074 – Satan’s Appearing: The Counterfeit Second Coming

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Satan’s appearing on the world scene, disguised as an angel of light, is imminent. He will attempt to deceive even God’s elect with a counterfeit Second Coming. Only the wise shall understand.

This is one of the most important Present Truth messages the Lord has for His people. Jesus said that His coming would be “as a thief in the night”.

Generally we’ve understood this expression to allude to the surprise element of Jesus’ return and the risk of our being caught unawares because the thief doesn’t announce his arrival.

I submit to you brothers and sisters that these scriptures also have another meaning. Of course, the meaning of unexpectedness is there. But I submit to you that Jesus uses this expression as code language that there will be an issue of stolen identity. Jesus is warning us that someone will impersonate Him and steal His identity.

Brothers and sisters, when Jesus warned His disciples about deception, He knew very well that Satan would steal His identity and impersonate Him to deceive His followers. There are a number of New Testament scriptures that in coded language refer to this problem of stolen identity.

Today I’ll be showing you, from the Bible, the exact manner of Satan’s appearing on the world scene, masquerading as Jesus. We’ll analyze why, how, where and when this dangerous event will take place.

Let’s get started!

Special Light for the Last Generation

The Lord, in His infinite love and mercy for this generation, has not left us without light for the last straight line of the Plan of Salvation. He has hidden in His Word gems and pearls of truth, precious treasures for us to find. Bible prophecy follows the principle of “Contemporary Recognition of Prophetic Fulfillment”, which means that prophetic understanding is given at the time of fulfillment. Satan’s counterfeit of the Second Coming is just around the corner.

Brothers and sisters, Satan knows he has the world in his pocket. His personal appearance on the world stage is designed to captivate God’s people, to deceive if it were possible the very elect. The danger is real. Satan has exceedingly great power to deceive, to seduce, to hypnotize, and to mesmerize. Unless we’re obedient to the Lord’s warnings about this blatant impersonation, we will be deceived and as a result, we will be lost.

“Only those who have been diligent students of the Scriptures, and who have received the love of the truth, will be shielded from the powerful delusion that takes the world captive. By the Bible testimony these will detect the deceiver in his disguise.” (GC88 – 625)

There’s another important principle used in God’s word that will help us in our study today. It’s called “Principle of Symmetry and Parallelism”. The Bible contains divine intelligence and divine wisdom coded into its very structure. Through the Principle of Symmetry and Parallelism we can access this richer and deeper meaning that’s presented in coded form. For our new listeners let me give you three simple examples.

• At the beginning of time God created the heaven and the earth and everything in it. At the end of time God will create a new heaven and a new earth.
• At the beginning of time God gave the first generation an obedience test: you shall not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. At the end of time God will give the last generation an obedience test: do not worship the beast, do not take his mark which is enforced Sunday observance.
• At the beginning of time Adam and Eve were deceived and fell into temptation by Satan disguised as a serpent. At the end of time most of the world, and most of the Church, will be deceived and will fall into temptation by Satan disguised as Jesus.

Jesus knew that in the end time deception would be THE biggest issue facing the Church. Let’s read in Matthew 24:3-5:

“3…the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.”

Brothers and sisters, Jesus wasn’t speaking to the multitude. He was speaking to His inner circle, His closest followers. That means they were at risk of being deceived. Satan will not be allowed to counterfeit the exact manner of Christ’s coming, but it’s going to look close enough to deceive most Christians.

As “A Thief in the Night”

Let’s read in 2 Corinthians 11:13-14, Paul is speaking:

“13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

In that very same chapter, 2 Corinthians 11, just a few verses above what we just read, listen to what Paul says to the Church of Corinth:

“3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.”

Paul is telling the Corinthians that he’s very concerned they might be deceived by false ministers that teach another Jesus and bring another spirit. Notice how Paul himself recognizes the symmetry or parallel between Eve’s deception by the serpent at the beginning of time and deception at the end of time.

Let’s quickly consider three scriptures about “the thief in the night”:

• “2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:2-3). Clearly this scripture is referring to the wicked, the evil trinity of Satan, anti-christ and the false prophet.
• “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up” (2 Peter 3:10). This scripture is referring to the total destruction of the earth at the end of the millennium. That’s when the earth becomes the lake of fire where the wicked will be consumed. So once again the expression “as a thief in the night” is associated with the wicked.
• “43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. 44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh” (Matthew 24:43-44, Luke 12:39-40). In Luke it says “would not have suffered his house to be broken through”. Broken up or broken through in the Greek means to dig through or to burglarize, to penetrate in order to steal. This is always Satan’s agenda: steal, kill, destroy. He wants to deceive us to steal our eternal inheritance. This scripture clearly is referring to the counterfeit Second Coming.

“As the crowning act in the great drama of deception, Satan himself will personate Christ. The church has long professed to look to the Saviour’s advent as the consummation of her hopes. Now the great deceiver will make it appear that Christ has come. In different parts of the earth, Satan will manifest himself among men as a majestic being of dazzling brightness, resembling the description of the Son of God given by John in the Revelation. [Revelation 1:13-15.] The glory that surrounds him is unsurpassed by anything that mortal eyes have yet beheld. The shout of triumph rings out upon the air., “Christ has come! Christ has come!” The people prostrate themselves in adoration before him, while he lifts up his hands, and pronounces a blessing upon them, as Christ blessed his disciples when he was upon the earth” (Great Controversy, 624.1).

 The consequences of not watching and being caught unprepared by the thief will be fatal. “Take heed that ye be not deceived”. Falling victim to the “nearly overmastering delusion” will break up your house. You’ll lose it all.

The Staging of Satan’s Appearing

Satan is carefully preparing his appearance on the world stage. There’s significant agitation and activity going on in the Christian world today. A global revival movement is being planned for 2020, with emphasis on the first half of the year.

How do we know that the emerging revival is a false revival? Because authentic revival always starts with the Word of God. John 4:24 says: “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

True revival is exactly what we’re studying this quarter in our Sabbath School Lessons about Ezra and Nehemiah. This is how a true revival movement progresses:

• First comes the reading of the word
• Followed by repentance and sorrow for sin
• Then revival of the first love in the heart, which brings obedience and service
• And finally, reformation, a complete change in attitude and lifestyle

The revival momentum that’s building is being stirred up by another spirit. It’s designed to strengthen the Sunday movement, which is making its way in darkness. “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils” (1 Timothy 4:1).

Except for the small remnant that tenaciously clings to God’s word of truth, all Christendom is preparing to receive and be deceived by the overmastering delusion.

All these revival events across the world are leading up to May 2020, the same month that the Pope has called world leaders from all walks of life to join him in Rome for a Global Education Alliance. The Pope’s goal is to involve key influencers in the brainwashing of the nations so that they’re ready to accept the New World Order that he is poised to lead.

Of course the revival movement is branded as a “Global Awakening”. Everything now is global – ripe and ready for the New World Order.

Why Will Satan Make an Appearance?

I believe that Satan will accomplish five goals by showing up in the final stages of the Great Controversy:

• He wants worship! The first reason why Satan will show up is as simple as that: he wants worship. This is why when he tempted Jesus in the desert he showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and said: “All this I will give you if you worship me”.
• Satan needs to strengthen the case for Sunday worship. He knows he has only a short time left before the close of probation and Jesus leaves the Most Holy Place. He needs to make sure that the Sunday Law decree is passed not only in the United States, but that it quickly becomes a global or universal law. Let’s read again from the Great Controversy: “In gentle, compassionate tones he presents some of the same gracious, heavenly truths which the Saviour uttered; he heals the diseases of the people, and then, in his assumed character of Christ, he claims to have changed the Sabbath to Sunday, and commands all to hallow the day which he has blessed.” (Great Controversy 624.1)
• By the influence of this dazzling and majestic being, the nations will be beguiled into giving the scepter of power to the Pope as One World Leader. I’ll make the demonstration of this point later in our study.
• Satan wants to pour out his evil spirit upon God’s people before God’s Holy Spirit will be poured out. By receiving another spirit, God’s people will forfeit their ability to receive the Latter Rain. At that point, it will be very difficult for them to receive the love of the truth because they’ll be almost totally under the influence of lying spirits.
• Satan will muster the nations into the Battle of Armageddon, which is a battle against God’s people. “13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.” (Revelation 16:13-14). The Battle of Armageddon is the issuing of the Universal Death Decree against God’s people, mentioned in Revelation 13.

“But the people of God will not be misled. The teachings of this false Christ are not in accordance with the Scriptures. His blessing is pronounced upon the worshipers of the beast and his image, —the very class upon whom the Bible declares that God’s unmingled wrath shall be poured out.” (GC88 624.2).

Remember that the litmus test for any spirit is found in Isaiah 8:20: “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them”.

How Will the Real Jesus Appear at His Second Coming?

In order to distinguish the counterfeit from the genuine, we need to know the real well enough to distinguish any forgery. For example, to distinguish fake $100 bills you need to be very familiar with an authentic $100 bill.

Let’s review four scriptures that describe the authentic Second Coming.

Revelation 1:7:

“Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him…”

Revelation 14:14:

“And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.”

Revelation 19:11-16:

“11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.

13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.

14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King Of Kings, And Lord Of Lords.”

Matthew 24:27 

“27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”

In summary, Jesus will come sitting on a white cloud or on a horse – both refer to legions of angels dressed in white linen. He’ll be wearing a golden crown and dressed in kingly garments. On His thigh is written King Of Kings, and Lord Of Lords Jesus and the angelic host will be coming down from heaven and will enter earth’s atmosphere at very high altitude. (Remember that Jesus is coming from Orion). They’ll be traveling at the speed of lightning and will appear in the sky as bright as lightning. Directionally Jesus will be moving from east to west.

1 Thessalonians 4:16

^“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first”.

Satan is not permitted to counterfeit the manner of Christ’s advent (GC88 625.1). But Satan’s counterfeit will be so similar that we need to know the genuine and if possible even anticipate what the counterfeit will look like. Let’s do that right now.

How Will Satan Appear?

In Daniel Chapter 8, the Lord gives Daniel a very important vision which he didn’t understand. The vision was of a ram (a ram is a male lamb) having two horns. The ram is being attacked by an angry he-goat that sprouts horns, from which comes up the little horn of Daniel 7. Because the prophet didn’t understand the vision the Lord sent the Angel Gabriel to reveal to Daniel the meaning of the dream.

But the vision had two layers of meaning. The first layer of meaning was given to Daniel by the angel Gabriel and is recorded in clear language in Daniel Chapters 8 and 9. I invite you to listen to a previous podcast called “Satan’s War Against God’s Holy Covenant” where I analyze this vision in a lot more detail than we have time for today.

The other meaning is encoded for our generation to decode. The Lord gave us a couple of clues to help us understand the coded meaning of this passage:

1. the number of times that the verb “to see” (see, saw, seen) is used. Revelation 1:7, when talking about Jesus’ return, says that “every eye will see Him”.
2. Jesus asks Gabriel to make the prophet understand the vision. The first thing Gabriel says to the prophet Daniel is “Understand son of man, that the vision refers to the time of the end”.

The Vision of the Ram and the He-Goat

Let’s read in Daniel 8: “2…and I saw in the vision that I was by the River Ulai. 3 Then I lifted my eyes and saw, and there, standing beside the river, was a ram which had two horns” (Daniel 8:2-3). Listen closely now to verse 4: “I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before him…”

The ram or lamb is a sanctuary animal. The lamb is also a symbol of Jesus. Notice also that Daniel was by the river and the ram was standing by the river. In the Hebrew book of Daniel every time Jesus appears He’s standing by a river or on a river. Clearly this ram is a type and symbol of Jesus.

The ram was “pushing westward, and northward, and southward”. This means the ram was coming from the east. Hold that thought!

Listen up now because what happens next is totally amazing. We’re still reading from Daniel chapter 8:

“5… suddenly a male goat came from the west, across the surface of the whole earth, without touching the ground; and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes”. Did you hear that? Let’s unpack this.

Like the ram, the goat also is a sanctuary animal. In the typical Day of Atonement ceremony in ancient Israel two goats were involved. One was the Lord’s goat which served to atone for sin. The other was called the scapegoat who was made to bear all the sins of the congregation. The scapegoat is a type and shadow of Satan.

If we needed any confirmation, in Daniel 8:21 the Angel Gabriel refers to the he-goat as a “rough goat”. The word translated as “rough” means devil, fawn, satyr and is the same word used when referring to the idol worship of Israel.

We get a second witness of the sheep and goats typology in a parable in Matthew 25. The sheep represent the righteous and stand at the right hand of Jesus, directionally the east. The goats represent the wicked and stand at the left hand of Jesus, directionally the west.

Back to Daniel 8:5:

“5… suddenly a male goat came from the west, across the surface of the whole earth, without touching the ground”.

We know from Matthew 24:27 that Jesus will come from the east and his feet won’t touch the ground. Well, Satan’s feet also won’t touch the ground, so knowing that Jesus’ feet won’t touch the ground is not enough to be able to distinguish Satan’s counterfeit.

We said earlier that Satan won’t be allowed to replicate exactly how Jesus will come. But here the Bible is letting us know that it’ll be so close that we could easily be deceived.

Satan will be flying in the sky slowly and at low altitude, in something akin to levitation. Satan will be traveling from west to east. In other words, Satan will be traveling in the wrong direction. Most of God’s people and the world will be deceived. Only the Bible testimony can keep us from deception.

Where Will Satan Appear?

The Bible gives us at least three solid witnesses that Satan will appear in the desert. Let’s look at those.

First Witness

The first one is fairly straightforward. Jesus said to His disciples: “24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 25 Behold, I have told you before. 26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not” (Matthew 24:24-26). So according to Jesus, the desert is one of the places, probably the first place, where this false christ will appear.

Second Witness

When Satan appeared as an angel of light to tempt Jesus, they were in the desert. By the Bible Principle of Precedent, the established precedent is that when Satan reappears as an angel of light it will also be in the desert or wilderness.

Third Witness

You may recall in Numbers 21, the children of Israel were wandering in the desert. They had sinned against the Lord by murmuring against Him and against Moses and Aaron. The Lord was angry and sent fiery serpents against the people, which bit them and killed many. Let’s pick up the story in Numbers 21:8-9: “8 And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. 9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.” The tall vertical pole had a horizontal pole to hold up the serpent so that it looked like a cross. Therefore, the image is of a serpent on a cross. That is to say, Satan riding on the identity of Jesus.

The Bible generally features the desert or the wilderness as a place of dangers and temptations. This is quite fitting for Satan’s appearance. Those who look at him will be hypnotized and will end up worshipping him.

Do we have any inkling of which desert or where this desert might be? Brothers and sisters, I believe it will be in the United States, for two reasons.

Reason #1

In the vision of the ram and the he-goat, the prophet Daniel emphasizes the fact that the ram had two horns. I believe this is an allusion to the two-horned beast that comes out of the earth in Revelation 13 and which represents the United States.

Reason #2

The United States empire is crumbling and will soon fall because of internal divisions. The Lord Jesus said in Matthew 12:25: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand.” Notice the word desolation. As we’ll see shortly in Daniel 12:11, the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet in Chapter 12 refers to Satan himself.

When Will Satan Appear?

This is where the plot thickens. The short answer to the question “When will Satan appear?” is “Shortly after the National Sunday Law is passed in the US. This answer is based on the three timelines of Daniel 12: the 1260-Day, 1290-Day and 1335-Day Prophecies. The three prophecies are given in literal days. We don’t apply the “year for a day” principle to these prophecies.

For a much more detailed explanation of these prophecies you can listen to a previous podcast called “End Time Prophecies of Daniel 12: Part 2” than we have time for today.

Let’s very quickly recap each of these three time prophecies in Daniel 12:

• The 1335-Day Prophecy is triggered by the enactment of the National Sunday Law in the United States. It measures the length of time from the National Sunday Decree until God’s people hear the Father’s voice from heaven proclaiming the day and the hour of their deliverance by Jesus’ return. That’s why this prophecy is called The Wait and it ends with a blessing.
• The 1260-Day Prophecy starts with the Global or Universal Sunday Law. It measures the 3.5 years of persecution of God’s people under anti-christ’s reign.
• I submit to you that the 1290-Day Prophecy, which previously we’ve thought to also start with the Universal Sunday Law, actually starts with Satan’s appearing. The counterfeit Second Coming is the event that triggers the 1290-Day timeline. There’s also biblical evidence that there’s another synchronous or simultaneous event with Satan’s appearing, and that is the United States’ complete loss of sovereignty on behalf of the New World Order.

The 1290-Day Prophecy in Daniel 12:11 says: “And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.” These are the two synchronous events that trigger the beginning of this prophecy: the taking away of the daily and the setting up of the abomination of desolation. Let’s briefly define both of those key terms now.

The Daily

“And from the time that the daily shall be taken away”. First, we delete the word sacrifice from that verse. The word sacrifice was added by the translators and shouldn’t be there. The daily in this particular passage doesn’t refer to the daily sacrifice of the Sanctuary rituals. It also doesn’t refer to Christ’s sacrifice or His ministration for us as High Priest. Rather, it refers to the scepter of power. In fact, the word “tamiyd” is better translated as continual or in this case, continuum: the continuum of power.

How do we know that’s the right meaning of the word? Because of the context. The entire Book of Daniel and its key prophecies are all related to the power struggles between kingdoms and the succession of world kingdoms until Jesus returns. Daniel 12 takes us through the last kingdom on earth, which is the reign of the evil trinity (Satan, anti-christ and false prophet), to the moment when Michael / Jesus stands up to come reclaim the kingdom and restore the scepter of power to the throne of God. Remember that the throne of God is the only legitimate source of authority. When he sinned, Adam forfeited the scepter of power to Satan.

Let’s now define the abomination of desolation and see how this all comes into play together.

The Abomination of Desolation

We find the term “abomination of desolation” or “the abomination that maketh desolate” three times in the Book of Daniel (Daniel Chapters 9, 11 and 12) and three times in the Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke). This term always refers to the dragon.

In the Bible, the dragon refers to any one of these three entities:

–Satan himself (Revelation 12)

–Rome, whether Pagan Rome or Papal Rome (Daniel 2, 7, 9 and 11)

–Egypt (Pharaoh) – the spirit of atheism – and by extension, France (Ezekiel 29, Revelation 11)

In the Book of Daniel, the abomination of desolation first appears in Daniel 9:27, referring to Pagan Rome. Then it appears in Daniel 11:31, referring to Papal Rome. Then it appears in Daniel 12:11, which says: “And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.”

Brothers and sisters, I submit to you that the abomination of desolation in Daniel 12:11 actually refers to all three entities combined: Satan himself, Rome, and believe it or not, France working through the mechanism of the Paris Climate Agreement. These three entities are going to work together to bring down the US empire, take away its national sovereignty, and set up the New World Order.

I mentioned earlier that the expression “abomination of desolation” appears in three of the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark and Luke. By applying the principle of symmetry and parallelism, we can pair off the three mentions in the gospels and the three mentions in the Book of Daniel in the following way:

• Matthew 24:15 is paired with Daniel 9:27 referring to Pagan Rome
• Mark 13:14 is paired with Daniel 11:31 referring to Papal Rome
• Luke 21:20 is paired with Daniel 12:11 shedding additional light to increase our understanding

Let’s read Luke 21:20: “And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.” Brothers and sisters, when we apply that to Daniel 12:11 and the end time, it’s referring to the United States, the capital of Spiritual Israel. This verse is telling us that Satan will appear when the US is convulsed by war.

I believe it will be a combination of civil war and a foreign take-over by the United Nations (behind which hide the Jesuits, i.e., Rome) under the pretext provided by the Paris Climate Agreement and Agenda 2030. Satan will make his appearance at that precise time when the US loses the scepter of power as the world’s reigning superpower on behalf of the New World Order.

Let’s continue to consider the Bible evidence.

Matthew 24:15

We said that the term “abomination of desolation” is also used in the Gospels. Let’s consider Matthew 24:15, where Jesus says “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)”. So not only is Jesus referring to the abomination of desolation, he’s specifically referencing Daniel 12 which as is all about the wise understanding.

The word used for “see” (“when you therefore shall see”) is the Greek word “horao” (Strong’s Greek 3708).

The first mention of the word “horao” is found in Matthew 1:20, in the context of an angelic appearance. “But while he (Joseph) thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.”

Furthermore, in every single instance where the word “horao” is used (or the Hebrew equivalent in the Old Testament) it always refers to a heavenly apparition: either to an angel appearing or to God Himself (Jesus) appearing.

Then there’s this very curious phrase: “whoso readeth, let him understand”. That’s obviously a big red flag that we need to pay special attention to Daniel 12:11. What specific clues are we given?

“Whoso readeth”: the word translated as “readeth” is the Greek word “Anaginosko” which primarily means to distinguish between, to know accurately, to recognize.

“Let him understand”: the word translated as “understand” is the Greek word noeó. It means to perceive, think upon, heed, ponder, consider

From 3539 noiéō (from 3563 /noús, “mind”). Properly, it means to apply mental effort, the intellect and the reasoning faculty. It implies something that needs to be understood, that isn’t obvious at first glance, that needs to be pondered and considered at a deeper level. Requires mental effort to be understood.

Clearly Jesus is telling us that we need to dig deeper in order to understand the abomination of desolation in Daniel 12. Let’s do that now.

Daniel 12:11

We’re now ready to consider Daniel 12:11 in more detail. Where it says “and the abomination of desolation set up”, the word “set up” in Hebrew is the word “nathan” (Strong’s Hebrew 5414).

Let’s now apply the Bible Principle of First Mention. The first mention of the word “nathan” is in Genesis 1:16-17: “16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. 17 And God set them (nathan) in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth”.

In the Bible, stars symbolize angels (Job 38:7, Nehemiah 9:6, Amos 5:25-27, and Revelation 12:4).

Let’s read a few verses in Daniel 12 so that you’ll appreciate how the Lord is trying to clue us in to the fact that verse 11 is pointing to an angel:

“3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. This is a clear and direct throwback to Genesis 1!

4 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 12:3-4). In the time of the end, knowledge shall be increased.

Let’s skip down to verse 9:

“9 And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.

10 Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.” (Daniel 12:9-10)

By the way, verses 3 and 4 are paired with verses 9 and 10 when you consider the chiastic or mirror structure of Daniel 12. The Lord is clearly telling us: the abomination of desolation in Daniel 12:11 is about an angel. This won’t be understood until the time of the end and even then, only the wise shall understand.

However, I need to point out that the primary meaning of the word “nathan” is to give. The verse therefore is also telling us that something is given. So the first part of the verse tells us that the scepter of power is taken away, and the second part of the verse tells us that something is given.

Brothers and sisters, the scepter of power is given to the New World Order. Why is that an abomination? Because it’s the reestablishment of the Tower of Babel. They want to climb up into the firmament like Nimrod and his followers.

The New World Order

The New World Order is made up of rebellious men going against the order that God established, which is summarized in Acts 17:26: “And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation”.

The New World Order wants to tear down boundaries between nations. It also doesn’t want men dwelling over all the face of the earth. They want to restrict men to a cluster of large urban centers and devolve the rest to wildlife.

After the National Sunday Law is passed in the US, great desolation will follow. As Sister White stated it, “National apostasy will be followed by national ruin”. The US will be plunged into military chaos – judgment by the sword – and lose its national sovereignty. In the midst of that chaos Satan will make his appearance, claiming the scepter of power by virtue of the enactment of his day of worship. That’s the insight we get from Luke 21:20, where it refers to “Jerusalem compassed by armies”.

When the 1290-Day timeline begins, the Pope himself still isn’t seated on the throne of One World Leader. That will come thirty days later with the Universal Sunday Law Decree.

The Warnings We All Must Heed

Warning #1

We need to heed Jesus’ warning in Matthew 24:26: “Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.” Don’t go. Don’t watch it on television. Don’t watch it on YouTube. Protect yourself! Satan has great power to deceive, to hypnotize and to mesmerize. We shouldn’t expose ourselves in any way to Satan’s dangerous, mesmerizing power of hypnosis and seduction.

Warning #2

In the Book of Revelation, John the Revelator twice bowed down before an angel and was chastened for doing so (Revelation 19:9-10 and Revelation 22:8-9). Brothers and sisters, if this impulse to worship an angel happened to John in heaven, in close proximity to the Lord, and surrounded by holy beings, what makes you think you’ll be able to resist Satan’s bewitchment and sorcery if you travel out to the wilderness or go to a secret chamber to see him?

Warning #3

This is from Patriarchs and Prophets Chapter 3, speaking of Adam and Eve’s fall in Genesis 3: Eve stepped outside God’s hedge of protection. “Satan was not to follow them with continual temptations; he could have access to them only at the forbidden tree. (Before the fall, Satan didn’t have permission to roam the earth as he does today. It was the fall that gave him the legal right to do so). Should they attempt to investigate its nature, they would be exposed to his wiles. They were admonished to give careful heed to the warning which God had sent them and to be content with the instruction which He had seen fit to impart” (Patriarchs and Prophets, Chapter 3). Eve, by overstepping the boundary and thereby stepping outside God’s hedge of protection, was tempted and sinned after being charmed by the dazzling serpent.

In perfect biblical symmetry, Satan will use on the last generation the same strategy he used with such great success in the first generation. He will present himself in dazzling glory, “having the color and brilliancy of burnished gold”, which sounds very similar to how Revelation 1 and Daniel 10 describe Jesus in His glorified body.

Brothers and sisters, curiosity killed the cat. Satan can only access you if you go out to see him. Obey God’s instruction and don’t venture out to see Satan. Don’t even watch him on television or the internet. Disobedience on this important point will cost you your eternal life. You won’t be able to resist the overmastering delusion because you’ll have stepped outside God’s hedge of protection. God’s angels won’t follow you there. There will be no one to rescue you. Forewarned if forearmed if you heed the warning.

Please let’s all obey the Lord and not repeat the same mistake Eve made 6000 years ago…

Jesus our High Priest is our only safeguard against the great tempter. I pray that all of us will be obedient to God’s warning. May He keep us always.