Is America Represented In Daniel 7:4?

Biblegems #244

Question: Does Daniel 7:4 indicate a prophetic role for America, as represented by the eagle, and as represented by the chapter / verse designation 7:4 (analogous to July 4: Independence Day)?

Daniel 7:4 reads:   “The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a man, and the heart of a man was given to it.”

The Eagle

The lion with the eagle’s wings in Daniel 7:4 represents Babylon, not America. Here’s why:

Daniel 7 re-introduces the prophecy of four great empires from Daniel chapter two. The rise and fall of these empires is represented by four “beasts,” beginning with Babylon, where Daniel lived as a Jewish exile. Babylon is followed by Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome (Dan. 7:16-17). The Roman empire in Daniel’s prophecy is revived in the form of a ten-nation confederacy ruled by the Antichrist in the Last Days, until the coming of the Son of Man (Dan. 7:19-22).

The lion in Daniel’s vision was the symbol of Babylon under king Nebuchadnezzar, and for centuries later. The Ishtar Gate entrance in Babylon was decorated on both sides with a long procession of yellow lions carved in high relief on blue-glazed brick. The eagle’s wings plucked from the lion’s side symbolized how powerful king Nebuchadnezzar had been humbled by his seven-year period of insanity for not acknowledging the sovereignty of God (Dan. 4).

Chapter seven, verse four

Finding a prophetic connection between a particular Bible chapter and verse number and a particular calendar event (or whatever) is simply bad biblical interpretation on so many levels. Here are just a few reasons why:

• Chapter and verse separation was not part of the inspiration process, but a study aid added long after the canon of Scripture as God’s inspired Word was completed. The Old Testament chapter and verse system was developed by a Jewish rabbi in 1448 A.D., and the New Testament equivalent was completed by Stephanus in 1555 A.D.

That means that for more than 1500 years the prophetic meaning of Daniel 7:4 would have held no meaning—because there was no Daniel 7:4 chapter and verse number!

It also means that interpreting chapter and verse numbers is not biblical interpretation at all…it is interpreting a Bible study system!

• Even if it were argued that God accounted for the chapter and verse study system in advance, who is to say that 7:4 must refer to America’s Independence Day? July 4 is also National Country Music Day and Sidewalk Egg Frying Day.

In fact, who’s to say 7 / 4 refers to a date at all? Perhaps it refers to the seventh planet (Uranus) and its fourth moon (Cressida), or perhaps it refers to England’s seventh King (Eadwig) and the fourth year of his reign (963 A.D.).

There is no biblical reason for interpreting 7:4 as July 4^th (American Independence Day).

Correctly interpreting the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15) recognizes that the Bible is the revelation of God’s will to mankind, not a mysterious puzzle to solve or code to break. We are not left to relying upon our own imaginations. The Bible means what it says and says what it means. Even when highly symbolic language is used, God supplies the meaning of those symbols in His Word, so that Scripture interprets Scripture.

The “Shortened” Last Days

Biblegems #219

Question: What is meant in Matthew 24 where Jesus says “those days will be shortened for the sake of the elect”? Is this a reference to the seasonally shorter days of Autumn / Winter, or something else?

In Jesus’ description of His Return in power and glory in Matthew 24, verse 22 records these words: “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.”

If, as the question suggests, these shortened days refer to the annual shortening of days known as the Winter Solstice, wouldn’t that give us an approximate timing of Jesus’ Return in terms of the season?

This is not the case, however. The shorter days of winter, when the North Pole’s tilt away from the sun reaches its peak (23.5 degrees) also puts earth’s southern hemisphere that much closer to the sun. Consequently, the shorter winter days in the north are also the longest summer days in the south. Jesus describes days that are “shortened” simultaneously for the entire planet.

When Jesus says “those days will be shortened,” He is talking about “the Great Tribulation” in the preceding verse:

         Matt. 24:21 For then there will be great distress [i.e. “great tribulation” -KJV], unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.

Jesus said this “Great Tribulation” will be triggered by the Antichrist setting up the “abomination that causes desolation” prophesied by Daniel, referring to the prophecy in Dan. 9:27.  

Matt. 24:15 So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand…

According to Daniel 9:24ff., a period of seven years at the end of history as we know it—known as Daniels’s 70^th Week—will conclude with this final 31/2 year period Jesus calls “the Great Tribulation.” Many have incorrectly assumed that the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord are the same thing. That is not the case. The Tribulation decribes the wrath of the Antichrist against God and the Church. The Day of the Lord is the wrath of God against the Antichrist and all rebellious mankind.

Jesus taught in Matthew 24:22 that the Great Tribulation period of 3 ½ years would be shortened “for the sake of the elect”—His Church. Those days of great persecution against the Church will be so brutal that “no one would survive” if Jesus did not shorten this 31/2 year period of horror. Jesus goes on to teach in Matthew 24 that the Great Tribulation is cut short by the appearing of Jesus at His Return and the rapture of the Church:

         Matt. 24:30-31 At that time [i.e., cutting short the Great Tribulation, v. 22] the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory [i.e, the Second Coming of Jesus]. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect [i.e., the Rapture] from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

Blood Moons And Bible Prophecy

Biblegems #184

Question: Are the so-called ‘blood moons’ of 2014-2015 a sign of Christ’s Second Coming? Is God using these celestial events to remind us of the ever-forward movements of His plan?

Since the universe exists as the creation of God for His purposes, all that exists has purpose and meaning. That would not be the case if the universe were merely the result of a chance explosion. The Bible explicitly states that the heavenly bodies were designed by God to serve as “signs and seasons” for mankind,  (Gen. 1:14-17; Ps. 147:4; 19:1-3. see also, Biblegems #116, Christmas In The Stars).

The word “sign” in the Bible typically refers to prophetic events, such as the Return of Christ. Of His own Second Coming, Jesus said:

         Luke 21:25 There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea.

Jesus expects His followers down through the ages to be able to understand these “signs”:

         Matt. 16:2-3  He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.

Blood Moons, as well as solar eclipses, do appear to be among some of the key “signs” associated with Jesus Return in power and glory:

         Joel 2:30-31 I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD (see Acts 2:17-21).

However, before getting too concerned over Blood Moon appearances it should be remembered that these are familiar occurances down through history. This year’ s events—or any year’s events—do not by themsleves represent dire significance. We need to understand these “signs” in the heavens in relation to other signs the Bible indicates will be associated with the Day of the Lord.

According to both Old and New Testament prophecies, there are several “signs”—dramatic and catastrophic events on a cosmological scale immediately preceding the Day of the Lord’s Wrath. Perhaps the most complete picture in one place of this period is found in the book of Revelation:

Rev. 6:12-17  I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There

was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

Notice the other “signs” alongside the Blood Moons which the old Testament prophecies indicate as well:

  • Massive, worldwide earthquakes (Jer. 4:23-24)

  • Mountains flattened; land masses twisting out of shape (Jer. 4:23a; Ezek. 38:20)

  • Starlight disappearing (Jer. 4:23b)

  • Stars (meteors and comets?) falling to earth (Matt. 24:29-31; 2Pet. 3:10)

  • Solar and lunar eclipses (Joel 2:30-31)

  • Shift in the earth’s axis (Amos 8:9)

  • Daytime Darkness (Amos 5:20; Zeph. 1:15)

  • The sky appearing to “roll up” in thick, dark  clouds (Zeph. 1:15)

When can humanity expect to see this cosmological disaster happen? As we saw in revelation 6:12, the Blood Moons and related events associated with the Day of the Lord take place with the opening of the “sixth seal.” That means the first five “seals” must take place first. The “Day of the Lord” described by the opening of the sixth seal takes place after the Antichrist has been revealed for who he really is:

         2Thess. 2:3-4 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day [the Day of the Lord] will not come until the rebellion [apostasy — falling away; rebellion] occurs and the man of lawlessness [i.e., the Antichrist] is revealed, the man doomed to destruction…

The Lord’s Return in the sky in great power, according to Jesus, will be accompanied by cosmic upheaval and the destruction of the Antichrist (Matt. 24:29-30; 2 Thess. 2:8). The Rapture of the Church, also according to Jesus, will take place “at that time” as we are gathered from the whole earth “to meet the Lord in the air” (Matt. 24:31; 1Thess. 4:17; 1Thess. 5:9). The Day of the Lord’s Wrath will begin with Jesus’ appearing and our being gathered to Him, at which time God’s wrath described above will be poured out upon rebellious mankind and the earth will be purged of the effects of sin (Is. 13:9; 2Thess. 2:8).

Are the Blood Moons we experience now a sign of Jesus’ Return? Only in as much as they cause mankind to wonder what may be coming upon the earth, and as they cause believers to “watch and pray” in anticipation of Christ’s Return. For every time there is a “blood moon” the media is flooded with speculation and the world turns to biblical prophecy. God in His grace gives us all ample time to turn to Him in repentance and surrender…before it is too late.

"Sealed" On The Forehead

Biblegems #170

Question: The “seal” put on foreheads in Revelation 7:3: What is it, who puts it on, who gets it, and when does it happen?

Revelation 7:3 (NIV) reads: “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.”

The one giving this instruction is an angel who has with him “the seal of the living God” (Rev. 7:2). He addresses a group of four other angels who have been given control over earth’s winds. God's command to these 5 angels is clear and specific: They are not to begin pouring out His Wrath (i.e., the Trumpets and Bowls [cf. Rev. 8:7-11; 15:7-17:24]) until they put a seal on the forehead of God's servants.

What is the seal? It is the name of the Lamb of God, and of God the Father, written upon the forehead. It signifies that those who are sealed are protected from the wrath of God that is about to be poured out upon the Antichrist and upon the whole earth (Rev. 9:4; 14:1; 16:2). To describe it as being upon their foreheads may be symbolic. However, it may also mean that those who stand for Jesus and against the Antichrist in that day intentionally write the name of Jesus upon their foreheads in direct opposition to those who wear the mark of the Beast (Rev. 13:16). Either way, they are eternally identified as belonging to Jesus, the Lamb of God (Rev. 20:4; 22:4).

So who are these who are given this seal in the End Times? They are Jews, the 12 tribes of Israel represented by the 144,000 (Rev. 7:4-8), who are also followers of Jesus, the Lamb of God:

         Rev. 14:1 Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.

        

They are Redeemed Jews:

Rev. 14:3 And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.

These Jews are sexually pure followers of Jesus. The reign of the Antichrist is identified with an XXX rated culture (Rev. 17:1-2, 5), a culture in which maintaining sexual purity will be extremely difficult.

          Rev. 14:4 These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they kept themselves pure. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among men and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb.

These Jewish believers are the “firstfruits” of the Lamb (14:4), the advance wave of a vast number of other Jews who will become believers in Jesus when the Messiah is revealed from heaven at His coming in glory (Rev. 1:7). They are “sealed” after the sixth seal of the scroll is opened (i.e., after the Great Tribulation) and just before the Day of the Lord, the outpouring of God’s Wrath (Rev. 8:5-18:24) and the appearing of Jesus Christ in the sky (Rev. 19:12-21).

Even so, come Lord Jesus!