one of the horns, came something. Okay, so out of one of the horns came forth a little horn. So out of one of the horns, so this one is actually growing out of the horn, not out of the head, but out of a specific horn.
And this is important, because each horn is going a different direction, and is in a different locality. So one is in the west, one is in the east, one is in the north, and one is in the south. So wherever this, if we know which one, we can find which direction it’s coming from.
Exactly, and that’s where this little horn is located. Now it says, which waxed exceeding great towards the south, and towards the east, and towards the pleasant land. Okay, so this little horn is growing, right? And if it’s going towards the east, where is it most likely coming from? West.
It’s coming from the west. Now also, if you’re a good Bible student, and you understand Daniel 7, there’s a little horn here as well, and that little horn is representing the papacy. Now we know the papacy is in Rome, and is Rome in the western part of the Grecian empire, or the eastern part of the Grecian, where is it coming from? The west.
It started in the west. It’s in the west. It rules from the west.
Right, so Rome is in the western part of the Grecian empire. So this little horn is actually coming out of the western horn. And we kind of still have that wording today.
It still is around, because Europe and North America is known as the east, the western countries. And then the other parts that are in more of the, like we say, the eastern parts, is known as the east. So ever since this division, we still kind of use those words for the parts of the world.
Absolutely. So now that we have a little bit of an understanding of the directions, now we’re going to jump right in to Daniel 11, because Daniel 11 is going to give us some key points to what’s happening now. Because we’ve seen here that Persia’s mentioned this power of the east, right, and the eastern part.
And we need to find out, is that ever referenced again? And is there anything that can be connected with what is happening right now in the Middle East? Because the verses that you did reference have already been fulfilled. Yes. So that’s why we do know Persia’s in there, but it’s over so far.
So is there any parts that tells us anything that’s going to happen in the future? So if we go to Daniel 11, and we start at verse 2. Can someone please read that? Verse 2. And now will I show thee 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 Grisha.
And there’s that word again, show thee the truth. Yes. And that I think is very significant, and it kind of rings a bell again with what we just read in Daniel 7. Yes, verse 16.
Verse 16. So again, like we had just gone over, I came near unto them and stood and asked him the truth of this, of all this. So he told me and made me to know the interpretation of the thing.
And the truth spoken of here is regarding the interpretation of the last vision that Daniel had, which was in Daniel 8. Correct. So now we should probably see everything else as an interpretation, which in other words is the literal. Right.
Because again, in Daniel 7, it said the word truth and interpretation like are synonyms. And the interpretation, the word truth was connected to the word kings. And we never see the word kings used symbolically in the Bible.
Right. It’s always a literal king or kingdom. Or else if you can’t differentiate that, it’s going to get really complicated.
So when you see a beast and it’s in vision, you know that this is a symbol. And now you have to interpret that symbol to be the literal, which is the king or kingdom it’s representing. But once you get to king or kingdom, there’s nowhere else to go.
You’re at the interpretation already. Exactly. And I also just want to point out something.
There’s a difference between the word figure and spiritual. There’s a difference between the word figure and symbol. Those are similar, but figure and spiritual are two totally different meanings.
So what we’re talking about is the Bible that has figures and the Bible that also has interpretations or the literal. And the only way to know is if it breaks natural law. And in this case, we are now starting.
I will tell you the truth. I’ll show you the truth. And we are going to start seeing the interpretation.
And just like you said, if you go to verse 17 of this chapter in Daniel, chapter seven, it gives us a glimpse of what the interpretation is. It says these great beasts, which are for our four kings. So the interpretation is kings.
It’s literal. It doesn’t mean, you know, mindset, spiritual, anything like that. It’s always literal.
So when you go back to Daniel, chapter 11, coming back here. When it says. And now I will show the truth in verse two, we can insert interpretation there, which means that it’s always literal.
So we can establish at the beginning of Daniel, chapter 11, that this chapter is talking about literal historical events. It’s not talking about, you know, mindsets or anything like this throughout the entire chapter, if we stay consistent. And there’s no indication of that throughout.
To be honest, there’s actually no indication that it breaks natural law. Right. And when the angel gives an interpretation, he doesn’t use symbols to reinterpret.
He doesn’t give another symbol, another symbol for a symbol. Right. And I guess we could test our theory by just continuing to read in this chapter and see, is this correct? What we’re saying, is it going to be plain language? So maybe you want to carry on and see that.
Before we do that, I would actually like, we have a book sitting on the table. Oh, yes. And this is a very old book.
It is Bible readings for the home. This specific one is extremely old. And I don’t think anyone will be able to read the copyright date on here, but it says 1888.
So this is the original Bible readings for the home. And if we go into the contents, there’s something very fascinating. If we go in the table of contents, it has something called the Eastern Question.
Now, that’s exactly what we’re discussing now, what’s happening in the Middle East. And what is this Eastern Question? Well, the Eastern Question is exactly that. What does the Middle East, the question is, what does the Middle East have to do with Bible prophecy? This is the question.
Well, this is talked about on page 391. So I’m going to go to page 391. And it’s extremely fascinating.
On this page, we have an image of the bear. And who is the bear in Daniel 7? Medo-Persia. Medo-Persia, right? So it’s emphasizing that we’re talking about Persia, something in the East, Eastern Question.
It also is highlighting Turkey here. It’s also highlighting Jerusalem. It’s highlighting the Russian Empire.
Very fascinating. And then the first line says this. The 11th chapter of Daniel entire, the whole chapter, is a literal historical prophecy.
The longest and most remarkable of its kind. So what does literal historical mean? Well, if you have symbols, there is things that you have to interpret. But if it’s literal… Then it’s the real thing.
It’s the real deal. Yes. And if it’s historical… Then it’s to be found somewhere in history.
In history, which means you can put a date to it. Right. You can, oh, that’s the event.
It’s not, well, this is the event, and that’s the event, and this is the event, and maybe it’s not an event at all. Maybe it’s just something ethereal, and it’s just touchy-feely kind of emotional things. You know, we’re going to get to this later when we show what Ellen White says about these mystical spiritual interpretations.
But when we look at Daniel 11, like you said, it’s literal historical prophecy. It’s telling about the future, but it’s not garbed. So we should be able to find the fulfillment of this prophecy sometime in history.
And isn’t that a rule? Rule number 13, I believe, says, yes, I can read it here. To know whether we have the true historical event for the fulfillment of a prophecy, if you find every word of the prophecy after the figures are understood is literally fulfilled, then you may know that your history is the true event. But if one word lacks a fulfillment, then you must look for another event or wait its future development, for God takes care that history and prophecy doth agree, so that the true believing children of God may never be ashamed.
Very good. And what this means is, obviously, at some point, these prophecies were not history. At some point, they were a future event that was prophesied up, but it never changes.
Whether it’s been fulfilled or will be fulfilled, it’s still going to be a historical event at some point. Yeah, you need to be able to put your finger on it. When we go to Daniel 7, where we’re just basing our prophetic rules from, which, if we want to be consistent, we need to use the same rules throughout the entire book.
If we go to Daniel 7, no one’s going to say that the transition from the lion to the bear is going to happen more than one time. Right, no. And we actually assign dates to it.
Babylon ruled from this date to this date, and then Medo-Persia, this date to this date. Correct. So we have these definers and guidelines for how we should understand prophecy, which, unfortunately, a lot of people in Daniel 11 start to mix things up, and there’s no real dates for things anymore.
And it becomes extremely confusing. It becomes hard to understand. You need to listen to all sorts of people’s opinions on what it is.
As many preachers as there are, there’s different versions. And once a prophecy is fulfilled, I think we need to make sure that it’s clear that it’s fulfilled. There’s no dual or triple application of the prophecy.
Exactly. So I just want to go down. I just wanted to say, keep reading a little bit, and let’s see if our conclusions here are correct.
Is this plain language? So if we go to verse 3, And the mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. Does this sound like Daniel 8? Yes. Identical, right? Verse 4, And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, just like Daniel 8, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven, and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion, which he ruled, for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others besides those.
It’s pretty plain. Those are the same four winds of heaven that we just read about in Daniel 7. Correct. And it’s very simple language.
It’s explaining to you just what will happen, and why, and how. It’s the interpretation of Daniel 8. Yes. Right? Daniel 8 is the symbol.
It’s the beast. And this is the king’s, which is the interpretation, and he’s being very plain with Daniel at this point. Now, where it gets very interesting is when we get to verses 40 to 45.
And I think this is probably some of the most contended verses in all the book of Daniel. Would you agree? Yes. So, in verse 40, we have a very important transition point.
And is there any key things in this verse, in verse 40? We’re going to focus in on verse 40, 44, and 45 in this study. In 40s, the first thing that you read is the time marker. It’s like a time stamp or a way mark.
And it says, and at the time of the end. And that is not the end times. Because people do think that.
There’s some time in the end times. So, that could be this year. It could be last year.
It could be any time. But it’s actually a very specific year. It is.
Exactly. And there are way markers throughout the entire chapter 11 that will help us figure out where we are and where we need to keep going forward from. And when you come all the way along here, verse 40 says now, and at the time of the end.
So, we need to understand what is that time? Where can we find the answer so that we have a state stamp? So, if we go to Daniel chapter 12, the Bible provides us with an answer to what is the time of the end. And I’ll start at verse 6. Daniel 12, verse 6. And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river. How long shall it be to the end of these wonders? And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river.
When he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven and swear by him that liveth forever and ever, that it shall be for a time, times and a half. And when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished. Verse 8. And I heard, but understood not.
Then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? And he said, go thy way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed. There’s our word to the time of the end. Mm hmm.
So the time of the end is connected with this time frame of a time, times and half a time. And that that phrase time, times and half a time is synonymous with 42 months or 1260 years of papal supremacy. And we know from history again that this period ended in the year 1798.
So when we are looking at the time of the end, 1798 should be our answer to that. Absolutely. Amen.
That’s that’s really, really important for us to to be able to to find that. And actually, you know what? That connects with Miller’s rules, because Miller was the first or one of the first people to ever understand Daniel and Revelation. And it was only after 1798.
That’s right. Where he was able to find these answers. Because it was unsealed.
It was unsealed at that point. It was still in that dark age period of time where nobody really understood. And then God used Miller to unlock these scriptures after 1798.
Yeah. So now, OK, we have the 1260 years. So we have an article about the time, times and a half a time.
And how we come to that on our read section of our website. It’s called the time. What is the time of the end? So if anyone wants to dig into that, how did we come to that? They can read it there.
We also have an article to explaining how to calculate time. So the times, times and half a time, dividing the times. What does that mean and how can you figure it out? If you want to go into more detail on that, there is an article on our website for that.
That’s right. So now that we have this time frame, most people who study Daniel and Revelation understand the 1260 year prophecy. And this was papal rule from 538 to 1798.
So with that in context, at the end of the 1260 years being the time of the end, that means 1798 is the time of the end, which then in turn means that Daniel 11, verse 40 is happening in what year? 1798. 1798. Absolutely.
So let’s read verse 40. And at the time of the end, 1798, shall the king of the South 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. So what do we see here? Well, we see a war and some would say there’s only two players, the king of the North and the king of the South. But if you really break down the verses, you’ll be able to see that there’s the king of the South pushing at him and the king of the North pushing at him like a whirlwind.
And the him would be the power that was just discussed. And when was the power change in Daniel 11? Well, it happened in 36. Because every time it says do according to his will, there’s a power change.
We saw that at the beginning of Daniel 11, I believe. Where was that? With Medo-Persia. Yeah, Daniel 11.
It was in verse 4 or 5. Yep. Verse 3. A mighty king shall stand up and shall rule with great dominion and do according to his will. And that means the next power took over.
And that happens again in Daniel 8 as well. So every time we read that, we know there’s a power change. I almost think we should read it slightly differently.
We should read it do according to his will. Because it’s emphasizing that he’s doing… The new guy’s will. Yeah.
The new guy’s will. Right. And so in 36, we saw a change, a power change.
And no other change took place. So when we get to 40, we still have this first guy that’s ruling. And now the king of the north and the king of the south push at him.
And another reason why we know that there’s a change of power in verse 36 is because Daniel chapter 11 has a trend. It starts off talking about Greece. And eventually, if you keep reading through the chapter, Greece was conquered by pagan Rome.
Then the story becomes about pagan Rome. And then eventually, pagan Rome becomes conquered by papal Rome. Then the story becomes about papal Rome.
But then we skip down to verse 35. And it says, And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them and to purge and to make them white, even to the time of the end. 1798.
Because it is yet for a time appointed. So we see the end of papal supremacy in verse 35, which means that the power in verse 36 has to be another power, the power that conquered papal Rome. So verse 36 through 39 is talking about France.
So by the time we get to verse 40, Because France is the one who gave the deadly wound in 1798. Yes. So we should expect a war between France, the King of the North and the King of the South in verse 40.
There’s three players and not two. And I just want to emphasize, it doesn’t call France the King of the North. It just says that he’s the next power, the next king, a king who’s ruling.
Then in verse 40, it introduces North and South as attacking France. And it also never mentions pagan Rome or papal Rome as King of the North. No, it doesn’t.
In fact, pagan Rome was called the robbers of thy people. And go ahead. No, go ahead.
That connects to what we are seeing in Daniel 8. Because the little horn came from the West. That’s right. Which is why it cannot be the King of the North, because it came from Macedonia, the Western part of the Grecian Empire.
And actually on the old Adventist and Millerite charts, they had a picture of the goat head and the horn that was the West, the Macedonian horn. That’s where the little horn was coming out of. So they understood that the papacy and Rome was coming from the West.
It wasn’t King of the North. The thing I love about the Bible is that history and prophecy doth agree. You do not need to shoehorn your own ideas into the Word of God or try and fit a prophecy that doesn’t fit in the Bible into something that’s written.
Every word must have its proper bearing. And it does. And it will if you find the correct interpretation.
Absolutely. So now if we continue in verse 40. So we see this King of the South.
We see this King of the North. And like you said, do we see anything in 1798 with a war? A three-way war. A King of the North, which North according to Daniel 8 and the starting verses of 11, which are the four areas of the Grecian Empire.
So the King of the North being the King of the North part of the Grecian Empire. Correct. And the King of the South being the South part of the Grecian Empire.
Because nowhere in the whole chapter does it give us any new coordinates. It does not give us another map that says, now this happened and it went North, South, East, West. Never.
And North is a different North now. Right. It only ever gave us one coordinates.
And that coordinates actually stayed the same from previous chapters in Daniel as well. It never changed. So always do we have the exact same center point, which is Jerusalem.
And then we have North, South, East, and West. Right. So when it says that there is the King of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, the Northern part of the Grecian Empire was what location? Seleucus.
Which where geographically, if you could point at it, it would be Turkey. So this is Constantinople. This is the Northern part of the Grecian Empire.
And South is where was the South part of the Grecian Empire? Egypt. Ptolemy. Right.
So this is actually extremely simple. We don’t have to overcomplicate. No, not at all.
So now that we know that the North part of the Grecian Empire is Turkey or the area of Turkey, and the South is Egypt. And the hymn is France. All we have to do is go to Google.
And I’m going to do this live on the video here. We’re going to go to Google. And we’re going to type in France, Turkey, Egypt, war 1798.
And if we go there, if we scroll down right here, you can see the Battle of the Pyramids. The Battle of the Pyramids, July 21, 1798. It’s amazing.
Literally, it takes no effort to understand Daniel 11 when you understand it literally. Even in the first one that you went to, the first one you saw Wikipedia, if you clicked on that, you would also see that the name of the war in the second paragraph there is Battle of the Pyramids. So it’s super clear.
And it’s in all the sources of history. And that’s exactly what Miller’s Rules say. Rule number 13 says that history and prophecy have to agree.
And we see in this three-way war that that’s exactly what happened between France, Turkey, and Egypt. And Miller’s Rules say in rule number 13 that if that actually happens and we have a literal historical fulfillment for that, then we know that we have the true understanding of that prophecy. Yeah, every letter is fulfilled exactly how the prophecy depicts.
You know you have it right. God would not allow a prophecy to be fulfilled and it’d be the wrong thing. No.
Well, what’s the definition of false prophecy? Non-fulfilled. Not fulfilled. It’s fulfilled, but it’s wrong.
Right. Yeah. And what’s the definition of a false prophet? One that preaches or prophesies things that will not come to fruition.
Right. So, you know, if it’s being fulfilled and it’s in God’s word, why are we calling it false? God takes care that history and prophecy does. Exactly.
Now, before we leave verse 40, I’d like to just address a couple things really quickly. And that’s pertaining to this war. And we have some more descriptors here of this.
And I’m just going to jump down to the second half of verse 40. It says, with chariots and with horsemen and many ships. So did that actually take place? And the answer is yes.
And if we see on the screen here, they actually had these chariots. They were chariots. They were cannon chariots.
And they were pulling them with horses. So now that we see that this is actually coming to play. Literally.
And it’s falling into place exactly how the Bible says. I’d like to jump to verse 40 because this is what is talking about right now. But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him.
Therefore, he shall go forth with great fury to destroy and utterly to make away many. Now, the word tidings there can be also translated as news, according to Webster’s 1828 dictionary. So it can also read, but news out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him.
And now the him at this point, we have to clarify, is addressing the king of the north. Yes, because the king of the north was victorious. And he becomes the next focal point player.
So this, but tidings out of the east and out of the north trouble him or king of the north or Turkey, because that is the north part of the Grecian Empire right now. And that is Turkey. So we’re looking for tidings out of the east and who and where did we determine east was? East is Iran.
Iran, because the east was originally ancient Persia, which is modern day Iran. So we’re looking for tidings out of Iran or news from Iran and also news north of the king of the north. Now, that might sound a little bit strange to some people.
But if you talk to someone in Texas and they say, oh, in the north, and they might be talking North Dakota or South Dakota. But for us, that’s south. We’re north of north.
Yeah. And then there’s north of us. Yes.
We’ve met some people north of us, about 3000 kilometers north of us. And so here, the reason north isn’t all the way north is because it’s the north part of the Grecian Empire, right? So that is where Constantinople is. Turkey.
Correct. So what is directly north of Turkey? Russia. So now reread that verse.
But tidings or news out of the east, Iran, and out of the north, Russia, shall trouble him speaking of the king of the north. Turkey. Turkey.
OK. Now, because of this news, what’s going to happen? Therefore, or because of this, we could say he, the king of the north, shall go forth with great fury to destroy and utterly to make away many. So if we see news and war from Iran and news from Russia, this is going to trouble or agitate Turkey.
Now, do we see that right now? Yes. Yes. The answer is 100% yes.
Yes, we see Iran is obviously actively involved in a war. And then we just saw the news earlier this morning that Russia is offering to aid them in their nuclear as well. So they are being involved for sure.
So we have Israel right now who started a conflict with Iran. Mm hmm. Iran is not backing down at the moment.
And Russia is commenting. Turkey is commenting. America is getting involved.
We have this perfect storm that’s looking extremely close to verse 44, verse 44. Sorry. Now, here’s the thing.
If what we’re seeing right now, news from Iran, news from Russia, and this keeps growing to the point where it agitates Turkey to do what it’s been saying it’s going to do for years, which if… Take us to Jerusalem, they chant. Take us to Jerusalem. Right.
Take us to Jerusalem. Yeah. If that does cause this, what are the implications? Well, it’s going to be verse 45.
And he shall plant his tabernacle between the palace between… Sorry, he shall plant his tabernacle of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain. Yet he shall come to his end and none shall help him. And at that time shall Michael stand up.
The great prince with standeth for the children of thy people. And there shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time. And at that time, thy people shall be delivered.
Everyone that is found written in the book. So can you spell this out for me in plain English? 44, 45, and 12, 1. Anybody, take a go at it. So verse 44, if we go back just to get the full picture, but tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him.
Speaking of Turkey, there is the hymn. We’ve already discussed this. Therefore, or because of this, because of this news or tidings, the king of the north, Turkey, shall go forth with great fury to destroy and utterly to make away many.
And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace or his seat of government between the seas in the glorious holy mountain. Let me stop you there. And let’s take a look at this.
And remember, this is literal locations that we’re speaking about. We’re not talking about Israel people. We’re not talking about Jews.
And remember, he’s talking to Daniel, right? And if Daniel knows a location and he knows it as the glorious holy mountain, that’s how he’s going to describe it. Correct. But he gives us more descriptors, which is between the seas.
And if you can go to the screen, you can see this really clearly that Jerusalem and Israel here is between the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. And I have to say, really, it is known as a glorious land. Even now, even amongst people who are not Jewish or not Christian or not any religion of that kind, they know that that is the glorious land.
And that is why so many people want that land. Now, you know, whether you actually believe it to be glorious, whether you believe it to be forsaken or desolate, as Alan G. White tells us, and we know that the Lord has forsaken it, does not mean that the world does not refer to it still as glorious land and for some reason still covet it. Absolutely.
So we have Turkey, because of tidings from the east and the north, is going to destroy many. He’s going to go to war and he has the second largest military in the entire world. I think most people don’t realize this.
He’s going to go and place his government in Jerusalem. And this is exactly what the people of Turkey are saying. Take us to Jerusalem.
And just to confirm that, so we don’t, you know, people don’t claim that we’re making things up or anything. Let’s go to a few verses just to establish this glorious holy mountain. Let’s go to Daniel chapter nine.
And let’s read verse 16. Oh, Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city, Jerusalem, thy holy mountain. Amen.
And if we could go to another one just really fast, Isaiah chapter 66. And that’s we can read verse 20. Isaiah 66 verse 20.
And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the Lord out of all nations upon horses and in chariots and in litters and upon mules and upon swift beast to my holy mountain, Jerusalem, saith the Lord. Amen. So this is established in the Bible.
It doesn’t represent 144,000, any other spiritual group of people. It’s the literal location. Yes, literal location, city of Jerusalem.
And we can’t, again, we can’t apply a symbol here. That would be breaking the rules. We break Miller’s rules in order to do this.
We have to keep it the literal words because it is exactly like it is in the flow. So if you want to pick up at glorious holy mountain. I just want to jump in here.
It says planting the tabernacles of his palace. Um, the Turkey is a caliphate and they are nomadic people. That’s their history.
And there they, the top copy palace that they built is actually fashioned as a tent. It’s a, it’s a building, but it’s like a tent. And this tabernacle, the word means tents, the tents of his palace.
So it’s very matching. It matches the people that are going to actually come and do this. And this is not referring to their worship center.
It’s referring to their government, their seat of government, which will be moved to be ruling from Jerusalem, which is very significant. And we don’t see this yet. And it’s, and that’s also because of the, the phrasing here, it is a church state structure.
It’s the tabernacles of his palace. Correct. It’s both.
So he is that word tabernacles is connecting to the tabernacle, which is like the temple. So his tabernacle of his palace, the caliphate, which is this church state structure is going to be moved to Israel. This is quite a, quite a, quite a claim and quite a statement, but this is where the faith comes in.
Do we believe that what the Bible says is actually going to happen? And I just want to make it clear, you know, this is probably very new to some people and certainly maybe sounds strange because it isn’t necessarily the popular interpretation, but we have been consistent throughout all of this chapter, following Miller’s rules and understanding that at the beginning, the angel is giving us the interpretation. So we’re not switching gears halfway through or changing horses in midstream. We’re keeping going with the interpretation as the angel has given it and understanding it’s the literal meaning.
So that’s where we can come to this understanding. Now, a lot of people like to spiritualize from 40 onward and make it different things, but we can’t change halfway through the chapter. There’s no indication.
There’s no indication that now it’s a time for a different way of interpreting. Now, I also think it’s really important to remember that there are two things that are mixed in Adventism that don’t actually need to be mixed. And that is that whoever is the King of the North is also the Antichrist or the Little Horn.
Right. Two totally separate, totally different things. The King of the North does not have to be the Antichrist.
So does this now mean that, you know, Amazing Discoveries believes that Turkey is the Antichrist? Absolutely not. The Bible is very clear who the Little Horn is. The Bible is very clear who ruled during the Dark Ages, and that is the papacy.
And we do know that they will come back, but they actually will come back for a very short period of time as a lot of your studies in the Final Countdown and Judgment Day has shown and Ellen G. White has told us that now is the time for the Daughters, which is actually Protestant America. And they will eventually give their power back to the papacy. But that’s already after probation is closed for a very short period of time.
So there is a little bit excess agitation towards the role of the papacy. The papacy is not bringing in Sunday Law. It’s a Protestant America that will bring in Sunday Law.
However, it is their mark of authority. That does not lessen in any way. But we need to kind of get over the idea, the preconceived idea that whoever the King of the North is means that it has to be the Antichrist.
And that is actually completely not true. That’s correct. And also those that believe this is the papacy say, well, there you go.
He’s going to come to his end just before the close of probation. And that’s not biblical, because in Revelation 18, we see the destruction of Rome at Jesus is coming. And we also see on the fifth plague that there’s darkness upon the beast.
So if the beast and the papacy are gone by the time of closer probation, then what’s the point of any of that? That would make all of that untrue. So there’s another reason there for sure. And there are many other reasons, too.
And maybe you have want to join in on. The main thing I want to say is that the idea that it has to be the King of the North has to be the papacy breaks its idea down as soon as you start studying the whole chapter, because the King of the North was Greece at some point. And the King of the North then became Turkey.
And there was a king and there was so forth and so on. So Greece and Turkey have never been the Antichrist. So and I’m also reminded of a statement in the Spirit of Prophecy where she says we may have less to say in some lines regarding the papacy.
So we need to get out of this mindset of everything has to be about the papacy. And we’re not saying we’re not lessening its role. The papacy has their role.
The King of the North has their role. The daughters, the Protestant America, have their role. Everybody has a role in prophecy, but it’s not all about the same power.
We have to get out of this mindset of focusing on one system because the Bible, God gave us all these players for a reason. Absolutely, absolutely. Now, Jacob, do you want to continue after Mountain? Sure, and this is still in Daniel chapter 11, verse 45.
Yet he shall come to his end and none shall help him. So explain that to the people in plain English. OK, so verse 45 is saying that Turkey is going to set up its seat of government in Jerusalem.
And the closing part of this verse says, yet he shall come to his end. And the context would be in Jerusalem and none shall help him. And then it says, this is where it picks up in Daniel 12, 1. And at that time, which time is that? When the Turkey comes to his end in Jerusalem, shall Michael stand up, the great prince, which standeth for the children of thy people.
And there shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time. OK, so let me just pause you there for a second. So we have Israel, we have Turkey going to Jerusalem.
Then they will be removed from Jerusalem. And at that time, which means that is the signal for Michael standing up in the time of trouble starting. And if Michael standing up, what does that signify? Close of probation.
Cool. So now we have a sign for when the close of probation will take place. Do we see that here? This is really big.
This is really, really big. Because to see that these players are starting to have tidings and to see that it kind of works as a flow. It really, to me, is really big.
And I think that we need to pay attention to this. And if you haven’t had a chance to really study and dive into Daniel 11, I highly recommend it because it’s so important to know who that player is that will come to its end and signal the close of probation. And we’re not saying necessarily that these events happening today in Iran are exactly the ones that are going to trigger Turkey.
They might be and they may just be part of the agitation and there will be more on its way coming. But either way, we need to see that as part of this tidings. Because, like you’re saying, but tidings plural.
Right? And there’s already been tidings. There’s been the Crimean War. If we look in the book Daniel and Revelation by Uriah Smith, he talks about some of the tidings.
And there was the Crimean War, Rizzo-Turkish War, you know, these things. Now, we have been, we’re farther down the line now, and we see all these things coming together all at the same time. We have an American Pope.
We have talked about Sunni law more than ever before. We have, there’s tidings from the East and tidings from the North. Maybe we’ll die down right now.
If so, praise the Lord, because God’s people are not ready. We need more time. But if not, if this is the final tidings, that means we are really close to the end.
That means God’s people need to get moving quickly. Yeah. Because there’s not a lot left to happen.
Well, this is pretty big. You know, when I’ve never heard that there were events that could mark the close of probation. That’s something that I’ve never heard before.
And when I learned it, it was amazing to me that God would make a marker in history to help his people. Because remember, this is going to be at a time of great turmoil and confusion around the world. And we’re going to be giving the loud cry, the sealing is happening, and the close of probation is about to come.
And when we see what’s happening in the Middle East, in Turkey, in Jerusalem, then we will know time is super short. And our urgency will be there. And I just think it’s wonderful how God has prepared this for his people so that they will be ready and they will be able to prepare others in time.
I just want to add that this really is a magnificent point. Because the fact that God would mark the close of probation with a historical event, I never knew. I never knew what the event was.
I never knew that there was an event. I thought it was always going to be a mystery. But how much like God is it to mark it? Because in the Bibles we study, we see more and more that he has marked major changes with historic events.
And so the fact that this really is. And I also want to say that it adds impetus. Because if you think about it, we’re going to be preaching the loud cry, giving the final message of warning to the world, don’t take the mark of the beast, accept the Sabbath, follow the Lord, hop on with his commandments, do not follow the idol, false Sabbath.
And at the same time, the thing that will add urgency to the message is that we see winds in the wars going on in the Middle East. And we’re going to say, look, this is a sign right here that probation is closing. Now is your time to stand on the Lord’s side now and for eternity.
And it will really add impetus just like it did in 1840. Just like in 1840. Before you, I just want to add something really quick here.
And I’m teasing for the next study. Isaiah 27. If we go to Isaiah 27, I’m not going to read all the verses.
We’ll go through that later. But I just want to focus on 7 and 8. Isaiah 27, 7 and 8. Have he smitten him as he smote those that smote him? Or is he slain according to the slaughter of them that are slain by him? And that might seem kind of gruesome and people are, what is that slaughter? This slaughter is so important. It is critical for us to understand.
And we’ll take a look at that. Now, this is just before the slaughter comes. Now look at verse 8. In measure, when it shooteth forth, there will debate with it.
There’s going to be a debate. And isn’t there a debate? There is already. He stayeth his rough wind.
And we were talking about the winds in the day of the east wind. So now there’s an east wind. There’s a rough wind.
And this is just before this day of slaughter. And that day of slaughter shows up in a lot of places throughout the Bible. But we’ll get into that in the next study.
I just wanted to add what you said, Tabea, and what you said, Wendy. Your testimonies there fits perfectly with a quote in The Great Controversy. She says, the events connected with the close of probation.
And we’ve been talking about some of those events. Daniel 11.45 connected with Daniel 12.1. And the work of preparation for the time of trouble are clearly presented. But multitudes have no more understanding of these important truths than if they had never been revealed.
But that shows that they’ve been revealed. Yes, they have been. And they’ve been clearly presented.
Amen. Satan watches to catch away every impression that would make them wise unto salvation. And the time of trouble will find them unready.
That’s why we’re having a study like this. We’re trying to wake people up that we have to be prepared for a time of trouble such as never was. We have to look for the way marks.
We have to look for these events that are happening all around us. We can’t be asleep. And I want to bring out again that there’s one point in this quote.
It says, important truths. So these events connected to Daniel 12.1. The things leading to 12.1. These are important truths. They’re not insignificant.
And if nothing else, let what’s happening in the Middle East drive people back to their Bibles, get their rules, and study. Not follow a man. Not follow their favorite preacher or anything else.
But actually get into the Word and study the Word. Amen. I’m reminded of the quote from Ellen White where she says, Oh that God’s people would know the time of their visitation.
And you know, we do not want to be caught unaware by any stretch of the imagination on when probation will close. Right. So these things I can definitely agree with Ellen White are so important.
So let’s take time to study. Friends, I want to tell you guys, there is no question that the Eastern question is back. So please join us in our part two where we are going to discuss more of the wonderful prophecies that the Lord has in the Bible about the Eastern question, about the role of the Middle East and Turkey in prophecy.
And remember that there are always multiple witnesses to a prophecy. And we mentioned one in Isaiah 27. We’re going to dive into.
And there’s many more in Ezekiel and throughout other parts. So join us for part two and we’ll see you soon.
