Thursday, May 12, 2016

Global SITREP C1-16: The Past As Prologue

Antiochus IV Epiphanes

(Update Below) 12 May 2016: The past is prologue to the future. Prologue is defined as "a preliminary discourse; a preface or introductory part of a discourse, poem, or novel." To this definition I will add God-breathed prophecy for the simple reason that prophetic prologue in Scripture was extant thousands of years before Shakespeare was born. 

The various texts of the Bible, but especially the prophetic texts, are replete with this theme many times over. In Genesis the narrative of Noah and the Ark serves as a rather detailed account of those ancient times as well as a prophetic prologue for the Harpazo of the Bride of Christ by Jesus in the near future. So too in Daniel 11:20-45, the angel Gabriel provides in great detail the account of Antiochus IV Epiphanes which we know in hindsight as completely fulfilled historical events, and also as prologue for future events during the 70th Week to be fulfilled by the Antichrist.

With Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the Greek-Macedonian self-proclaimed demigod of the Seleucid Empire in a long, unbroken line of Macedonian-Greek Seleucid kings, we have a very specific prologue into the coming of the man who will become the Antichrist as provided by Gabriel in Daniel 11. The prologue does not even skip a beat in the exploits of this man circa 168-67 BC to those of the real future Antichrist; the text is a virtual time warp of from the events of 168-67 BC to those of what I believe will be circa the year 2021 AD. And in this fact alone the future will be fulfilled. As many have pointed out previously, this is about a bloodline, and about a certain demonic entity which possessed Antiochus IV Epiphanes during his brief rule and will possess the coming Antichrist in the final 42 months of the Megas Thlipsis (a/k/a the 'Great Tribulation').

This is were history comes into play and it is instructive on how events may well come to pass in the future. In ancient times globalism was accomplished through the vehicle of Empire. In Scripture, the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream by the prophet Daniel established this paradigm of human empires for the sum of human-led rule on this earth until the 'end of days.'  

With an eye to historical events, did Antiochus IV Epiphanes inherit his very powerful and militarily dominant empire, or did he conquer and establish it as Alexander the Great had done 157 years earlier? The historical fact is that Antiochus IV Epiphanes inherited his empire; it was literally handed to him when when his predecessor, Seleucus was assassinated by a general named Heliodorus upon returning to the capital Seleucia from Jerusalem in 175 BC. Antiochus, the second son of Seleucus then seized the throne through royal scheming and the subterfuge of some close associates. Daniel 11:21 was thus literally fulfilled by Antiochus in 175 BC (see the comments section on precisely how this fulfillment came to pass). I believe we can expect to see similar subterfuge and conspiracy as the future Antichrist comes to power.

The end of Antiochus IV Epiphanes and the transition or overlap to the future Antichrist occurs within the text of Daniel 11:29-39. These ten verses apply to both Antiochus IV Epiphanes and to the future Antichrist. Then at Daniel 11:40, where the prophecy states "At the time of the end..." the overlap has been completed and the time-line has definitively jumped forward by about 1,850 years into the 70th Week. None of the text of Daniel 11:40-45 was fulfilled in the past; all of it is set for a future fulfillment during the 70th Week. 

It is also important to note that the Seleucid bloodline which followed Antiochus IV Epiphanes (his son Antiochus V Eupator; his grandson Demetrius I Soter; his great-grandson Demetrius II Nicator who was overthrown by another great grandson supported by Rome and the Seleucid Empire became fully a vassal state of the Roman Empire, Alexander I Balas; his great-great grandson Antiochus VIII Grypus; his great-great-great grandson Seleucus VI Epiphanes Nicator. This line continues all the way to the last Seleucid vassal king named Philip II Philoromaeus (which means 'friend of the Romans'), and then to Antiochus XIII who ruled for a year in 65-64 BC when Rome turned what remained of the Seleucid kingdom into a full-fledged province of Rome controlled by Roman General Pompey. This kingdom was then stripped of its Macedonian-Greek name Seleucia and renamed Syria by Roman decree. At this time Antiochus X Eusebes Philopater became a figurehead ruler of Syria, but he was quickly replaced in 58 BC by the Roman general and supporter of Pompey, Aulus Gabinius. Antiochus XIII ultimate fate and progeny thereafter are unknown to this day. A descendant could literally be anywhere, yet what is certain is that he will emerge and fulfill everything that has been prophesied. 

The keen-eyed will likely have already made note that this same lineage lent its name to a major city of ancient times, the Biblical city of Antioch, which is today known by its Turkish name, Antakya. This city was founded in the 4th century BC by the first of the Seleucid kings, Alexander the Great's close aide, Seleucus I Nicator. Acts 11:26 teaches that this city is where believers of Jesus Christ first became known as Christians.

Just as Gabriel's prophetic narrative scaled time in a single bound, so now shall this SITREP.  In the year 2016 AD, according to the Julian calendar we use, the world situation is similar to that of the fourth decade of the 20th Century AD (1931-1940). 

In a nutshell, the events which preceded World War II ensured its occurrence. These were chaotic events which gave rise to the emergence of strongmen on both the left and right of the political spectrum. Hitler, Mussolini, Franco, Stalin, Tojo, Chamberlain, Churchill, Roosevelt. Each of major nations of the world found the necessity of a strong leader to rule absolutely essential; such is the call and dictate of national survival. The League of Nations, the first modern attempt at globalism, was weak and therefore ineffective and ultimately incapable of fulfilling is purpose. Right by might became the rule with some nations taking territory that belonged to others, and other nations doing nothing to stop it. A world war was the inevitable result.

Midway through the second decade of the 21st Century AD chaotic events are once again occurring. In many countries strong leadership is once again seen as an essential necessity. Nations are seizing the territory of others; corruption is rampant in almost every facet of society. A blood-thirsty religious cult centered on a 7th Century AD madman's demonic-inspired conquests is running rampant through both legal and illegal means all over the globe. Before everyone's eyes the global semblance of order that was established following World War II through the establishment of the United Nations has been fully corrupted and continues as a virtual functioning debacle. 

The difference this time is that the means to destroy all life on the planet is in the possession of a handful of nations who are more or less aligned in opposing blocs known as East and West. Strong men and dictators currently rule in the Eastern Bloc. And smack dab in the middle of this is the Middle East. No longer is the threat of war in the Middle East the issue, the issue now is that there is ongoing warfare of one type of another occurring in even its remotest corners, with the major nuclear-armed powers directly involved from Mesopotamia to the Mediterranean Levant. These are wars which will ignite larger ones, eventually dragging the nuclear-armed powers into a flood of direct conflict. The absence of a strong-man in the Western Bloc cannot last much longer; and the opposing sides in the trifecta of the Middle East's wars are all clamoring for the emergence of their expected messianic figure. 

As we all know from prophetic Scripture, the fast approaching appointed time of this demonically-controlled man's emergence and revealing is imminent. So is the blessed hope of the Harpazo. "Ready" and "Get Set" have already been announced, all that remains is for our Father in Heaven to say "Go!"



19 comments:

  1. This should be quite interesting Sean. We haven't talked about Greece lately, but it'll be compelling to explore the parallels! What's stunning is that you point out, rightly so, that he will be on the scene in 5 years or less and with events to precede that time. Awesome to contemplate!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sean,

    Do you think the 70th week will begin near the 2021 mark, or do you think it could begin anytime after 2018? On a side note, I'm having a really hard time imagining us making it out of this year??? Anyway, thanks for what you do!

    Lance

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hey sean, I'm not the history buff that I should be, so I'd like to ask you this, and possibly my question itself may be based on common misunderstandings so if it is then this could be a learning experience for me, so here's my question,
    Did all of Greece and the selucid empire welcome and embrace antiochus at first like the world will embrace the antichrist?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Scipio,

    The men who will be the prophetic Antichrist and the False Prophet are "on the scene" right now, today, but have not yet been revealed.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Lance,

    My belief is that an 80 year generation of strength (Psalm 90:10) should conclude circa 2028 as we view the modern 365-day plus leap-year calendar.

    God, however, operates on a 360-day calendar. This is made abundantly clear in how the days, and months of the 70th Week have been foretold through the God-breathed prophetic word. At the start and during the 70th Week only God's calendar will apply.

    So, from a human perspective, all I can say is that I expect circa 2021 (simple math of 2028 minus a 2,520 day-long 70th Week) to be approximately the year when the 70th Week could commence with the revealing of the Antichrist.

    The difference between our calendar and God's calendar here is a total of 35 24-hour days. This is about a month, so the difference between the two is actually negligible.

    Also, the Harpazo will occur any nanosecond between now and the commencement of the 70th Week (the revealing of the Antichrist) - and which is why I'm constantly watching for sign of the approaching procession of the Groom. Remember as discussed earlier on the blog, in Genesis 7:4 Noah had been told by God with exactly seven days of advance notice get get all life to be saved onboard the ark. I believe the Bride will seen sign of the Groom's procession in about that same amount of time.

    Lamps oiled and at the ready!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Amen! Thanks for the clarification. I am looking for the procession each and every day....that realization (that we will see the procession) is one of the most exciting things I've learned of late.

    Lance

    ReplyDelete
  7. hartdawg,

    Don't want to give away what will be posted yet to this SITREP, but when Alexander the Great's empire was divided up (precisely according to Gabriel's prophecy) among the four primary diadochi (Macedonian-Greek generals) the four new empires fought wars against each other for supremacy (Wars of the Diadochi between 322-275 BC). The Bible (Gabriel) prophesied specifically about the wars between the Seleucids and the Ptolemies (kings of the south and north, respectively) with Israel between the center of directional reference between them.

    When Alexander died suddenly civil war erupted between the Greeks of Athens and other provinces against the Greeks of Boeotia allied with the Macedonians who were dominant. The Macedonians won this war, known as the Lamian War, but revolt soon spread to other parts of the empire. Ptolemy absconded with Alexander's body and took it to Egypt. So Ptolemaic Egypt went to war with the other Diadochi ruling the rest of the empire. When the dust settled from all of this there were four empires that were carved out from the territories Alexander had conquered.

    After a succession of Seleucid kings spanning about 140 years, Antiochus IV Mithridates took the Seleucid throne at the age of 40 in 175 BC. At this time he abandoned the name Mithridates and adopted the name Epiphanes (meaning 'God Manifest').

    Antiochus cousin, Demetrius I Soter, was held captive in Rome due to the terms of the Treaty of Apamea between the Roman Republic and the Seleucid Empire. Antiochus had been Rome's captive for more than a decade, but was exchanged in 188 BC for his cousin Demetrius I Soter. This allowed Antiochus to take the Seleucid throne for himself instead of his cousin who was the rightful heir when King Seleucus was assassinated in 175 BC. Antiochus took this throne as co-regent with an infant brother, whom he murdered a few years later.

    Antiochus was warmly received by his subjects because for a century and a half the Jews were well treated by the succession of Seleucid kings. These Seleucid kings respected Jewish culture and protected Jewish institutions in Jerusalem. Antiochus IV Epiphanes, a true mad man, changed all of this and turned things completely on their head. His tyranny led directly to the Maccabean revolt, precisely as Gabriel had prophesied to Daniel.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Looking forward to the addition Sean. Matthew Henry has some interesting things to say regarding apostate Jews of Antiochus', time showing a clear similarity to the future False Prophet. Probably not a mirror image but interestly close.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Sean, after reading this statement you made "...Antiochus IV Epiphanes, a true mad man, changed all of this and turned things completely on their head. His tyranny led directly to the Maccabean revolt, precisely as Gabriel had prophesied to Daniel."
    I can see how God uses the future Antichrist to bring about the salvation of all Israel.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Very informative, thank you. It must take a lot of time to learn all that history.
    As I have mentioned on this blog before, I have been attending an international
    bible study called BSF-Bible Study Fellowship for the last 9 years. I don't think
    it was coincidental we studied the book of Revelation this year. I think I was the
    only member of my small group that followed any eschatology websites. I am proud to
    say at the end of a very recent small group discussion I told them there are things happening in the world that are happening in the tribulation so we must be very close to the rapture of the church since Christians are spared the wrath of God. Eyes were very wide. Then I gave them a list of sites that I go to daily to follow world events and how it pertains to bible prophecy. This site was included. Do you think Donald Trump is the strongman that comes into power replacing the weakness of the Obama administration? Whatever comes, God's will is done.

    ReplyDelete
  11. jmoll106,

    So too is the Lord using the war in Syria to wear down Israel's enemies.

    Take Hezbollah for example.

    The Iranian regime forced Hezbollah into the brunt of the battles against Sunni jihadists in Syria. This kind of fighting was far beyond the military purposes Hezbollah was created for by Iran. The result is that Hezbollah is today nowhere near as potent or cohesive a fighting force as it was just ten years ago (August 2006). Today Hezbollah is essentially broken, as is the IRGC itself, and this breaking of Hezbollah and the IRGC, along with the mass casualties both have suffered forced Iran to deploy its regular army into Syria. Now they are in the meat grinder that is the war in Syria.

    The combat attrition of Hezbollah's military strength will make Israel's task that much easier when it comes to fighting against them directly in the near future.

    The Lord works in mysterious ways; all of this is working towards the literal fulfillment of Isaiah 17, Jeremiah 49:24-27, Joshua 13:1-7 and Psalm 83.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thanks once again Sean for your brilliant view and gift of presenting eschatology in a simple yet easily understandable style. Just out of curiosity Noah had a 7 day warning through the the death of his grandfather Methuselah, what should we as believers who await our departure. You mention the Groom procession could please you enlighten me on this matter?

    ReplyDelete
  13. Since we're on the subject of antiochus and Daniel 11, is there anything from Daniel 8 that you expect to repeat itself as well? You did an excellent job on Daniel 11, but what about Daniel 8,is that chapter all fulfilled?

    ReplyDelete
  14. Martin,

    Many thanks, but give it all to the Lord, I'm just a tool in His hands.

    I have posted two items on Noah's getting 7-days advance notice of when the flood was to occur.

    The most recent is "Global SITREP A2-16", and a few months earlier I posted "Daniel's 70th Week and the Harpazo". Enter either of these titles in the search engine box in the upper left-hand corner to pull them up.

    ReplyDelete
  15. hartdawg,

    Daniel 8 is also a critical prophetic chapter. It concerns the God-breathed vision given to our beloved prophet when he was by the Ulai (Eulaeus) Canal in the ancient city of Susa, in Elam Province.

    The two horns of the ram represent the Medes and the Persians. Medes first, then Persians with respect to their national power. The goat is clearly the Macedonian-Greek Empire of Alexander the Great (verse 5, the notable horn that was to come from the west). This was fulfilled in Alexander's conquest of the ancient Persian Empire.

    Verse 8 was fulfilled in the break-up of Alexander's Empire into four lesser empires ruled by Alexander's Diadochi (Generals).

    Verse 9 is where it gets interesting, and very likely two-fold with respect to the Macedonian-Greek (Seleucid) Empire, Antiochus IV Epiphanes and the coming Antichrist as discussed in this SITREP C1-16.

    Verse 10 is a very powerful Old Testament indicator that Satan is the demonic spiritual power behind the Antichrist figure as he will yet in the future be responsible for the fall of a number of the angelic host when war erupts in Heaven and they are defeated and cast down to the Earth for the 42 months of the Megas Thlipsis (Great Tribulation).

    Clearly, this is to say that I believe there is no question that Daniel 8:10 is parallel to Revelation 12:7-12. It is prophecy for the relatively near future.

    Other Scripture to use in understand this is found in 2 Corinthians 12:2-3 and Ephesians 2:1-2 and 6:12.

    There are three (3) levels to the heavens above. The third Heaven is where the Lord dwells, the second heaven is the physical universe, and the first heaven is the atmosphere of the earth.

    The angel Gabriel is called upon by the Lord to give details to Daniel concerning his vision; these details are literal and 100% prophetic and will be fulfilled precisely as given.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Rhonda,

    At this point 6 months before the election I am fairly certain that Donald Trump will be the GOP nominee and he will be elected to become the next POTUS. I expect during his presidency that an American rebound will occur. More on this coming up.

    I am much, much less certain Hillary Clinton will be his opponent in the election; she has more serious issues than one can shake a stick at. The trifecta of her biggest problems are Emailgate, the movie "Clinton Cash" and the reported defection of a growing number her supposed super-delegates into the Bernie Sanders camp.

    ReplyDelete
  17. for her crimes associated with Benghazi, Libya alone she should be in an orange jumpsuit never to get out - IMHO (not a fan)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Sean,

    I just finished reading your last comments and also re-read your most interesting article on our time events! I am shaking like a leaf in a tornado wind over the last few paragraphs and I am at full attention! Everything is in order and now we await that last person to be ushered into the Family of God!

    Never have put the pieces together of the Greek Connection but you have masterfully laid it before us.

    GG5/Shalom

    ReplyDelete
  19. Still praying for your husband to be apprehended by our God, if he is the last person you can tease him for eternity.:)

    ReplyDelete

Anyone can submit a comment; all comments are moderated for content.

Featured Post

Positional Statement on Salvation

19 January 2016: It has become necessary due to recent events that I present a Positional Statement which explains in detail per Script...