All Authority?
Notice Daniel 7:14
again: “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.” (KJV) This verse
confuses many people. How can Jesus
be given complete dominion (or
sovereign power, NIV) more than once?
According to Webster, the word
“sovereign” means,
“having all authority.” At
face value, this verse in Daniel 7
seems to contradict the words of
Jesus in Matthew 28. Notice the
following text: “Then Jesus came
to them [His disciples] and said,
‘All authority in heaven and on
Earth has been given to me. Therefore
go and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit, and teaching them to obey
everything I have commanded you. And
surely I am with you always, to the
very end of the age.’”
(Matthew 28: 18-20, insertion mine)
How can Jesus say in Matthew 28 that
He has all authority in Heaven and on
Earth when Daniel 7 indicates that
Jesus is given dominion (and
sovereign authority) after the
Ancient of Days takes His seat? The
answer to this apparent conflict is
found in the scope of
authority.
On Resurrection
Sunday, Jesus returned to Heaven, and
with the help of His angels, drove
Lucifer, the prince of this world,
out of Heaven. (Revelation 12:7-9;
John 12:31) Lucifer lost his seat as
Earth’s governor at the table of
God’s government. On the basis
of His shed blood and the power of an
indestructible life (Hebrews 7:16),
Jesus physically removed Lucifer from
Heaven and cast him to Earth.
(Revelation 12:13) The kingdom that
was stolen from Jesus by Lucifer (the
deceitful prince of this world, John
12:31) was returned to Jesus by right
of redemption. (John 16:33;
Revelation 12:10) As the Crown Prince
of Earth, Jesus has been Earth’s
representative at the table of
God’s government ever since
Resurrection Sunday. After Jesus
ascended to Heaven on that Sunday
morning and cast Lucifer out, He was
given authority over all matters in
Heaven pertaining to Earth. Forty
days later, at the time of His
ascension, He declared this authority
to His disciples in His parting words
recorded in Matthew 28:18-20.
Daniel saw an even
higher exaltation of Jesus than the
exaltation given on Resurrection
Sunday. In 1798, Jesus was
ceremoniously exalted to a position
equal to that of the Father. Jesus
was found worthy to receive power
over all of God’s creation. The
Father transferred His authority to
Jesus so that Jesus could righteously
conclude the sin problem. The Ancient
of Days convened this convocation so
that all the angels could observe the
actions of Jesus. The Father wanted
all the angels to know that Jesus was
equal to the Father in every way.
(John 5:23) Of course, the Son is not
greater than the Father, but neither
is the Father greater than the Son!
Jesus was exalted before the angels
and the elders because He did
something that no one else in the
universe could do. He paid the
penalty of sin for man. After He was
found worthy to take over the
universe, He took the scroll sealed
with seven seals. In His new role as
Commander-In-Chief of the Universe,
Jesus began the process of deciding
who will participate in His kingdom.
He also began a process that will
fully vindicate the government of God
against the false claims of Lucifer.
At the end of the 1,000 years,
everyone will behold that God is love
that God’s laws are righteous
and His government is based on the
principle of love. We have already
examined 1 Corinthians 15:24-28,
where Paul says that at the end of
sin’s drama, an exalted Jesus
will return all that the Father has
given Him. Jesus will return the
authority and the throne to the
Father because He wants to be free to
live among this creation as one of
us! What Gods of grace and love!
Part Eight:
“I Daniel was
grieved in my spirit in the midst of
my body, and the visions of my head
troubled me. 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. These great beasts, which
are four, are four kings, which shall
rise out of the earth. But the saints
of the Most High shall take the
kingdom, and possess the kingdom for
ever, even for ever and ever.” (Daniel
7:15-18, KJV)
Comments on Part Eight
Daniel wanted to know
the meaning of everything he had
seen, so he asked for an explanation.
A nearby angel informed Daniel that
these great beasts are four kingdoms.
Some translations like the LXX say
“four kingdoms” while
others say “four kings.”
But, verse 23 removes any doubt about
the intended meaning because it says,
“the fourth beast is the fourth
kingdom that will appear on
Earth.” Then, in the same
breath, the angel asserts, “But,
the saints of the Most High shall
take the kingdom, and possess the
kingdom for ever, even for ever and
ever.” The angel chose
deliberate language to make this
statement. The angel is emphasizing a
profound point to those who suffer
for their faith. This world was
created for the children of God.
Temporarily, the devil has gained
control of Earth, BUT at an appointed
time, there will be an end to sin and
the devil. The saints will inherit
the Earth. God has decreed it!
(Matthew 5:5)
Part Nine:
“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; And of the ten horns that
were in his head, and of the other
which came up, and before whom three
fell; even the horn that had eyes,
and a mouth that spake very great
things, whose look was more stout
than his fellows.” (Daniel
7:19,20, KJV)
Daniel wanted to know
the truth about the fourth
beast, the ten horns, and the little
horn. If we are going to determine
the truth about the fourth beast and
the little horn, we must consider all
of the specifications given to Daniel
because the Bible is about to
identify a world power that is
corrupt and offensive in God’s
sight. This is a good time to apply
Rule Two, which states, “A
fulfillment of apocalyptic prophecy
occurs when all of the specifications
within that prophecy are met. This
includes the order of events outlined
in the prophecy.”
The truth that will
unfold from this prophecy is neither
pleasant nor politically correct. In
fact, people have denied the truth
about the fourth beast, the ten
horns, and the little horn for
centuries, because the truth is
offensive. The actions of the little
have been offensive to God for
centuries! God is the author of
prophecy, and people who love the
truth, regardless of what the truth
says or where it leads, is the kind
of people whom God loves. (John 4:23)
Daniel provides a dozen
specifications about the fourth
beast, the ten horns, and the little
horn that grew out of the fourth
beast. Look at these specifications:
1.
The monster beast is the fourth world
empire.
2.
The monster beast has unusual
strength and it stomps its enemies.
3.
The monster beast is different; it
has crushing teeth of iron.
4.
Out of the monster beast, ten horns
(or kings/ kingdoms) arise.
5.
After the ten horns appear, a little
horn rises. As it rises to power, it
uproots three of the original ten
kings leaving a total of eight.
6.
As the little horn grows and becomes
great, it exhibits the same fierce
qualities of its parent, the monster
beast.
7.
Eventually, the little horn dominates
the other seven horns.
8.
The little horn blasphemes God by
usurping His authority.
9.
The little horn wars against the
saints of the Most High for a
specified period of time.
10. The little
horn “thinks” it can change
God’s times and laws.
11. The little
horn endures until the end of the
world; in fact, it speaks boastfully
during the time of the end.
12. The monster
beast and the little horn are burned
in the fire at the Second Coming.
History allows no
wiggle room regarding the identity of
the monster beast. The fourth beast
represents Rome, which followed the
fall of Grecia in 168 B.C. History
allows no wiggle room on the identity
of the ten horns or the little horn
that came out of Rome. The ten horns
represent the ten ethnic nations that
caused the breakup of the Roman
Empire. The little horn represents
the powerful entity that grew out of
the empire of Rome, namely, the Roman
Catholic Church.
History has faithfully
documented the course of the Catholic
Church through the centuries. The
following is a brief summary of what
happened to Christians as they moved
farther and farther away from
Following God’s Word. The
history of the Christian Church is a
parallel to that of ancient Israel.
Both religious systems displaced
God’s Word with manmade
traditions and doctrines and ended up
in apostasy. Many wonderful people
can be found within Judaism and
Catholicism. Both groups love God and
their religion, and they faithfully
adhere to their respective beliefs.
Many Jews and Catholics have not had
an opportunity or sufficient reason
to consider the Protestant view of
Church history. Even further, many
Catholics have little or no knowledge
concerning the origins of Church
doctrines or teachings. Upon close
examination, many Catholics are
shocked to learn that many of their
doctrines have no biblical basis or
authority whatsoever.
The Monster Beast Is
the Roman Empire
Protestants have
identified the Roman Catholic Church
as the little horn of Daniel 7 for
more than 700 years. This conclusion
was reached by comparing Scripture
with history. History says Rome is
the fourth kingdom from Babylon to
appear on Earth. The prophetic matrix
and abundant historical records
indicate the lineage of kingdoms is
Babylon, Medo-Persia, Grecia and
Rome. History confirms the fall of
Rome is not the fall of other nations
before it. For example, in Daniel 2 a
different metal, the chest of silver,
displaces the head of gold. However,
the legs of iron of the fourth
kingdom are displaced by feet
of iron and clay. Look at the
transition from Daniel 7’s
perspective. The leopard displaces
the lion, but another beast does
not displace the monster beast. Rome
does not disappear as Babylon
disappeared. Instead, the ten kings
that brought down civil Rome in A.D.
476 grew out of the Roman Empire.
History says the ten horns pulled the
Roman Empire apart from within. Rome
disintegrated into ten kingdoms, some
which were strong (like iron) and
others that were breakable or weak
(like clay).
Two Sets of Ten Horns
Many commentators
teach that the ten horns of Daniel 7
are a future union of ten kings who
are yet to rise out of a revived
Roman Empire (thought to be the
European Union.) This conclusion is
contrary to several statements given
in Scripture and the prophetic
matrix. The prophetic matrix reveals
the ten horns in Daniel 7 have come
and gone, and history confirms the
ten horns of Daniel 7 have come and
gone! History also confirms the
little horn ruled over the nations of
Europe for 1,260 years before it was
wounded in 1798.
Some people make the
mistake of thinking the ten horns of
Daniel 7 are the same ten horns found
in Revelation 13 and 17! The ten
horns in Daniel 7 appeared around
A.D. 476 at the fall of the Roman
Empire, and three of the original ten
horns were uprooted within 60 years
of A.D. 476 by the Church of Rome
over a religious dispute on the
eternal co-existence of Jesus with
the Father.
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