Brother Mike Ministries

The many days of Judgment Day began on May 21, 2011!  
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Daniel 7:13-19
Christ is brought near unto the Ancient of Days
By Brother Mike (2-17-17; 45 minutes)
   


13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him .
14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed .
15 I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me .
16 I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So, he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things .
17 These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth .
18 But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even for ever and ever .
19 Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet . . . 


INTRODUCTION   

In our last study of Daniel, we saw a vision of Judgment Day on May 21, 2011 when the Ancient of Days, Yahweh, did sit to judge in complete righteousness all those who stood before Him in this world. In this study, we see that the Son of man, Jesus Christ, came in judgment with the clouds of heaven on this same day to take His place in the Godhead near to the Ancient of Days where it was the purpose of Yahweh, the Ancient of Days, to give Jesus Christ everlasting dominion, and glory, and an everlasting kingdom. Furthermore, it was the purpose of Yahweh, the Ancient of Days, that all people, nations, and languages, shall serve Jesus Christ.  

Then, we are told of Daniel being grieved and troubled because of the visions he saw so that he drew near to one of them that stood by in the visions, and this heavenly being told him the interpretation of the matter. He told Daniel that the four great beasts which came up from the sea were four kings, which came up from the earth. Then Daniel desired to know for certain about the fourth beast which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet. And, this is as far as we will get in this study on Daniel 7:13-19.     


Verse 7:13
:  

13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him .  

Here, in this first verse of our study, we first read that Daniel saw in the night visions. These visions are described as night visions not only because Daniel saw these visions in the nighttime, but because nighttime in the Bible can be shown to represent a time of judgment. And, the context of our verse has been exactly that, namely a description of Judgment Day on May 21, 2011. 

Now, in Daniel's vision of Judgment Day, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven. It is common knowledge that the Son of man refers to Christ, but why does it read, one like or as the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven rather than just read, the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven. This is likely because what Daniel is seeing is not Christ as He was on earth as a man, but he is seeing Christ in His glorified state, which, although is a state far beyond our comprehension in glory and majesty, but, nevertheless, it still somehow bears some likeness to Christ as He once was in His non-glorified state, and so we read that one like or as the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven. To put it another way, Christ came with the clouds of heaven in His glorified state, so He only seemed to be one like or as the Son of man.    

Then, we read that He came with the clouds of heaven. What could this mean? Well, Clouds are associated with judgment or wrath as we read in Zephaniah 1, 

Zep 1: 14 The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly .
15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness . . . 

And, again, in Joel 1,   

Joel 2:1 Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand ;
2 A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations

And, in foreseeing the king of Babylon coming up to destroy Yahweh's people due to their trespasses, we read in Jeremiah 4, 

Jer 4:13 Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we are spoiled   

Finally, we read in Psalm 18,   

Ps 18:12 At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire .  

So, we see that clouds are associated with judgment or wrath. Therefore, when we read that one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, we are being told that Christ came with the judgment or wrath of heaven. Or, we might just say that He came in judgment as the judge.  

Now, Christ not only came in judgment as the judge (He came with the clouds of heaven), but He came to the Ancient of Days. We could translate it, and [He] reached to the Ancient of Days. The idea is that He reached to the level or standing of Yahweh, and we all know how that was possible: why, it was possible because Christ is Yahweh. Indeed, as a man on earth, Christ was below Yahweh in standing, for we read,   

Joh 14:28 Ye have heard how I [Christ] said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I .  

But, once Christ became glorified after He ascended to heaven, He reached the level of the Ancient of Days, Yahweh, the Father because He is Yahweh, the Father, so that it could no longer be said that He is less than the Father, but, instead, He reached to the Father, Yahweh, in now being equal with Him in every respect. In fact, Christ is the Father, Yahweh, and the Father, Yahweh, is Christ, and, yet they are two different persons in the Godhead. What a mystery (see God is a trinity and The Mystery of the Incarnation )! 

Finally, our verse states, and they brought him [Christ] near before him [the Ancient of Days]. The first question we have with respect to this sentence is who is the they who brought Him near before Him? This verse does not give us a clue, but if we go back to verse 10 in our last Study where the thousand thousands are those who ministered unto the Ancient of Days, then we have our answer: the they must be referring all the way back in the context to they who ministered unto the Ancient of Days on Judgment Day, which could be in reference to either the elect who are in heaven, or the celestial angels in heaven, or both. Whatever the case, these are heavenly beings who brought Christ near before the Ancient of Days.  

But, now, the question is, what does it mean that these heavenly beings brought Christ near before the Ancient of Days? Well, the idea of being brought near to Yahweh is that Christ is being shown to be a part of the Godhead in heaven. Indeed, Christ is one and the same as the Ancient of Days or Yahweh, but, yet, He is also a different person than the Ancient of Days, which is how He can be brought near to the Ancient of Days. Indeed, all persons of the Godhead, which includes the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, are near to the Ancient of Days in heaven because they are each a different person in the Godhead; nevertheless, they are also each one and the same as the Ancient of Days or Yahweh as we know from many other scriptures. So, there is only one God, but there are three persons near that God in the Godhead, and each of these three different persons is that God (see God is a Trinity ).  


Verse 7:14:     

14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed .  

In this verse, we should first recognize that our context is still that of being Judgment Day on May 21, 2011. So, it is on this day when Christ is here being described as having been given dominion, and glory, and a kingdom. Dominion could be translated as jurisdiction or sovereignty, which refers to His rule over a given territory or realm of people. In this case, it refers to Christ's rule now over both this world and the elect during Judgment Day, and, of course, His rule to come in both the new heaven and earth. And, in that Christ was given glory on May 21, 2011 means that He was given honor or esteem by all the heavenly host including the elect both on earth and in heaven. In addition, He was given a kingdom on May 21, 2011, which is a realm of people ruled over by a king, and the king, of course, is Christ Jesus Himself. He is a king over the elect both in this world, and in the world to come. So, in that Christ was given a kingdom is practically the same as saying He was given dominion, except that in being given a kingdom we have brought to the forefront that He is a king. He was not just given dominion or rule, but He was given dominion as king over a kingdom, which includes all the elect.   

But, now, why do we read that Christ was, first, given dominion, then, second, glory, and then, third, a kingdom so that we have a series of three things being described? Why, this is to emphasize that it was God's purpose that Christ was given dominion, and glory, and a kingdom (see Bible Number 3 ).  

Next, we are told why Christ was given dominion, and glory, and a kingdom: it was so that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him. Once again, notice the series of three things in the description: that all people, one, nations, two, and languages, three, should serve Him. This series of three, once again, reveals that it is God's purpose that all people, nations, and language groups should serve Him (see Bible Number 3 ). Actually, the three words, should serve Him would be better translated as shall serve Him, so it is better to say that it is God's purpose that all people, nations, and language groups shall serve Him. They shall serve Him in the future because it is only once the new heaven and earth is created that all people, nations, and language groups will be willingly serving Him. Currently, in this world, it is only the elect of all people, nations, and language groups that are willingly serving the Lord. But, in the next world, after all the unsaved people have been destroyed on the Last Day due to their sins, then all people, nations, and language groups will serve the Lord because they will all then consist of only the elect. Then there will be no sin, sorrow, pain, or death, but only glory and bliss as we serve the Lord for all eternity.   

Now, we read that His dominion is an everlasting dominion. Unlike the dominion of Satan that was taken away on May 21, 2011, but the life of which was extended for a time and season (Dan. 7:12), Christ's dominion or rule will never end because it is eternal. The dominion that He now has over the world as He rules with a rod of iron, which is a rod that cannot bend or give for mercy or salvation to the unsaved, will transition over to His eternal rule over the elect in the new heaven and earth to be created after the destruction of this world on the Last Day. His rule will be perfect as He is perfect, and we, the elect, will enjoy being under His eternal benevolent care.   

But, not only is Christ's dominion an eternal dominion or rule, but His kingdom shall not be destroyed. His kingdom, of course, is ruled over by Him. He is the king, and His subjects are all the elect. So, what we are being told is that we, the elect, will never be destroyed; neither will the new heaven and earth ever be destroyed, for there will never ever be a reason to destroy because there will never ever be any more sin, which means that there will be no wages of death either for the elect, or for the whole new creation. O how we long for that day when,    

. . . this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord (1Co 15:54-58).  


Verse 7:15
:   

15 I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me .  

Here, Daniel expresses how he felt after seeing the visions, namely he was distressed or grieved in spirit, and the visions alarmed, frightened, or troubled him. And, I suppose, it would do the same to us as well. I mean if we saw a vision of a beast like that which Daniel saw, which was terrifying and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it, we too would become greatly troubled and frightened, especially if we couldn't fully understand what it meant. We would be wondering just how this was going to affect Yahweh's people and us. 


Verse 7:16

16 I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So, he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things .    

In this verse, we first wonder who the one of them that stood by was of whom Daniel asked the truth of all this. The verse does not tell us; nor do the immediate surrounding verses, but we do remember that in verse 13 there was a they who brought Christ near unto the Ancient of Days. Therefore, the best educated guess as to who the one is who Daniel asked the truth of, must be one of these they who brought Christ near unto the Ancient of Days. And, since we had learned back in verse 13 that the they are those who ministered unto the Ancient of Days - the elect in heaven or the celestial angels - we can conclude that the one who Daniel asks the truth of, and who makes known to Daniel the interpretation of his visions is either one of the elect in heaven, or a celestial angel.  

Now, in the following verses this elect person in heaven, or this celestial angel, makes known to Daniel the interpretation of his dream, and we have the privilege of having this information to help us understand these visions of Daniel. So, let's move on to our next verse to see what it says about the visions of Daniel 7.  


Verse 7:17
:  

17 These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth .  

This verse lets us know that the four great beasts spoken of in verse 3 of Daniel 7 are four kings. Since the number 4 symbolizes universality or worldwide (see Bible Number 4 ), these four kings symbolize worldwide kings. Furthermore, since kings symbolize rule or dominion, the four kings symbolize worldwide rule or dominion. And, because we are dealing with great beasts, which normally are used in the bible to typify Satan, what is being brought to the forefront is Satan's worldwide rule or dominion. In other words, the four great beasts represent Satan's worldwide rule or dominion with each beast representing a different aspect of that rule or dominion.   

Now, we are told here in this verse that these great beasts, which symbolize the rule of Satan shall arise out of the earth. But, in verse 3 of Daniel 7, we were told this:   

3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another .     

So, verse 3 tells us that the great beasts came up from the sea while verse 17 tells us that the great beasts arise out of the earth. What is the difference? Well, the sea can be symbolic of the world as we read in Psalm 98:7:  

Ps 98:7 Let the sea roar, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein

But, the sea can also represent the world in the sense of representing all the unsaved or wicked of the world as we read in Isaiah 57:20:   

Isa 57:20 But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt .  

Now, whereas we find, then, that the word sea symbolizes the world, the word earth, on the other hand, can be translated as land, and it often refers to the land of Israel in the Bible, which we know typifies the spiritual land or kingdom of the churches. So, in that we are told that the four great beasts come up from the sea in verse 3 symbolizes Satan's rule coming up from the world. But, in that we are later told in verse 17 the interpretation of the four great beasts, namely that These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth, we are being told that the worldwide rule of Satan as typified by four kings shall arise out of the churches. So, what we have here are four kings which arise out of the earth who are typified by four great beasts which came up from the sea. This is a picture of the rule of Satan coming out from the churches, which itself came out from the world. To put it another way, Satan came from the world into the churches, and the way he did this was by his unsaved servants. He led them into the churches as if they were believers, and gradually they gained positions of leadership in the churches because they seemed so godly on the outside when the truth is that their hearts on the inside were as dead man's bones. But, nevertheless, they obtained positions of leadership, and more people came into the churches and the unsaved flocked together as birds of a feather by creating and supporting false teachings and gospels to the grief and weariness of the elect. Finally, it became so bad that the elect were commanded to depart from the churches as Yahweh brought spiritual judgment against them for their transgressions by unleashing Satan from the pit, and making him to sit and rule in all the churches worldwide as the false Christ, the Antichrist, who deceived them all into thinking that he, Satan, was Christ because they loved not the truth, but relished in unrighteousness. Therefore, Yahweh gave them up that they might believe the lie, who loved unrighteousness more than they loved God (see Why Leave All Churches? ).   


Verse 7:18

18 But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even for ever and ever .  

We can understand this verse when viewed in the light of the previous verse. We just learned in the previous verse that the rule of Satan arose not only out of the sea (the world), but also out of the earth or land (out of the churches), which means that Satan was given rule or dominion in the churches for which purpose we know was to bring judgment against them due to their trespasses. But, now, we are told, But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even for ever and ever. In other words, even though Satan was given dominion or rule in all the Christian churches worldwide on May 21, 1988 (see biblical calendar with proofs ), it is the saints - all the elect - of the Highest who shall receive the kingdom and take possession of it forever. This possession of the kingdom will be complete on the Last Day when the elect will be transformed with new spiritual bodies and given possession of the new heaven and earth for all eternity where there is no longer any crying and pain, sorrow and death, to the glory of the Father, amen.   


Verse 7:19
:  

19 Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding terrifying, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet . . .  

Here, Daniel says, I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others. Literally, it reads, I desired for certainty concerning the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others. So, what Daniel desired was certainty about what he had already seen in the previous vision about the fourth beast. In the previous vision, Daniel saw the following:  

7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, terrifying and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns .   

But, in the latter vision, Daniel states,  

19 Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful [terrifying], whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet . . .  

In a comparison between the two descriptions, one thing stands out: we are told in verse 19 that the fourth beast's nails [were] of brass whereas in verse 7 this was not even mentioned. So, what we are told is something that we had not been told before in Daniel 7, namely that the fourth beast had nails or claws of brass. And, because brass is made by mixing melted copper with heated zinc, it is an impure metal or alloy, and it is this impurity of brass which seems to be used here to designate the impurity of this fourth beast.  

Now, we already discussed in verse 7 how this fourth beast was diverse or different from the previous three beasts as it represents the rule of Satan over all the churches during the Great Tribulation from May 21, 1988 to May 21, 2011 while the other beasts do not. It was during this Great Tribulation when Satan completely devoured the churches by false teachings and gospels as he was employed by Yahweh to devour and break in pieces when he sat to rule in all the churches as if he were God. In all the churches, Satan deceived everyone, except the elect who departed out, into worshipping him instead of the true Christ. Indeed, Satan became the counterfeit Christ, and, even today, the whole world and all the churches wander after him as if he were God. Yes, when all the churches sing their songs as if to Christ, they are, without realizing it, worshipping the false Christ, the Antichrist, Satan, for the Church Age has long ended, and the Holy Spirit has long been removed from their midst (see Why leave all churches? ). The Spirit they claim to have in their churches is the Spirit of Satan, and he comes counterfeiting the gospel by signs and wonders, and apparent miraculous things.  

Finally, before leaving this verse, we are told once again even as we were told in verse 7 that this fourth beast stamped the residue with his feet. Let me say a little bit more about this:  As we learned back in verse 7 , this stamping of the residue is referring to the spiritual killing of the elect in the churches during the Great Tribulation. It was during this time that the elect were silenced in the churches by being ignored, looked down upon, thrown out of the churches, and not allowed to proclaim truth in the churches. We read about this spiritual killing of the elect and not allowing the elect to proclaim truth in the churches particularly in Revelation 13 where we read,  

Re 13:15 And he [the beast which came up from the earth] had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed .
16
And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name

In the Bible, the idea of buying and selling must do with the receiving and sending forth of the truths of the Bible, namely the gospel. We read in Isaiah 55,  

Isa 55:1 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price .   

Here, we learn that to buy is not to literally pay for wine and milk, which both drinks typify the gospel, but to freely receive the gospel or the truths of the Bible without price. And, if buying must do with receiving the gospel or the truths of the Bible, then selling must do with the teaching or sending forth of the truths of the Bible or the gospel. So, when Revelation 13:17 says, And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, we are being told that unless people had the spiritual mark of the beast by being unsaved, they were not permitted to either receive (buy) the teachings of the Bible in the churches because there was only false teachings and false gospels in the churches; nor were they permitted to teach or send forth the truths of the Bible in the churches because they were spiritually killed or silenced in the churches. Indeed, it was the elect only who did not receive the spiritual mark of the beast, and who would not worship the beast - the false Christ - in the churches during the Great Tribulation, and, because of this, they were the ones not permitted to teach or bring the truths of the Bible in the churches during the Great Tribulation from May 21, 1988 to May 21, 2011. Yes, the stamping upon of the elect, which was the spiritual killing of the elect meant that the elect were silenced from being able to bring the truth in the churches during the Great Tribulation. It does not mean that the elect were literally stamped upon and killed, but that they were silenced from being able to proclaim truth in the churches. 


CONCLUSION 

Well, in conclusion, we saw that the Son of man, Jesus Christ, came near before the Ancient of Days, Yahweh, in the clouds of heaven on May 21, 2011. The clouds let us know that Christ came in judgment, or as the judge. Christ could come near unto the Ancient of Days because He was a part of the Godhead, and it was the purpose of Yahweh to then give Christ everlasting dominion, and esteem or honor, and an everlasting kingdom, which is made up of all the elect. Furthermore, it was the purpose of Yahweh that all people, nations, and languages, shall serve Christ in the new heaven and earth to be revealed on the Last Day. On that day, all the unsaved will be destroyed in fire, and all the remaining people will be elect and so freely willing and able to serve their Lord and Master forever. 

Then, we were told of Daniel being grieved and troubled because of the visions he saw so that he drew near to one of them that stood by in the visions, and this heavenly being began to tell him the interpretation of the matter. First, he told Daniel that the four great beasts which came up from the sea were four kings, which came up from the earth. We had learned in Daniel 7:2 that the sea represents the world, and we learned in this study that the earth can be translated as land, which, in the Bible, normally refers to the land of Israel, which land typifies the spiritual land of the churches. Therefore, when we are told that the four great beasts are four kings which came up from the earth, we are being told that these four kings came up through all the churches. And, since the four kings symbolize worldwide rule, this means that the worldwide rule of Satan, whose rule is typified by the four beasts, came up or was manifest through all the churches. Indeed, the fourth beast represents Satan's rule through all the churches during the Great Tribulation, and it is this fourth beast which Daniel desired to know about for certain. In Daniel's description of this beast we learned that it had nails or claws of brass, which is something we had not previously learned about this beast. The brass, we found, was an impure metal, and was probably being used to represent the impurity of this beast.  

And, finally, we were told that this fourth beast stamped the residue with his feet. This is symbolic language which describes the spiritual stamping upon or killing of the elect during the Great Tribulation. The elect were not literally killed, but they were spiritually killed by being silenced from being able to bring truth in the churches. Revelation 13 spoke of this as not being able to buy or sell, which is a symbolic way of saying that the elect were not able to receive truth from the churches nor proclaim truth in the churches during the Great Tribulation from May 21, 1988 to May 21, 2011.  


Now, may the LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace .

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