Daniel's 70-Week Vision Series #7 - Part 83 of Riddles, Enigmas & Esoteric Imagery of Revelation

So far in this series the angel Gabriel told Daniel that...seventy weeks have been determined upon thy people, and upon the holy city, for sin to be ended, and to seal up transgressions, and to blot out iniquities, and to make atonement for iniquities, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal the vision and the prophet, and to anoint the Most Holy...Dan. 9:20-21 Septuagint.  The word determined means:  already fixed; settled.

We also have established that 70 weeks is described as 70 x 7 weeks. Seven weeks is an annual ecclesiastical celebration beginning with the Passover and ending with Pentecost on the 50th day. It lasts for 49 days - seven weeks - but referred to as one year - ecclesiastical year. In Aramaic this event is called a shaboa celebration. During this annual celebration the Jewish people remembered how God delivered them from Egypt, confessed their sins, and professed their belief in a coming Messiah - ending animal sacrifices for their sins. But the Messiah never arrived.

70 x 7 has an expanded meaning that we must research, if we are going to comprehend the profundity of Gabriel's message to Daniel.  In ancient times a common metaphor - 70 x 7 - implied immeasurable vengeance on sin - or - immeasurable forgiveness of sin.  Let's examine two references of this metaphor in the Bible. The first one from the Old Testament.

What did Moses have to say about 70 x 7?  Because vengeance has been exacted seven times on Cain's behalf, on Lamech's it shall be seventy times seven...Gen. 4: 24. We do know that anyone who killed Cain, a sevenfold vengeance would come upon that killer...Gen. 4:15. Sevenfold implies  measured vengeance. Even though he was of the lineage of Cain, why would Lamech declare a 70 x 7 vengeance upon himself?  

We do know that Lamech said...I have slain a man to my wounding, a young man to my hurt...Gen. 4:23.  The word young in Hebrew is yeled meaning:  born or begat. This implies that Lamech killed someone of the lineage of Cain - so would the curse of Cain come upon him?  What was the curse that came upon Cain?

God told Cain...now thou art cursed from the earth, which has opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand...when thou tillest the earth, then it shall not continue to give its strength to thee...thou shalt be groaning and trembling on the earth...Gen. 4:11-12. 

Cursed means:  execrate - loathe; detest. Cain would become a vagabond - a fugitive - sent far from the family he knew, finally settling in the land of Nod, between the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers, and the land would no longer produce for him. What is the worst part of the curse? 

The only place I could find an accurate answer for this question was in the Septuagint. After God outlined His vengeance upon Cain, he lamented...my crime is too great for me to be forgiven...if thou castest me out this day from the face of the earth, and I shall be hidden from thy presence, and I shall be groaning and trembling upon the earth, then it will be that anyone that finds me shall slay me...Gen. 4:13-14.

God did not deny that Cain's crime was too great to be forgiven, but He would not allow anyone to relieve his suffering by killing him. God told Cain...Not so, anyone that slays Cain shall suffer seven-fold vengeance...Gen. 4:15.  So God set a mark upon Cain so that no one would dare to kill him, because they would clearly understand if they did so, the curse of Cain would come upon them.

Flavius Josephus the historian said about Lamech, "Because he was skillful in matters of divine revelation, he knew he was to be punished for Cain's murder of his brother, which he made known to his wives." Lamech knew that Cain believed he could not be forgiven and a seven-fold - seven times - vengeance was his punishment. So why would Lamech pronounce a 70 x 7 vengeance upon himself?

The answer to this question is not clear. What we do know is that 70 x 7 implies immeasurable vengeance on sin. Since Lamech had full knowledge of the consequences of his sin in advance of his crime, whereas Cain did not, his crime was not only unforgivable, but would receive immeasurable vengeance - 70 x 7. Lamech would be hidden from God forever is the implication.

Animal blood sacrifices for the sins of mankind had not been instituted as yet, and the ten commandments had not been given by God.  Lamech had foreknowledge that his crime of murder would not be forgiven - thus God's vengeance would be immeasurable. As our research unveils these nuggets of revelation, Daniel's vision of 70 x 7 weeks will take on a clearer understanding.

What revelation did Jesus offer to His apostles regarding 70 x 7, and how does it relate to Daniel's vision?  Stay tuned...

God's sheep question the doctrines of men...sheeple follow without question~~~



Daniel's 70-Week Vision Series #6 - Part 82 of Riddles, Enigmas & Esoteric Imagery of Revelation

When we were last together in this series, we found out the meaning of weeks in Daniel's vision of seventy weeks - 70 x 7 weeks.  The Jewish people annually celebrated the redemptive blood that saved them from the plague of death during their days in Egypt - the Passover Celebration. They confessed their sins and asked God for forgiveness during this celebration, while looking forward to a coming Messiah who would end animal sacrifices, by shedding His own blood to once and for all atone for the sins of mankind.

But the Messiah never arrived. As the centuries passed, the celebration of the Feasts of Passover, Pentecost, Trumpets, Day of Atonement and Tabernacles eventually became merely perfunctory observances - an outward religious appearance, yet hearts were unchanged, because they continued to break God's commandments. Many people no longer believed a Messiah would ever come.

When Jesus arrived on the scene, He precisely summed up the condition of the hearts of the religious leaders, when He said...woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites...for you are like white-washed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness...even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness...Matt. 23:27-28.

Jesus was confronting the religious leaders who led the celebration of the many feast throughout the year, beginning with the shaboa - the ecclesiastical year of seven weeks.  Jesus knew there was no faith in the hearts of these religious leaders, so how could their lawlessness lead the people to believe in the promises of God?

Because the Jewish people no longer believed the prophets who had faithfully prophesied the coming of the Messiah, their unbelief - hardened hearts toward God - became an indictment against them. What is an indictment? It is an accusation - charge of a crime.  Jesus accused the religious leaders of Israel of appearing righteous on the outside, but full of hypocrisy and lawlessness in their hearts.

If the religious leaders did speak of a coming Messiah, it was in the context that He would set up an earthly kingdom in Israel and overthrow the power of Rome. The people did like the idea of a physical Messiah that would set up a physical kingdom on earth and destroy their enemy - but this was not the truth.

Daniel was shown in his vision that seventy ecclesiastical years - 70 x 7 - were determined upon Israel. History has already documented that it took 527 years to fulfill this judgment - indictment - on their sin of doubt and unbelief, culminating with the war of 70 A.D. for rejecting their Messiah.  So we can clearly see that calendar years are not intended in the interpretation of the seventy weeks - 70 x 7 - vision.

The time frame for prophecy in the Bible is often measured symbolically by:  time, times, half-times, weeks, seasons, seed time or harvest. Each symbolizes a measurement of a cycle, a pronouncement, a judgment, or a decree with varied increments of calendar time.

Daniel's vision of seventy weeks - 70 x 7 - is divided into three measurements:  7 weeks, 62 weeks, 1 week. Each of these set of weeks is a religious judgment against Israel for their faithlessness. Now we can see that seventy shaboa - seventy ecclesiastical years - have been pronounced upon Israel because they celebrated the feasts without faith in their hearts - without faith we cannot please God. Unbelief is equal to idolatry. 70 x 7 is a religious indictment on sin, resulting in vengeance or forgiveness.

Seventy times seven - 70 x 7 - was a common metaphorical phrase used in conversation by ancient biblical societies, including the times of the apostles.  70 x 7 implies God's immeasurable vengeance on sin, or His immeasurable forgiveness of sin. Since this metaphor was commonly used and understood in ancient times, we find two references in the Bible.  The Apostle Paul said...by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established...II Cor. 13:1.

Can Moses and Jesus unravel the mystery of the 70 x 7?  Stay tuned...

God's sheep question the doctrines of men...sheeple follow without question~~~



Daniel's 70-Week Vision Series #5 - Part 81 of Riddles, Enigmas & Esoteric Imagery of Revelation

When we were last together we read Daniel's prayer for God to turn away His fury from the city of Jerusalem, and let His face...shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate...Dan. 9:18.  God sent the angel Gabriel to answer Daniel's prayer. Their conversation will be quoted from the Septuagint Bible because of its accuracy. This is the Greek translation of the Old Testament published in Alexandria, Egypt 285-247 B.C.

Two years before Daniel and his people were released from 70 years of captivity, he was in prayer, repenting to God, when he says...while I was yet speaking, and praying, and confessing my sins and the sins of my people Israel, and bringing my pitiful case before the Lord my God concerning the holy  mountain; yea, while I was yet speaking in prayer, behold the man Gabriel, whom I had seen at the beginning, came flying, and he touched me about the hour of the evening sacrifice...Dan. 9:20-21.

Gabriel said to Daniel...at the beginning of thy supplication the word came forth, and I am come to tell thee; for thou art a man much beloved:  therefore consider the matter, understand the vision...Dan. 9:23.  Daniel's vision covers over 500 years reaching fulfillment in 70 A.D. which historians have fully documented.  Because Daniel 9:24-27 is gradually fulfilled over so many centuries we will study the details in increments - one portion at a time - beginning with Daniel 9:24.

Gabriel told Daniel...seventy weeks have been determined upon thy people, and upon the holy city, for sin to be ended, and to seal up transgressions, and to blot out the iniquities, and to make atonement for iniquities, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal the vision and the prophet, and to anoint the Most Holy...Dan. 9:24. Some translations say seventy times seven weeks - 70 x 7 - but the meaning is the same.

The word determined in the original Hebrew language is hatak meaning:  to decree, to cut off.  A decree is a judgment.  In the modern English dictionary the word determined means:  already fixed; settled.  So we can see that seventy weeks is a judgment upon Daniel's people, and upon the holy city of Jerusalem, with a set period of time to end sin. This period of judgment has been fixed by God. At the end of the time they will be "cut off."

Right from the beginning of the vision we can clearly see that the whole 70 weeks are determined upon the people of Israel and the holy city of Jerusalem.  The judgment in the vision was meant for no others.  Scripture must be kept in context - including prophecy - to understand its meaning.

In scripture, the number seven is symbolic of completeness and perfection. It is a mysterious sacred measurement used generously by God throughout the Bible.  Since seven is a symbolic number, what does weeks symbolize in the 70 x 7 weeks vision?  We must study the celebration of the Jewish feasts to understand the meaning.

The Aramaic word shaboa defines the division of an ecclesiastical year. A shaboa celebration lasts seven weeks or 49 days. Ecclesiastical pertains to a religious celebration of God's direction. Since seven weeks describes one religious year, Daniel's vision of 70 x 7 weeks could be more clearly defined as 70 x a shaboa - one ecclesiastical year.  Seventy ecclesiastical years are determined upon Israel and the holy city of Jerusalem.

The ecclesiastical year of 49 days - seven weeks - begins with the Passover in the month of Nisan (Jewish calendar), includes the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and ends the ecclesiastical year with the Feast of Pentecost.  At the end of the shaboa celebration - seven weeks - it was time to celebrate the Day of Firstfruits (Pentecost) which was at the completion of the wheat harvest.  This feast was celebrated on the 50th day - lasting one day.

This annual ecclesiastical celebration of seven weeks remembered the redemptive blood (Passover) that saved the Israelites from the plague of death during their days in Egypt.  During this celebration the people confessed their sins and professed their belief in a coming Messiah who would end the animal blood sacrifices, by providing His own blood sacrifice once and for all - but He never arrived!

Did the people quit believing, when centuries passed, and the Messiah never arrived?  Stay tuned...

God's sheep question the doctrines of men...sheeple follow without question~~~



Daniel's 70-Week Vision Series #4 - Part 80 of Riddles, Enigmas & Esoteric Imagery of Revelation

When we were last together in this series, Daniel was in captivity in Babylon.  Because of his youth Daniel was not aware that the Prophet Jeremiah had sent a letter to Israel's religious leaders who were also held in captivity. What did the letter say?

 

For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: do not let your prophets and your diviners who are in your midst deceive you, nor listen to your dreams which you cause to be dreamed...for they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them, says the Lord...for thus says the Lord:  after seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place...Jer. 29:8-10.  Why was it urgent that Jeremiah's letter reach the captives in Babylon?

 

It was God who compelled Jeremiah to write this letter to warn the captives that they have been infiltrated by false prophets, who have promised them a speedy escape from their captivity.  They assured the captives they would return to Israel within two years...Jer. 28:1-17. 

 

In this letter, God warned the religious leaders not to listen to your dreams which you cause to be dreamed.  Apparently these prophets successfully convinced the people that God had given them dreams of direction, so they can be trusted. But these dreams were not from God, warns Jeremiah.

 

The prophets in captivity assured the people that God has shown them in dreams that they will only have to endure captivity for two years.  Jeremiah said in his letter that God did not send those prophets, He did not give them the dreams they claim He gave to them, because their time in captivity in Babylon will be 70 years - not 2 years.  Sadly, every generation has its false prophets who are revered and lauded up to and including the twenty-first century. 

 

Jesus warned us about false prophets, but they always sound so knowledgeable and make their listeners confident that they have figured out God and His prophecy of scripture, even though the Prophet Peter warned us that...no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit...II Pet. 1:20-21.  Nonetheless, we seem mesmerized by dreams and visions of men who say that God gave them, even if the content contradicts, or twists scripture.  We are so easily deceived.

 

As the 70 years of punishment were drawing to a close, Daniel found and read Jeremiah's letter revealing...after seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform my good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place.  Daniel finally understood why his people were in captivity, yet they had not repented of their disobedience.  So he began to weep before the Lord and confess the sins of his people, saying,

 

Yes, all Israel has transgressed your Law, and has departed so as not to obey Your voice; therefore the curse and oath written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against you...and He has confirmed His words, which He spoke against us and against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us a great disaster; for under the whole heaven such has never been done as what has been done to Jerusalem...as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us; yet we have not made our prayers before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your truth...Dan. 9:11-13.

 

As Daniel matured in his knowledge of the prophets and the law, he realized that Israel had become slaves to a pagan nation because they had ignored God's commandment to observe the Sabbath Rest for the land for seventy years - so God took their land from them for 70 years...Lev 25:1-55. Daniel began to intercede for the future of his people, saying,

 

O 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:  because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us...now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face too shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake...O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name:  for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousness, but for thy great mercies...O lord, hear; O Lord forgive; O Lord hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God:  for thy city and thy people are called by thy name...Dan. 9:16-19.

 

Then the angel Gabriel appeared to Daniel.  What did he say? Stay tuned...

 

God's sheep question the doctrines of men...sheeple follow without question~~~

 

 



Daniel's 70-Week Vision Series #3 - Part 79 of Riddles, Enigmas & Esoteric Imagery of Revelation

During the first 1800 years of church history there was no scholar that believed Daniel's 70-week vision was not completely fulfilled with the war of 70 A.D.  But something drastically changed in the 20th century when false teaching was embraced as "new" truth regarding end-time matters. The first two blogs of this series I briefly referenced the origin of the "new" truth.

The foundation for the modern viewpoint on eschatology is based on one idea - the 70th week of Daniel's vision has not been fulfilled as yet.  If this foundation is proven false, everything they have built on this false foundation crumbles to the ground.  While Daniel's 70-week vision prophesies several events that found fulfillment over several centuries, the 70th week was completely fulfilled by the war of 70 A.D.  We will look into what historians wrote about this event.

Who is Daniel the Prophet?  Daniel was born into a Judean family of nobility during the reign of King Josiah in 542 B.C.  When he was a youth the pagan King Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem and took many captives to his kingdom in Babylon 526 B.C. 

Why did God allow Jerusalem to be invaded by a pagan king?  The religious leaders of Israel had led the people to disobey God's law of the Sabbath Rest. This first invasion was a warning to them to repent and surrender their allegiance only to Him and His perfect law - do not follow the persuasion of corrupt leaders. God is patient and enduring with sinful men, but sends his prophets to warn of His judgment if they don't return their allegiance to Him. 

God sent Jeremiah with a very clear warning...Do not go after other gods to serve them and worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands, and I will not harm you...yet you have not listened to Me, says the Lord, that you might provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt...therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, because you have not heard My words...behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, says the Lord, and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land, against it inhabitants and against these nations all around, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, a hissing, and perpetual desolations...Jer. 25:6-9.

Note how God calls the pagan King Nebuchadnezzar "My servant" whom He will use to punish His disobedient kids.  When God's kids revert to paganism and immorality, they get the rulers they deserve, nonetheless, God still provides - through judgment and punishment - a way back to Him because His love for mankind is so profound, finite human beings cannot understand it.

Because Israel didn't listen to the warning of Jeremiah, by 509 B.C. King Nebuchadnezzar returned to Israel to finish the job he started when he took Daniel captive.  This time he destroyed the revered temple of Solomon.  Thousands were taken captive and forcefully removed to Babylon.  By this time Daniel had served in the kings' palace many years and had learned the language of the Chaldeans.
He had been made a eunuch, as were all male slaves in the king's palace. 

During his years in the court of several successive pagan kings, Daniel would have the opportunity to demonstrate the power of his God to them.  One night King Nebuchadnezzar experienced a disturbing dream that left him distressed, but could not remember its content, yet his magicians and sorcerers were unable to reveal his dream.  Just as the king was about to kill them, it was revealed to him that his Hebrew captive Daniel could interpret dreams.

Daniel made it clear that he cannot interpret dreams, but the God he serves is able to reveal both the dream and its content...Dan. 2:19.  When the dream and its interpretation were revealed to the king, he rejoiced and elevated Daniel to chief of all wise men.  God always has a plan for His true-hearts even in the midst of judgment and punishment of a nation.

In the beginning of Israel's captivity in Babylon, Jeremiah wrote an urgent letter to the elders, the priests, and the prophets...Jer. 29:1-32.  Since Daniel was so young when he was taken captive, and immediately became a servant in the kings' court, he was not made privy to this letter until he was old. But obviously it was God's appointed time.  What was in the letter?

For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:  do not let your prophets and your diviners who are in your midst deceive you, nor listen to your dreams which you cause to be dreamed...for they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them, says the Lord...for thus says the Lord:  after seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place...Jer. 29:8-10.

Why was it urgent that Jeremiah's letter reach the captives in Babylon? Stay tuned...

God's sheep question the doctrines of men...sheeple follow without question~~~



Daniel's 70-Week Vision Series #2 - Part 78 of Riddles, Enigmas & Esoteric Imagery of Revelation

If historians prove that the 70th week of Daniel's vision has already been fulfilled, the modern viewpoint on eschatology crumbles like a house of cards. Last blog we began to reveal the historical documentation that proves the origin of this viewpoint.  If we don't read history we could easily be mislead by every wind of doctrine.

When we were last together we found out that a Spanish priest named Francisco de Ribera in the 1500's had fabricated a commentary regarding the end times, intended to disprove Martin Luther's proclamation that the leader of the Holy Roman Empire was the 7th head of the beast in Revelation, and the "man of sin" described by the Apostle Paul...II Thes. 2:3.

Francisco emphasized that the "man of sin" wouldn't appear until the end of the world, when Jesus Christ returns.  He believed he had written a convincing story that would definitely convince the populous that Martin Luther lied about the Empire, hoping he could woo back the millions that had formed Protestant churches by now. Did the public ever read his end-time commentary?

Francisco de Ribera died in 1591, one year after his commentary was completed.  His commentary did not dissuade the massive Protestant revolt as intended, but rather was inadvertently inserted in a Vulgate Bible, lost to the archives of time in the Church of England.

In 1826 a librarian of the Church of England, found and published Francisco's fabricated end-times commentary written in 1590.  It is from this publication that John Darby formulated his unscriptural modern-viewpoint regarding end time events.

Voila - the modern end-time doctrine was born! The fraudster, Cyrus Scofield, knew a good thing when he read it, so conferred with two controversial scholars in London, who financially helped him publish his reference Bible, at the prestigious Oxford University Press in London in 1909.  Because the 'church at large' was corrupt and in decline, his false commentary became wildly popular almost instantly - selling millions of copies in the 20th century.  Prideful men love to be the first to proclaim the latest and greatest - even if they ignore the facts produced by credible historians.

Soon the false end-time doctrine published in the Scofield Reference Bible was adopted into the curriculum of every seminary and Bible school across America.  Have you found a denomination today that doesn't teach that most of Daniel has not been fulfilled?  With the exception of a few verses regarding the Ancient of Days, most of Daniel has been fulfilled, proven by credible historians - including all 70 weeks of his vision. 

Scripture does warn us through the Apostle Peter when he says...our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, written to you...as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of Scriptures...II Peter 3:15-16.

The Rockefeller Foundation invested millions of dollars into a progressive church in New York in 1920, where modern intellectual viewpoints could be embraced - no more talk about sin, Hell, or that bloody cross, while questioning the deity of Christ.  Social justice would become the focus of the modern church - lobbying governments for grants to help the poor, while winking at immorality, and erase church traditions - little by little.  Mr. Scofield found this fertile soil in which to plant his false end-time doctrine.

A contemporary of Cyrus Scofield at first glance embraced this modern viewpoint on eschatology.  In 1903 Philip Mauro, an international patent attorney, accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior at the age of 45. He became an avid researcher of the Bible and church history, and read modern books on the subject of the end times, including the Scofield Reference Bible, eventually writing several books of his own.

After decades of research, historians had proven to Mr. Mauro that the 70th week of Daniel had been fulfilled, so he publicly renounced Scofield's end-time theology as false. But Scofield's doctrine had become so entrenched in the churches by the late l930's, that Mr. Mauro found himself in the middle of a battle with those whom he had once experienced close fellowship - enduring personal insults and public attacks from Mr. Scofield's supporters.  Due to his patience and integrity, this humble man never retaliated. Those who want truth, will find it and embrace it, without attacking others.

Who was Daniel the Prophet?  Stay tuned...

God's sheep question the doctrines of men...sheeple follow without question~~~



Daniel's 70-Week Vision Series #1 - Part 77 of Riddles, Enigmas & Esoteric Imagery of Revelation

As we embark on this new series to research Daniel's 70-Week Vision, we will find that historians have a lot to say on the subject - much of it you have never heard. Why haven't you heard? You haven't heard because the historical documentation doesn't fit into the modern viewpoint on eschatology.  If historians prove that the 70th week of Daniel's vision has already been fulfilled, the modern viewpoint crumbles like a house of cards.

What is the origin of the the modern viewpoint on end-time matters?  About a hundred years ago the American church began a rapid and radical transformation of their understanding of Revelation, Daniel's 70-week vision, and the Olivet Discourse regarding end-time events. This transformation from the historical viewpoint that was embraced by the church for centuries, to the modern viewpoint, pretty much discarded sound doctrine.  How did this happen?

Cyrus Scofield published a reference Bible in 1909 with extensive commentary that carefully outlined a new and innovative viewpoint of end-time events, literally invalidating the historical viewpoint embraced by Christians for centuries. He sold millions of copies, still popular today. Who is Cyrus Scofield?

Cyrus Scofield was a lawyer of Jewish descent, who claimed to be a Christian, but certainly lacked the fruits of a follower of Christ. After he was appointed U.S. District Attorney of the state of Kansas, he later had to resign under a cloud of scandal. - suspected of taking bribes. After his resignation he was later jailed on forgery charges. In the late 1800's, on the pretense of investment, he took $1,300 (a million in today's dollars) from his wife's mother - her life savings - and never returned it.

In 1883 his first wife divorced him for abandoning her and their two children, whom he refused to financially support - admitting he drank too much alcohol. During the divorce process, he was ordained as a Congregational minister - later becoming a Southern Presbyterian. He bestowed upon himself the title C.I. Scofield, D.D., although no record has ever been found to prove he had attained this degree.

How did Cyrus Scofield obtain information he inserted into his Bible as a new end-time doctrine?  Most of his research was from the writings of an itinerant preacher from Great Britain, John Darby, who founded "The Brethren" denomination. Mr. Darby was also a lawyer, who visited the United States several times sharing his modern viewpoint on eschatology. After reading Mr. Darby's writings, Mr. Scofield was convinced that the 70th week of Daniel had not been fulfilled - even though historians had proven otherwise.

From whom did John Darby glean his new end-time doctrine?  After millions of people bolted from the Holy Roman Empire, because of the new revelations of truth presented to them by Martin Luther, the Empire had to offer a counter doctrine. Luther had proven the Empire was the 7th head of the beast in Revelation - man of sin.  What did the Empire do?

A Spanish priest named Francisco de Ribera, a member of the Society of Jesus, decided he would write a scholarly commentary of the book of Revelation that could definitely cast doubt on Luther's proclamation.  In his commentary, a fabrication of his imagination, he said that at the end of time a political antichrist - man of sin - will arise when the "church" falls away.  This antichrist figure will pretend to be God, appearing prior to a seven-year tribulation, where he will persecute the saints and abolish the Christian religion. He will rebuild the temple at Jerusalem for the third time, after making a covenant with the Jews for three and a half years.

This priest made sure he emphasized that all these things will take place far into the future - at the end of the world - then Jesus will return.  Francisco believed that his grandiose end-time fabrication would definitely convince the populous that Martin Luther lied when he called their religious leader of the 1500's - the man of sin described by the Apostle Paul...II Thes. 2:3.

Did the public ever read Francisco's fictional end-time commentary?  Stay tuned...

God's sheep question the doctrines of men...sheeple follow without question~~~