The Book of Daniel is unsealing - Focus on the Middle East and Prophecy!
Updated January 1, 2007
On this page we move away from the geological and creation issues and turn our attention of focus to the future of our present world and the great period of tribulation that will soon descend upon this present world of fallen Mankind.
The unthinkable terrorist attacks on America September 11, 2001 profoundly focused the world's attention on the Middle East as no other event in recent history. If any good came out of that evil deed, it is that more and more people around the world are turning to the Bible for answers and are looking closely at the escalating conflict in the Middle East. That conflict is the Holy Bible's focal point on End Times prophecy. The prophecies of the book of Daniel are unsealing before our eyes.
The common denominator behind all of this is the nation of Israel. Jerusalem will be the ultimate "ground zero" of geopolitical focus, and the Temple Mount is the detonator. The present conflict in this area of the world is but a precursor to even more horrific events that are yet to come to pass in human history before the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Bible believer knows that however it comes about before the Lord Jesus Christ returns, the unbelieving nation of Israel will build a Temple on the Mount in Jerusalem and re-institute Temple worship.
Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 KJVConsidering the decades of bloodshed and violence between Israel and the Palestinians, and the entrenched respective positions of both Israel and the Palestinians concerning the Temple Mount and final status of Jerusalem, one can only imagine the magnitude of any sequence of geopolitical events that would bring this prophecy to pass. It WILL come to pass sometime in the future; a literal Temple will be built and it is a prophecy you can 100% bank on coming to pass before the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. How this will happen is far from clear in light of current hostilities and the respective religious and political positions. With so many Islamic nations and factions calling for the destruction of Israel, and the winds of war blowing strongly, the Middle East appears to be on the verge of all out war. Wars will, indeed, come. But the focus will remain on Jerusalem.
Some are advocating that Jerusalem be designated as a International City and its holy places be given special status under international guarantee. Israel claims Jerusalem as its eternal capitol. The Arab world wants Jerusalem for themselves. Is there a compromise on the horizon? That may be a Biblical possibility to consider.
One key to how this could come about may be found in the writings of the prophet Daniel. In future times, after that Temple is built in Jerusalem, there is a prophecy about a "Holy Covenant" already being in place for some time prior. Here are the references:
Daniel 9:27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make [it] desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Daniel 11:28 Then shall he return into his land with great riches; and his heart [shall be] against the holy covenant; and he shall do [exploits], and return to his own land.
Daniel 11:30 For the ships of Chittim shall come against him: therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant.
Daniel 11:32 And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do [exploits].
These passages of prophecy seem to indicate that there will be some form of treaty or "covenant" between Israel and the Islamic world over the question of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. It could be a covenant between both sides to share the Mount; the Jews build their Temple and are free to worship there, while the Arabs are free to worship beside them at the Al-Aqsa and Dome of the Rock mosques, with both sides respecting each other's religious claim to the Mount.
A far-fetched idea? Not really. Look at what is said in the book of Revelation about the Temple and the Mount during the Great Tribulation:
Revelation 11:1-2 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty [and] two months.
Keep in mind that both Israel and the Arabs are blood cousins, being the common descendants of Abraham through his sons Isaac and Ishmael respectively. Both people's faiths are rooted in the same traditions and they are both from common genetic stock, although the Messianic line is through the bloodline of Isaac and Jacob (the Hebrews). Both of these people's current religious systems, in spite of their differences in practice and belief, have one very important thing in common: Both deny that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that God came in the flesh in the person of the Lord Jesus.
1 John 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that [spirit] of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
2 John 1:7 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.
Therefore, based on the authority of the Scriptures, both the mainline Jewish and Islamic faiths of today (to say nothing of other world religions and apostate "Christian" cults and sects) are all under that spirit of antichrist. It is not inconceivable that both the Jews and Arabs, indeed the whole religious world, could find a basis for religious unity under that spirit (i.e. religions of works and ritual, not faith in the shed blood of Jesus for justification before God). I realize that this is not politically correct or ecumenical, but such seems to be the Scriptural facts of reality.
The Bible also tells us that before the above things come to pass, there will be more great wars of conflict in the world, especially in the Middle East region. The war for the "liberation" of Iraq was waged in what was once a part the greater Persian Empire. Based on what is written in Daniel and what anyone can read in today's newspapers or watch on TV, the next great war event in this region is just around the corner. And the next focal point will be Iran.
The Prophet Daniel was given detailed visions of what would happen in the times before the end, and God told Daniel that those things would be sealed until the "time of the end" of this present evil world.
But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
Daniel 12:4And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.
Daniel 12:9
Are we living today in "the time of the end" spoken of? How is all this connected to Israel and the Temple? To answer this we need to view the current politics of the Middle East in both historical and prophetic perspectives.
And I saw in a vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I was at Shushan in the palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of Ulai.
Daniel 8:2And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be.
Daniel 8:19And now will I shew 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 Grecia.
Daniel 11:2This particular end time prophecy, which covers several pages in the book of Daniel, deals with Persia. The place where Daniel was when he received this vision was the land of Elam, which is present-day southwestern Iran. This pinpoints the center of the region in and around the northern Gulf states.
The old Persian Empire of the Bible encompassed the area roughly shown in the graphic map above. This included the areas of present-day Iraq, Iran, Syria, Kuwait, Afghanistan and Pakistan. About 500 BC the empire also occupied present day Turkey, Palestine, northern Egypt and Libya.
The Persian Empire figured most prominently in the captivity of Israel in Biblical history and, as we shall point out, also figures prominently in the prophecies of the beginning of "end times" future history.
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. I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great. And as I was considering, behold, an 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. 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 choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake 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.
Daniel 8:3-7The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.
Daniel 8:20-21(Note: Media and Persia is Turkey/Syria and Iran)
If this prophecy is yet future, and was not the historical conquering of Persia by Alexander the Great as many Bible scholars claim, then we have a dark glance at what is shortly going to come to pass in the Middle East.
Notice in the prophecy that the "he goat" came from the West. Ok, so did Alexander the Great, but Alexander's army touched the ground all the way there. The prophecy says he "touched not the ground," and that ancient prophecy could not be literally fulfilled (or understood) until the invention of the airplane. Could the above be the description of a future massive airborne strike by Western forces on Iranian or Syrian forces? Was the dictatorship in Iraq (and his recent fall) merely a prelude to the rise of even more sinister regimes in that region? You be the judge.
Events in the Middle East continue to fuel a growing polarization between the Western and Islamic worlds, not just in the Middle East but around the world. As the struggle to "democratize" Iraq continues we see growing involvement of neighboring Iran in the political affairs of the majority Shiite Muslims there and other clandestine support of the insurgency. Further, with each passing day, there is increasing concern about Iran's NUCLEAR ambitions. Could Iran be building a nuclear bomb? Will they use it somewhere, and soon? Will the Israelis preemptively attempt to stop them?
The major western powers (the U.S. and old Europe) are currently working to pressure Iran to cease nuclear fuel production. The rulers of the Iranian government, a hard line Islamic regime which actively supports terrorism and is hell-bent on destroying the nation of Israel, will not stop their march towards development of nuclear weapons. Diplomatic efforts will eventually fail. There is a nuclear showdown approaching between Middle Eastern and Western civilizations.
In the book of Revelations, just after John is caught up to heaven (a prophetic event that has been equated by many to be a "type" reference to the future "Rapture" of the Church, (see Revelation 4:1), we read this passage:
And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
Revelation 6:1 KJVJohn describes hearing something that sounded similar to thunder just before the opening events of the Great Tribulation begin to unfold on the Earth. Could it be that what John heard was a Nuclear Explosion? To him that has ears to hear, the above prophecies collectively give the somber warning that the worst is yet to come. The Book of Daniel is unsealing.
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