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Twin Timelines

Part XXVI

The last installment of Twin Timelines examined how there are Twin Incarnations of the Little Horn described in the book of Daniel. In the Old Testament timeline, the Syrian Seleucid kingdom, personified by Antiochus I and his dynastic heirs, fulfilled the role; and this period of desolation was marked by an unprecedented Jewish apostasy in Jerusalem. The record shows that, in the generations preceding the arrival of JESUS CHRIST, the leadership of Judaea categorically rejected the Old Covenant, and decisively moved to become assimilated into the larger Graeco-Syrian world.

As the temple system disintegrated through the degrading evil which overtook Jerusalem, honourable Jews ultimately rebelled, and Antiochus IV (the descendant of Antiochus I, known to history as Epiphanes), physically brutalized the Judaeans in retaliation, and he "stamped" on them in the most egregious fashion. This was epitomized by the infamous sacrifice of a pig on the Jerusalem altar:

"And it [the horn] waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them. Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down" (Daniel 8:10, 11).

Antiochus Epiphanes executed significant numbers of the rebellious Jerusalem Jews, causing many of the Bible prophecy expositors to see him as a prototype of the Antichrist their theology anticipated. In the late 19^th century AD, large numbers of the growing cadre of Rapture Cult oriented teachers chose to emphasize the extreme violence of Epiphanes. They did this because it suited their doctrinal agenda, which utilized an overemphasis on the horrors of the tribulation period, in order to manipulate their audience into receiving the escape offered by the "Rapture" doctrine.

"Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it" (Luke 17:33).

Essentially a variation on the fire and brimstone preaching of an earlier era, the Rapture doctrine subtly shifts the Scripturally sound formula from escaping from the eternal wrath of God for our sinful behavior through redemption in the person of Christ, to the distorted formula of escaping the tribulational wrath of God, by embracing the idea of the removal of the saints via the secret evacuation that supposedly occurs before the tribulational wrath of God arrives. However, the Bible tells us the wrath of God is already decreed to punish all who refuse the Spiritual regeneration which is exclusively available in JESUS CHRIST.

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men" (Romans 1:18).

In the two historic characters Antiochus I and Antiochus IV known from the Antiochian/Seleucid/Syrian dynasty, we see attributes of both beasts of Revelation, identified as False Prophet and Antichrist. As we showed in Part XXV, the real danger was from Antiochus I, as well as his successors seeking the Hellenization of Judaea in this period. Through his deceptive abilities, he was able to seduce the Jews into voluntarily departing from their standing as chosen by the LORD. In this regard, the ancient historian Flavius Josephus noted how Antiochus encouraged Jewish participation in what could be termed the Olympian Gambit, as Jerusalem's inhabitants eventually became fixated on public sports in a gymnasium.

Readers will recall the globalist spectacle of the Olympics, in which people from all nations participate, was developed as part of the Grecian worldview. The idea of all nations enthusiastically competing in athletics generates a worldly camaraderie, which is clearly incompatible with Israel's priestly role as consecrated to the LORD, and separate from the ways of the world.

"For thou didst separate [Israel] from among all the people of the earth, to be thine inheritance" (I Kings 8:53). 

When he beguiled the liberal sector of Jerusalem into assimilating themselves into the much larger Gentile worldview, Antiochus I and the Seleucid Dynasty plainly manifested the characteristic of deception and the False Prophet.

"…and he spake as a dragon….And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth" (Revelation 13:11,14).

As the power of the False Prophet entices the Saints into following the Antichrist beast in Revelation, the same progression is seen in the attributes of Antiochus IV, as he oppressed and abused those his antecedent had lured into the ways of the world. To put it another way, when conservative elements in Jerusalem resisted the transformation of Jerusalem into iniquity, Antiochus IV persecuted and killed them in a series of hideously violent reprisals. This is seen in the Scripture when the Little Horn stamped on those cast down from their lofty position in the heavenlies.

This two-stage process is seen in the two actions of the "horn." First, his deceit caused the host of heaven to be "cast down." This is seen when the text tells us the devilish power deceives the host of heaven into departing from their birthright position. When this fall occurs, what actually happens is the Spirit of the False Prophet indwelling Antiochus I drew the Saints into the Spirit of Antichrist in Antiochus IV – the figure who "stamps" on those who have fallen to the allegorical ground.

We note how the Little Horn is said to magnify himself to the host of heaven, even challenging the LORD, who is certainly the "prince" of the host.

"Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host…and the place of his sanctuary was cast down" (Daniel 8:11).

Since the believers are the "place of his sanctuary" that are "cast down," this verse will have application to the desolation of the physical temple under the Old Covenant, and the body of Christ in the New Covenant. To accurately perceive this, it will be useful if we compare the verse where the Little Horn "magnified himself to the host of heaven," with the verse describing the actions of the Spirit seen as Antichrist in Revelation:

"And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against…his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven" (Revelation 13:6).

In Revelation, we see those who are deceived by the Spirit described as the False Prophet are described as them that dwell on the earth.

"[The False Prophet] deceiveth them that dwell on the earth" (Revelation 13:14). 

This is consistent with the fact that when the Little Horn becomes "great," some of the "host of heaven," who surely "dwell in heaven," are cast down to the "ground" – yet another metaphor identifying the Death associated with the "ground," or the earth. To put it another way, if we "dwell on the earth," we exist in the realm of Flesh and Blood; but if we "dwell in heaven" (Revelation 12:12), we are elevated to a wonderful position in the Spiritual dimension.

In previous installments of Twin Timelines, we've shown how the attributes of the False Prophet equate with the Spirit of Hell, whereas Antichrist equivocates to Death – as witnessed by the triune alignment wherein the third part mentioned by Zechariah is representative of the Life found in the Spirit of the Lord.

"The third shall be [preserved] therein. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God" (Zechariah 13:8,9).

The metaphoric pair of "Death" and "Hell" (think the Spirit of Antichrist and False Prophet), are consistently seen as oppressing "Jerusalem" – which is emblematic of the redeemed, or Zechariah's "third part."

"Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem…ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement" (Isaiah 28:15).

Under the imagery of the Little Horn, the infernal Sprits hosted by the Syrian dynasty oppressing Jerusalem, Prophetically Parallel multiple timelines in which we find Death and Hell oppressing the Spirit of Life indwelling the sons of God.

Chapter XXV of Twin Timelines also addressed what the Scriptures in Daniel call "the transgression of desolation" (Daniel 8:13), in which the Jewish apostates under the Antiochian dynasty took up residence alongside the Greeks in the Citadel – a palatial military installation which was built within the temple precincts. As the Greek culture of antiquity was notoriously bi-sexual, while the Israelites were forbidden under the laws of Moses to even sit at the same dinner table with Gentiles, it is self evident the co-habitation of Jews and Greeks together suggest the Citadel was a place of unspeakable evil.

This Citadel was actually attached to the temple itself, so the term "desolation" hardly begins to describe the iniquity. The Citadel was later renamed the Tower of Antonia (referencing the famous Caesar, Mark Antony) during Herod's reign, and it is the very place identified in the New Testament as the Pinnacle of the temple – where the Scriptures tell us Satan looked out over the temple, claiming dominion, as he tempted Christ:

"Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence" (Luke 4:9).

The Spiritual corruption of the Jews by the Gentile "Little Horn" power was also a fulfillment of Daniel's 70 Weeks prediction, which anticipated the desolations to come. We have previously shown the old English word describing the "overspreading" of abominations in Daniel 9:27, actually references the "spreading out" of a building (or the construction of a wing on an existing structure), even as Bible dictionaries show the definition of the underlying Hebrew word in Daniel actually uses the word "pinnacle" to describe this ungodly addition to the sacred temple!.

What is missed by most is how the Scriptures describe the Little Horn power of the Gentile despots corrupted Jerusalem through their worldly enticements. Study Bibles and sermons tend to focus on the vicious persecution of Jews by Antiochus and company (particularly Antiochus IV, known to history as Antiochus Epiphanes), but the real damage to the Jews was done in the realm of the spirit. Weary of being separated from the rest of the world, this wicked power "cast down" the blessed people through the lure of political and social assimilation, and the Jew's Spiritual fall from the heavenlies is vividly described in terms which are readily understood:

"And his [Spiritual] power shall be mighty, but not by his own power [read Satanic Spiritual power]…through his policy he shall cause craft [deceit] to prosper in his hand. And he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people" (Daniel 8:24, 25, 24).

This intoxicating lure caused the "holy people" to forfeit their standing as the anointed of the LORD, as they followed their fleshly desires to become increasingly worldly. This temptation caused their Spiritual lives to be "cast down" from their position as hosts of the living God. The Scripture describing how the "sanctuary" confirms this assertion, as it speaks of how the Spiritual "host of heaven," functioning as vessels of the Spirit of God, were to be "cast down" and abused by this insidious power:

"Yea, he magnified himself…even to the host of heaven…and the place of his sanctuary [the host themselves] was cast down…and [he] stamped upon them" (Daniel 8:11, 10).

This was the low point of the tragic fall of Old Covenant Israel, and it occurred in the ancient timeline after the Grecian Empire, but before the fullness of the Roman power arrived. This Gentile corruption of the Jews was ordained to occur before the Roman power, as that was the point in time when Christ was scheduled to arrive – and the great Falling Away of Physical Israel from their previous position of honour, had to occur while Israel was still under the Old Covenant.

In other words, the Falling Away also occurs twice – again following the formula of Twin Timelines. 

In the modern timeline, the parallel Falling Away (II Thessalonians 2:3) of Spiritual Israel – the body of Christ – had to occur after the Roman parallel, and we have repeatedly shown that parallel to ancient Rome is America. Once again, in the ancient timeline, the appearance of the Little Horn power must precede the 4th kingdom of Daniel 2 (the Roman Empire); but in the modern timeline, the appearance of the Little Horn power must follow the 4th kingdom of Daniel 7, the American Empire.

Thus, the Twin Incarnations of the Little Horn, in Daniel's 7th and 8th chapters, are separated by the cross of JESUS CHRIST. They are two different Flesh and Blood entities, one Gentile and one Jewish -- but the same Spirit of Antichrist indwells the Little Horn – both then, and now.

----- James Lloyd

To Be Continued

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