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#40.
The Patience and Faith of the Saints (13: 10).
pp. 100 - 103
We observed in our last paper that the personal incidents interwoven in Daniel's
prophecy were in themselves prophetic. This is true of chapter 4: as well as of
chapter 3: Nebuchadnezzar himself is smitten by the watchers, and during a period of
seven times becomes to all intents and purposes a beast of the field. Had the event no
prophetic meaning, the cryptic words "seven times" would not have been written; we
should have read "seven years".
In the lycanthropy of the head of gold may be seen the nature of Gentile dominion in
the sight of God. It is that of a beast, and as a monster it emerges at the close, including
in its composite character all the cruelty, oppression, and power of the kingdoms that had
passed away. We will not attempt a consideration of details in Rev. 13: until we have
seen one further connection, this time with II Thess. 2: We have seen that the whole
chapter (Rev. 13:) is devoted to the beast from the sea and the beast from the earth.
II Thess. 2: 1-12.
A | 1-3. The day of the Lord, not yet.
B | 3. The apostasy.
C | 3. The revelation of the man of sin.
D | 4. Showing himself that he is God (see Rev. 13: 6-8).
A | 5, 6. He holdeth fast, his own season.
B | 7. The mystery of iniquity.
C | 8. The revelation of the wicked one.
D | 9. With all power, and signs, and lying wonders.
Again we acknowledge the help received from Dr. Bullinger's Apocalypse in making
this comparison. Here we have one called "the man of sin, the son of perdition", and his
recorded act is that he
"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."
We believe this to be one individual, and not the whole beast of Rev. 13: Antichrist
is a person, the beast is a power. This surely is the abomination of desolation in the holy
place, and is the signal for the believer to flee from Judea to the mountains. This is but
the plain way of speaking about the woman carried on eagle wings and nourished in the
wilderness.
The Thessalonians were informed that the day of the Lord could not have set in
because several events had not taken place. The day could not come until the apostasy
had set in. While "he holdeth fast" the final wickedness cannot be manifested, but as
soon as Satan is cast out of heaven, comes down to the earth in great wrath and stand
upon the sand of the sea, then is the moment for the final throw. God Himself is