British-israel.us -- God's Hand in History

The following is a miniature history course -- "His Story 101" -- the way it should have been taught in grade school to every child growing up. But historical evidence to support God's hand in history has been LEFT OUT of our history classes. MIRACULOUS intervention and circumstances with PRECISE TIMING at crucial dates in the story of nations and empires point unmistakably to the GUIDING HAND of God. But God has been "kicked out" of school text books. "And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge (persona non-grata), God gave them over to a reprobate mind" (void of judgment) (Romans 1:28). "For the material man rejects spiritual things, for they are foolishness to him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor. 2:14)

Secular History Confirms Herod's Murder of the Children of Bethlehem in 4 BC (Matt. 2:16; Jer. 31:15)

"Many were under a strong persuasion that in the ancient books, kept by their priests, a prophesy was contained -- That at this very time the power of the East should prevail, and out of Judaea should spring such as should rule over all nations: a prophetic riddle by which Vespasian and Titus were prefigured." (Tacitus Hist. 5:13 [56-120 AD])

"A firm persuasion had long prevailed through all the East that it was fated for the empire of the world at that time to devolve on some one who should go forth from Judaea." (Suetonius Vespas. 4 [69-122 AD])

The murder of the innocents is recorded by Dion in his life of Octavius Caesar, and more at length by Macrobius, who adds that Herod caused his own son to be killed among the rest. It was this Herod who, on his death-bed, sent for all the most considerable Jews to Jericho, where he then was, and having shut them up in a circus, commanded that as soon as he was dead, they should be slain, that there might be a great lamentation throughout the country at the time of his death. The persons to whom he gave this charge did not execute it. Macrobius relates (Sat. 2:4) that when Augustus heard that Herod had included his own son among the children of two months old whom he had caused to be slain in Syria, he exclaimed, It is better to be Herod's hog than his child."

In a Rabbinical work called Toldoth Jeshu we read, "And the king gave orders for putting to death every infant to be found in Bethlehem; and the king's messengers killed every infant, according to the royal order." (Sharpe's First Defense of Christianity, p.40). Cedrenus too says that Herod was distinguished by the title of "Slayer of Children".

Secular History Confirms Our Lord's Birth, Miracles of Healing, Wisdom, Crucifixion and Resurrection in 31 AD, "Four Days" (Ex. 12:6) After Being Selected in 3960 BC

Balaam prophesied about the Bethlehem star (Nu. 24:17). Virgil speaks of a star as 'Caesaris astrum' (Ecl. 9:47); Pliny mentions a dazzlingly bright comet (2:25). Jews say, "When Messiah shall be revealed, a bright and shining star shall arise in the East" (Zohar).

"Now there is a village in the land of the Jews, 35 stadia from Jerusalem, in which Christ was born, as you can ascertain also from the registries of the taxing under Cyrenius your first procurator in Judaea" (Justin Martyr, First Apology ch. 34 [156 AD])

"At the birth of Christ Augustus by an edict renounced the title Dominus," the Pythian Oracle had told him, A Hebrew child was soon to attain universal sovereignty (Orosius 6:22).

The fourth-century emperor Julian the Apostate (so called because he turned from Christianity after being brought up in it) wrote: "Jesus, whom you celebrate, was one of Caesar's subjects. If you dispute it, I will prove it by and by; but it may be as well done now. For yourselves allow, that he was enrolled with his father and mother in the time of Cyrenius.... But Jesus having persuaded a few among you, and those the worst of men, has now been celebrated about 300 years; having done nothing in his life-time worthy of remembrance; unless anyone thinks it a mighty matter to heal lame and blind people, and exorcise demoniacs in the villages of Bethsaida and Bethany" (quoted in the polemic of Cyril of Alexandria against Julian, Cyril Contra Julian, vi, pages 213, 191). If Julian could have demonstrated that Jesus was not an authentic figure, he would have done so. Instead, he asserted that the proof that Jesus was one of Caesar's subjects was still available (the census records were apparently still in the imperial archives). Rather than denying that Jesus performed miracles, Julian simply down played these miracles.

"What do you say to those who ... drive the devil visibly out of the body? ... for who is a stranger to the Syrian from Palestine, who is so great a master in that art? ... he asks the devil ... who he is and how and whence he came into the man; and then ... he drives him out." (Lucianus Philop. 16 [115-200 AD]) .

"About this time there lived Jesus, a wise man, if indeed one ought to call him a man. For he was one who performed surprising deeds and was a teacher of such people as accept the truth gladly. He won over many Jews and many of the Greeks. He was the Messiah. And when, upon the accusation of the principal men among us, Pilate had condemned him to a cross, those who had first come to love him did not cease. He appeared to them on the third day restored to life, for the prophets of God had foretold these things and a thousand other marvels about him. And the tribe of the Christians, so called after him, has still to this day not disappeared".(Josephus Antiquities, 18.3.3 -- [93 AD])

"The base degenerate iron offspring ends;
A golden progeny from heaven descends
O chaste Lucina! speed the mother's pains
And haste the glorious birth! thy own Apollo reigns.
The lovely boy, with his auspicious face,
Shall Pollio's consulship and triumph grace:
The father banished virtue shall restore;
And crimes shall threat the guilty world no more.
The son shall lead the life of gods, and be
By gods and heros seen, and gods and heroes see.
The jarring nations he in peace shall bind,
And with paternal virtues rule mankind." (Virgil Ecl. 4:3-17 [70-19 BC])

"On the eve of the Passover Yeshu was hanged" (Babylonian Talmud, Epstein, vol. 3, Sanhedrin 43a [200 AD]). See Galatians 3:13 and Luke 23:39 where "crucified" is synonymous with "hanged."

"Tiberius, in whose time the Christian name, [or religion] had its rise, having received from Palestine, in Syria, information of the truth of Christ's divinity, proposed to the senate, that he should be enrolled among the Roman gods, and gave his own prerogative vote in favor of the motion. But the senate, (without whose consent no deification could take place) rejected it, because the emperor himself had declined the same honour. Notwithstanding, Caesar persisted in his opinion, and threatened punishment to the accusers of the Christians. Search your own commentaries, [or public acts] there you will find that Nero was the first that raged with the imperial sword against this sect, when rising most at Rome." (Apol. c.5. p.6.)

"Of all these things relating to Christ, Pilate himself, already in his conscience a Christian, sent an account toTiberius, then emperor." (Apol.c.21.p.22.)

Roman Consul Aurelius Cassiodorius Senator about 514 A.D. said, "In the consulate of Tiberius
Caesar Aug. V. and Aelius Sejanus (UC 784 AD 31) Our Lord Jesus Christ suffered, on the 8th of the Calends of April: (25th of March) When there happened such an eclipse of the sun as was never before nor since."

"The greatest earthquake which has occurred in our memory was in the reign of Tiberius, by which twelve cities of Asia were laid prostrate in one night." (Pliny Hist. nat. 2:86; cp. Tacitus Ann. 2:47 & Matt. 27:54)

"On the whole world there pressed a most fearful darkness; and the rocks were rent by an earthquake, and many places in Judea and other districts were thrown down. This darkness Thallus (52 AD), in the third book of his History, calls, as appears to me without reason, an eclipse of the sun." (Julius Africanus [221 AD], Chronography, 18:1)

"The Christians ... worship a man to this day -- the distinguished personage who introduced their novel rites, and was crucified on that account.... [It] was impressed on them by their original lawgiver that they are all brothers, from the moment that they are converted, and deny the gods of Greece, and worship the crucified sage, and live after his laws." (Lucian of Samosata [115-200 AD], "The Death of Peregrine," 11-13)

"It is possible that a man may arrive at this fearless temper, and become indifferent to danger from madness or habit, as the Galileans." (Epictetus 4:7)

"Let this preparation of the mind for death arise from its own judgment, and not from obstinacy like the Christians." (Marcus Antoninus med. 11:3)

"They were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verses a hymn to Christ, as to a god, and bound themselves by a solemn oath, not to any wicked deeds, but never to commit any fraud, theft or adultery, never to falsify their word, nor deny a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up; after which it was their custom to separate, and then reassemble to partake of food -- but food of an ordinary and innocent kind." (Pliny the Younger [112 AD], Letters 2:10:96) "Nero inflicted punishments on the Christians, a sort of people who held a new and impious superstition." (Suetonius Nero, 16) "Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular. Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind. Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired. Nero offered his gardens for the spectacle, and was exhibiting a show in the circus, while he mingled with the people in the dress of a charioteer or stood aloft on a car. Hence, even for criminals who deserved extreme and exemplary punishment, there arose a feeling of compassion; for it was not, as it seemed, for the public good, but to glut one man's cruelty, that they were being destroyed." (Tacitus Annals 15:44, 116AD) "These people have been taught to renounce the Grecian deities and to bow the knee to their crucified Sophist and to live in conformity to his laws. All things else they despise in the lump, holding them vain and worthless" (Lucian. de mort. Pereg. 13) "These poor people have taken it into their heads that they shall, body and soul, be immortal, and live to all eternity; thence it is that they contemn death, and that many of them run violently into his clutches." (Lucian. de mort. Pereg. 13)

The Sibylline Oracles Silenced By Our Lord

The principal ancient heathen oracles included that of Jupiter Dodona in Epirus; of Apollo at Delphi, in Phocis, near Mount Parnassus; and the temple of Jupiter Ammon in the deserts of Libya. According to the heathen tradition, Mount Parnassus was once tenanted by a mighty SERPENT, which had the power of speech and delivered oracular responses from a sacred cave. This Delphic SERPENT, which was called Python, was, according to the tradition, slain by Apollo. From this fabulous monster the name Pythius was communicated to the god, and Pythia, or Pythoness, to the priestess, who, after receiving the vapor of inspiration through the cleft of a rock, delivered the responses. The oracular temples were generally located in deep forests or steep, craggy places. The tripod or chair, on which the priestess was seated, was sometimes over the mouth of a cavern; the vapor issuing from it was said to have an inspiring or infuriating effect on those who were upon it. The Scriptures are our "living oracles" (Acts 7:38; Rom. 3:2) in opposition to the dead oracles of the heathen. "There shall not be found among you anyone ... who useth DIVINATION ... or an ENCHANTER, or a WITCH, Or a CHARMER, or a consulter of MEDIUMS, or a WIZARD, or a NECROMANCER (communicates with the dead)" (Deut. 18:10-11). These oracles often spoke the truth (Acts 16:6 -- "spirit of Python"), but mixed with falsehood intended to deceive from the "father of LIES" (John 8:44) who "deceiveth the whole world" (Rev. 12:9). Balaam spoke true prophecies. So did the damsel at Philippi. Ahaziah consulted Baalzebub at Ekron (prince of demons -- Matt. 9:24) whether he should recover from his sickness (2 Ki. 1:1-4). Cassandra foresaw the destruction of Troy while Priam was unable. Demoniacs confessed the divinity of Christ while the scribes and Pharisees were blind. We know that Herodotus (8:77), Socrates, Xenophon, Cicero, etcetera, the wisest and greatest men of antiquity, both among the Greeks and Barbarians, trusted in them and consulted them.

Paul uses the word "oracle" to describe "the answer of God" (Rom. 11:4). Christ is our true Oracle (John 1:18; Matt. 11:27). According to Luke 7:30, "counsel of God" in the Greek should be rendered "ORACLE of God" referring to our Lord. But as Isaiah 45:19 says, God has "not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth." He is a God of light (James 1:17) and speaks "righteousness." The oracles of the heathen gave their answers in SECRET; uttering them from the depths of some DARK cavern, and in such doubtful language as very often to DECEIVE those who consulted them. "There was an opening or gulf in the earth at Delphi, now called the Adytum of the Temple; about this the goats straggled as they were feeding: for at that time they of Delphi had no religious regard to the place. It often happened that when any goat came near the gulf and looked down, it would begin to leap and dance, uttering strange sounds quite different from its natural voice. A shepherd, astonished at the sight, drew near to examine the place, and looking down, began immediately to do as the goats had done; for as they were moved by some kind of frenzy so he was inspired with a spirit of prophesy. For these reasons the place was pronounced to be the seat of an oracle, and many who desired knowledge of future events were attracted thither." (Diod. Sic 16:6)

"The place where the oracle is delivered is said to be a deep hollow cavern, the entrance to which is not very wide. From it rises an exhalation which inspires a divine frenzy. Over the mouth is placed a lofty tripod, on which the Pythian priestess ascends to receive the exhalation, after which she gives the prophetic response in prose or verse." (Strabo 9:3)

The seat of the Cumaean sibyl was of a similar character.

"A spacious cave, within its farmost part,
Was hewed and fashioned by laborious art,
Through the hill's hollow sides: before the place,
A hundred doors a hundred entries grace;
As many voices issue, and the sound
Of Sibyl's words as many times rebound." (Virgil Aeneid 6:42)

"At Cumae, on the coast of Italy, is shown the cave in which the Sibyl uttered her prophecies, living to a great age and preserving her virginity." (Aristotle de mir. ausc.)

"Daphne, the daughter of Tiresias the soothsayer, was not inferior to her father in the art of divination. Being endowed with a wonderful genius, she wrote a great number of oracles in different characters; and it is said that Homer borrowed many of his verses from her. Being often in an enthusiastic state of inspiration, she uttered many things that were prophetical, and was therefore called a Sibyl." (Diod. Sic. 4:66)

The literal rendering is the spirit of a Python, which Plutarch says was in his day the name for a ventriloquist. See notes on Isaiah 8:19. This damsel appears to have uttered ambiguous prophecies after the manner of the Pythian Apollo; or of the sibyls, concerning whom see notes on 1 Sam. 28:7 and Jer. 20:9.

"The greatest blessings we have spring from madmen, when granted by divine bounty. For the prophetess at Delphi, and the priestesses at Dodona, have, when mad, done many and noble services for Greece, both privately and publicly; but in their sober senses, little or nothing. And if we were to speak of the Sibyl and others, who, employing prophetic inspiration, have correctly predictedmany things to many persons respecting the future, we should be too prolix in relating what is known to every one." (Plato Phaedr. 22)

Homer's Iliad and Odyssey were pirated from a Delphic Sibyl according to Bochus in Solinus.

The manner of their delivery by diviners, Pythian priestesses, and Sibyls: with convulsions, foamings, heavings, sometimes so violent as to terminate in death (Potter's Antiq. 1:278; Aeneid 6:46,77; Job 32:19)

"Erythrae was the native place of the Sibyl, an ancient inspired prophetess. In the time of Alexander there was another Sibyl, who was also a prophetess, whose name was Athenais, a native of the same city." (Strabo 14:1)

"The Sibyl who came out of Helicon, where she had been fostered by the Muses, said in her verses that she should never cease to prophesy and foretell future events; but that after her death her face would be seen in the moon and her breath, mingled with the air, would pass to and fro continually in prophetic words and voices of oracles prognosticating." (Plutarch de Pyth. orac. 9)

"It is said that there were four Sibyls, the Erythrean, the Egyptian, one born at Samos, and one a native of Sardis. Others say that there were ten, including among them the Cumaean and the Judaean." (Aelianus Var. Hist. 12:35)

Cicero, as an augur, had access to the Sibylline books. He said, "they were rather calculated to extinguish than to propagate superstition", consequently their subject was not the idolatrous religion of Rome. Cicero also informs us they predicted a king who was to arise about that time, whose sovereignty was to be universal, and under whose rule the world should be at peace.

A Druidess told Diocletian he would be emperor when he had slain Aper, a Boar. Many boars he slew without success, till he recollected that Numerian's father in law was named Aper. Cambyses was told he should die at Ecbatan by the Egyptian oracle at Butos. He avoided the Median city, but died at Ecbatan in Syria, when his own sword wounded him in the thigh as he mounted his horse because he had wounded the Apis calf of Egypt in the thigh. When the Lacedaemonians consulted the oracle at Delphos whether they should make war upon the Arcadians, the oracle answered that he would give them to march over the country of the Tegeans, and to measure its fair plains with a line. They thought as victors; but it turned out as prisoners and slaves, laboring for their conquerors the Tegeans (Herodotus 1:66). A Greek oracle in 480 BC mentioned "a wooden wall alone impregnable" "O Salamis divine" against Xerxes' Persian forces. In the ensuing Battle of Salamis, the Grecians lost 40 wooden ships; the Persians 200, besides several that were taken. Yes, the Greeks did win the battle (Herodotus 7:140-143). Pyrrhus was warned to beware of Argos; and Epaminondas of Pelagos, where both found their deaths. Cassandra foretold the destruction of Troy (De Divin. 1:19). Temenus and his brothers complained to the oracle that its instructions had proved fatal to those who had followed them (the oracle had told Hyllas to attack through the narrow passage when the third fruit was ripe). They received the answer that by the "third fruit" the "third generation" was meant, and that the "narrow passage" was not the isthmus of Corinth, but the straits of Patras.

The dark saying of the oracle to Croesus may very properly be contrasted with the open speech of God's prophets. Croesus sent different messengers from Sardis to each of the several oracles to enquire what he was doing on the day they were consulted -- which he appointed to be the hundredth day after their departure. On this day, he cut in pieces a tortoise and a lamb, and boiled them together in a brazen pan, with a brazen cover. The priestess of Apollo at Delphi in Phocis immediately gave the correct answer; so did the oracle of the hero Amphiaraus in Boeotia. (Herod. 1:46-53). No human collusion together here on same day and hour. Just "the prince of the power of the air" (Eph. 2:2) who "in a moment" (Luke 4:5) can travel like "lightning" (Luke 10:18) from place to place. "Croesus sent to enquire of the oracle of Delphi how long the empire of Lydia would last and whether he might proceed against the Persians and whether he should require the help of any allies. The answer was, "That the war would subvert a great empire, and that Lydia should subsist till a mule came came to possess the throne of Media." Croesus considered this to be an assurance of the perpetual duration of his kingdom. But Lydia was the empire to be subverted, and Cyrus was the mule; inasmuch as he was born of parents of different nations, the mother (Mandane) a Mede and daughter of Astyages king of Media; and the father a Persian (Cambyses) (Xen. Cyrop. 1:2). Croesus went to war and was conquered. "The Persians obtained possession of Sardis and made Croesus captive when he had reigned fourteen years, and after a seige of fourteen days; a mighty empire, according to the prediction of the oracle, being thus destroyed." (Herodotus 1:53-86) Croesus also sent messengers to Delphi to enquire about his mute son. The Pythian prophetess said, "Lydian, master of many, much blind to destiny, Croesus, Do not desire to hear in thy halls that voice which is prayed for, voice of thy son; much better if this from thee were removed, since he shall first utter speech in an evil day of misfortune." Cyrus took Sardis after a 14-day siege. A Persian soldier running after Croesus with a drawn sword, his mute son cried out, "Man, slay not Croesus" and continued to enjoy the faculty of speech all the rest of his life. (Herodotus 1:34,85)

"Apollo, monarch of the sacred center Of the great world, full of thy inspiration, The Pythian priestesses proclaim thy prophecies. Chrysippus has filled an entire volume with your oracles, many of which I consider utterly false, and many others only true by accident. Others again are so obscure and involved that their very interpreters have need of other interpreters, and the decision of one lot have to be referred to other lots. Another portion are so ambiguous that they require to be analysed by the logic of dialectitions." (Cicero de div. 2:56) Plutarch writes that "Araxes king of Armenia being promised success against the Persians if he would sacrifice his two daughters, slew those of Miesalcus, an Armenian Lord; but flying from his resentment was drowned in the Helmus, from him named Araxes."

The effect of Christ's incarnation on fallen angels was great. Their power at once began to dwindle. They cried out, "Why hast thou come to torment us before the time?" Our Lord himself said, "I saw Satan's kingdom fall like lightning from heaven." When the Delphic Oracle was asked why it ceased to give the usual responses, it replied, "There is a Hebrew boy who is king of the gods, who has commanded me to leave this house, and begone to hell, and therefore you are to expect no more answers." (Plumer, Rock of Our Salvation, p.75). The Delphic Oracle prophesied regarding Christ and foretold the silence of the oracles subsequent to the coming of Christ -- "the Light of the Celestial Flame." "Alas Tripods! Weep and make funeral oration for your Apollo. He is mortal, he is about to die, he expires; because the light of the Celestial Flame extinguishes him." Its fulfillment is confirmed by the following authorities. Scarcely thirty years after the supposed date of Jesus' death, Lucan in his Pharsalia (v.111) states that "the greatest calamity of our century is the loss of that wonderful gift of heaven, the Delphic Oracle, which is silent." Eusebius cites Porphyry as saying that "since Jesus began to be worshipped no man had received any public help or benefit from the gods" (Praep. Evang. 5:1). And Plutarch wrote his treatise (died 119 AD) affirming the "cessation of the oracles" during the first century of the Christian Era. (pp.91-92, Comte de Gabalis) Cicero supposes that the vaporous exhalation was exhausted by age through natural causes (De Divinat. 1:19). See Juvenal Satire 6:554 describing their total cessation about the birth of Christ or soon thereafter, a fact confessed by their greatest advocates. Plutarch says, "In the time of Tiberius [in whose reign Christ was crucified], some persons, embarking from Asia for Italy, towards the evening, sailed by the Echinades [five little islands in the Ionian Sea] where being becalmed, they heard from thence a loud voice, calling one Thamus, an Egyptian mariner among them, and after the third time, commanding him, when he came to the Palodes, to declare that the Great Pan was dead. With the advice of his company, he resolved, that if they had a quick gale, when they came to the Palodes, he would pass by silently, but if they should find themselves becalmed there, he would then perform what the voice had commanded. But when the ship arrived thither, there was neither any breeze of wind, nor any agitation of the water. Whereupon Thamus, looking out of the stern, toward the Palodes, pronounced these words with a loud voice, 'the Great Pan is dead!' which he had no sooner done, than he was answered by a chorus of many voices, making a great howling and lamentation, not without a mixture of admiration." (Cudsworth's Intellect. Syst. p.345) "Divination and oracles were more in estimation among the ancients, but are now held in much indifference: wherefore the oracle at Ammon, which was formerly esteemed, has almost ceased. And the sacred oracle at Delphi is neglected, which before was exceedingly esteemed." (Strabo, p.818, 419)

Augustine quotes a Sibyl as predicting the promised Deliverer: "Afterwards He shall fall into the hands of wicked men, who will buffet Him and spit upon Him; and He will submit His holy back to stripes. He will hold His peace when struck with the fist; and He shall be crowned with a crown of thorns ... The veil of the Temple shall be rent; and at midday it will be darker than night for three hours. He will undergo death, taking sleep for three days, and then returning to the Light, He will come again as at the first." (Augustine, City of God 18:23)..

"As for the Delphian shrine, the story goes that it was burnt a third time by Thracians, the oracle not having been able to give any help to the knowledge of what was coming, nor the Pythian god himself to guard his own abode.... in the times of the Ptolemies ... the temple of Vesta at Rome is also said to have suffered conflagration. And about the time of Julius Caesar it is recorded that the great statue, which was the glory of the Greeks and of Olympia, was struck by lightning from the god at the very time of the Olympic games. On another occasion also, they say, the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus was burnt, and the Pantheon destroyed by lightning, and the Serapeium at Alexandria burnt down in like manner.... unable to defend even their own temples; and it is not likely that they who have been of no use to themselves in misfortunes would ever be able to give help to others." (p.132, Eusebius, Prep. For Gospel)

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Our Lord Predicted the Destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. -- "Yet 40 Days (Years) and Nineveh (Jerusalem) Shall Be Destroyed" (Jonah 3:4; Matt. 16:4)
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On Passover the Jews put Jesus to death. Forty years later on Passover, Titus put an immense number of Jews to death inside Jerusalem in a siege. Just as they sold Jesus as a slave for 30 pieces of silver (Zech. 11:12; Matt. 26:15), so also the Jews were sold as slaves for the lowest price possible. Just as Jesus was crucified outside the walls of Jerusalem, so also the Jews were crucified in such numbers that "room was wanting for the crosses, and crosses wanting for the bodies" (Wars of Jews 5:11:1). They preferred the robber and murderer Barabbas, so forty years later they got the Sicarii who robbed and murdered men openly in the streets of Jerusalem (Wars of Jews 2:13:3,6). Remember that the Jews had uttered, "His blood be on us and on our children".

In 66 A.D. Cestius Gallus, the Roman governor of Syria, arrived at Jerusalem on Tishri 22, the 8th day sabbath after the festival of Booths (October A.D. 66), to restore Roman rule over the rebellious Jewish people. According to Josephus, the Jewish nation had refused to offer sacrifices and prayer at their temple for the emperor's well being. This sacrifice was a sign of subjection to, and acknowledgement of, the ruler. Therefore, Jerusalem (including Christians) was surrounded by the legions of Cestius Gallus. The "Abomination of DESOLATION" (Matt. 24:15) is defined in Luke 21:20 as "Jerusalem compassed with ARMIES" that cause "DESOLATION." Cestius took the temple wall on Heshvan 5, 66 A.D. He burnt three divisions of the city. At this time he (Cestius) constituted the abomination that caused desolation standing where it ought not in 'a holy place' in the temple and the daily sacrifice had been removed since no one felt like offering up a sacrifice in front of Cestius. The Roman armies carried the images of their gods and emperors on their standards also. The principal figures on their ensigns were gold eagles, which, however obnoxious to the Jews, were at length planted in the midst of the holy city, and finally on the temple itself. As our Lord said, "Wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together" (Matt. 24:28). At that time, on that very day, "It then happened that Cestius was not conscious either how the besieged despaired of success, nor how courageous the people were for him, and he recalled his soldiers from the place, and by despairing of any expectation of taking it, without having received any disgrace, he retired from the city, without any reason in the world" (Wars 2:19).

Jewish Zealots pursued and attacked the army ferociously, and, with little loss to themselves, slew of his army nearly six thousand men. On this day, Heshvan 5, 66 A.D. we have a fulfillment of the conditions for beginning the 1290 days of Daniel 12:11. Christians were given a brief opportunity to obey our Lord's advice and "depart out of the midst of" Jerusalem and "flee to the mountains" (Luke 21:20-22). "The whole body of the church at Jerusalem having been commanded by a divine Revelation ["Let us remove hence." -- Wars 6:5:3] ... removed from the city, and dwelt in a certain town beyond Jordan, called Pella" (Eusebius 3:5:2). After this calamity had befallen Cestius, many of the most eminent of the Jews SWAM away from the city, as from a ship when it was going to sink (Wars of the Jews, book 2 ch. 20). Returning Zealots didn't tolerate "deserters," so escaping had to be done that very day. Fleeing to the hills in the Bible occurs just before the great tribulation.

"Christ Jesus said ‘When you shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies (literally or in a supernatural sign), then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them who are in Judea (not just Jerusalem) flee to the mountains; and let them who are in the midst of it depart; and let not them that are in the countries enter into it’ (Luke 21:20-21). How can Christians flee Jerusalem when Jerusalem is completely surrounded with armies? How did Christians in other parts of the country even know that armies were surrounding Jerusalem?

"On the twenty-first of the month Artemisium (the last day of the 2nd Passover season In A.D.66, there appeared a miraculous phenomenon, passing belief. Indeed, what I am about to relate would, I imagine, have been deemed a fable, were it not for the narratives of eyewitnesses and for the subsequent calamities which deserved to be so signalized. For before sunset throughout all parts of the country [everywhere throughout Judea] chariots were seen in the air and armed battalions hurtling through the clouds and encompassing the cities" (Wars of Jews 6.5.3).

And then, about two weeks later, Josephus tells us: "Moreover, at the feast which is called Pentecost, the priests on entering the inner court of the temple by night, as their custom was in the discharge of their ministrations, reported that they were conscious, first of a commotion and a din, and after that of a voice as of a host, We are departing hence" (War, 6.209,300). With these two signs, what did the Christians in Jerusalem and Judaea do? Eusebius tells us that this is the time they began to leave the region because of the command of Christ and went to a city called Pella on the east side of the Jordan River (Ecclesiastical History, 3.5). They and the apostles obtained safety from the Great Tribulation that soon enflamed Jerusalem and Judaea.

Before the taking of Jerusalem by Titus, Tacitus noticed that "There had been omens and prodigies, things which that nation, so addicted to superstition, but so averse to the gods, hold it unlawful to expiate either by vows or victims. Hosts were seen to encounter in the air; refulgent arms appeared; and by a blaze of lightning shooting suddenly from the clouds, all the temple was illuminated; the great gates of the temple were suddenly thrown open, and a voice more than human was heard to declare that the gods were about to depart." (Tacitus History 5:13)

Nero, having been informed of the defeat of Cestius, immediately appointed Vespasian, a man of tried valour, to prosecute the war against the Jews, who, assisted by his son Titus, soon collected at Ptolemais an army of sixty thousand men. From hence, in the spring of 67 A. D. he marched into Judea, every where spreading the most cruel havoc and devastation; For fifteen months Vespasian proceeded in this sanguinary career, during which period he reduced all the strong towns of Galilee, and the chief of those in Judea, destroying at least one hundred and fifty thousand of the inhabitants. In 69 A.D. Vespasian dreamed that he should be emperor, when Nero lost a tooth; this ensued the next day. Vespasian became emperor and returned to Rome. But Titus his son arrived in Jerusalem around 14th Nisan 70 A.D. (Antiquities 5.13.7). Titus besieged the city with four legions of soldiers. The time between October of A.D. 66 and April of A.D. 70 is three and a half years or the "time, times and a half" "to scatter the power of the holy people" (12:7). The day on which Titus encompassed Jerusalem, was the feast of the Passover; at this season multitudes came up from all the surrounding country, and from distant parts, to keep the festival. Titus allowed the pilgrims into the city, but refused to let them leave, in order to deplete the rebel food reserves. Our Lord warned, "Let not them that are in the countries enter into Jerusalem" (Luke 21: 21).

The Great Tribulation of the Jews, Matthew 24, occurred during the period from the exit of Cestius until the arrival of Titus and his siege. Three walls surrounded Jerusalem on every side, except that which was deemed inaccessible, and there it was defended by one wall only. Romans took the first wall on the 15th day of the siege -- Iyyar 7. Romans took the second wall indicated by a red radius line -- Iyyar 16. A siege wall of pointed stakes all around the city was built in three days by the end of Sivan 4. Escape was now impossible (Luke 19:43-44). Titus was able to make his inspection of this completed and fully garrisoned pointed-stake wall -- Sivan 5. Now Sivan 5, 70 A.D. is 1290 days after Heshvan 5, 66 A.D. Also, Sivan 4 was the last day of possible escape, before the wall was garrisoned and inspected by Titus. This was the first century fulfillment of Daniel 12:11. This pointed-stake wall was accompanied by a trench of 39 furlongs in circuit and strengthened with 13 towers. "Thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round about, and keep thee in on every side" (Luke 19:43). As no supplies whatever could now enter the walls, the famine spread rapidly.

After this, Josephus, in the name of Titus, earnestly exhorted John and his adherents to surrender; but the insolent rebel returned nothing but reproaches and imprecations, declaring his firm persuasion that Jerusalem, as it was GOD'S own city, could never be taken: thus literally fulfilling the declaration of Micah, that the Jews, in their extremity, notwithstanding their crimes, would presumptuously "lean upon the LORD, and say, 'Is not the LORD among us? none evil can come upon us" (Micah 3:11). The third wall fell down -- Tammuz 2. Romans took the tower of Antonia -- Tammuz 5. Those who had defected to the Romans and had been saved in Gophna, by Caesar's decree, were paraded around the wall unharmed -- Tammuz 19. Counting 1335 days from Cestius' invasion of the temple, on Heshvan 5, 66 A.D., which was the beginning of the flight to the hills, we end up on Tammuz 19, 70 A.D. This was also the day when Titus ordered the final assault on the temple to start at the 9th hour of the night (which was in the next Hebrew day -- Tammuz 19). A Roman soldier, urged, as he declared, by a divine impulse, regardless of the command of Titus climbed on the shoulders of another, and threw a flaming brand into the golden window of the Temple, which instantly set the building on fire -- Av 10 (cp. Jer. 52:12,13). Jerusalem was finally taken after nearly 5 months (ending Elul 8, 70 A.D.) (135 days from Nisan 23). The above is taken from Josephus 'Wars of the Jews' 2:19 and books 5 & 6. In book 6 chapter 2, 'in the meantime' of section 7 is 7 days, and the 'in the meantime' of section 9 is that day. Notice that the significant dates in the siege of Jerusalem correspond to the significant dates of Daniel chapter 12. Our Lord pronounce a woe on "them that should give suck in those days" (Matt. 24: 19.). "Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but for yourselves and for your children; for, behold, the days are coming in which they shall say, 'Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the breasts that never gave suck" (Luke 23: 29). He was referring to cannibalism (Deut. 28:56-57). Finally, Elul 29 is traditionally the last day that Jews fast before Rosh HaShanah. Jerusalem survivors may have been given their first good meal on this date.

The gold melted and ran down through the crevices of the bricks so the Roman soldiers tore it down stone by stone to get the gold and the silver out. That fulfilled the words of Jesus when He said there wouldn't be a stone of the Temple left standing one on top of the other (Matt. 24:2). Then to further defile it, Titus, the Roman prince went to the high altar of the Temple, planted the standards of the Roman legions by it and then proceeded to sacrifice a pig on the altar in the Holy of Holies. He fulfilled Daniel 11:31 that he should defile the sanctuary, take away the daily sacrifice and place there the abomination. Romans then burned the Lower City. Approximately September 2, Romans assaulted Herod's Palace and entered the Upper City. Resistance ended on September 26. The 1290-day period (Daniel 12:11) runs from the abomination of Cestius (Heshvan 5, 66 A.D.) to finishing of the wall of pointed sticks ending escape (Sivan 4, 70 A.D.)(Luke 19:43 fulfilled). The 1335 days (Daniel 12:12) runs from the abomination of Cestius (Heshvan 5, 66 A.D.) to the parading of escapees from Jerusalem (Tammuz 19, 70 A.D. -- Eridanus).

This great city, which only five months before, had been crowded with nearly two million people, who gloried in its impregnable strength, was entirely depopulated, and levelled with the ground. Our Lord predicted that Rome would "lay her even with the ground," and "should not leave in her one stone upon another" (Luke 19:44). This fact is confirmed by Eusebius, who asserts that he himself saw the city lying in ruins. It is recorded, in the Talmud, and by Maimonides, that Terentius Rufus, captain of the army of Titus, absolutely ploughed up the foundations of the Temple with a ploughshare. "Therefore shall Zion, for your sakes (i.e. for your wickedness) be ploughed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the LORD's house as the high places of the forest" (Micah 3:12).

Josephus reckons not less than 1,100,000 Jews were destroyed during the siege, to which must be added, above 237,000 who perished in other places, and innumerable multitudes who were swept away by famine, and pestilence, of which no calculation could be made. Not less than 2,000 laid violent hands upon themselves. Of the captives the whole was about 97,000. Of the two great leaders of the Jews, who had both been made prisoners, John was doomed to a dungeon for life; while Simon, together with John, in triumph at Rome was scourged, and put to death as a malefactor. All above the age of seventeen were sent in chains into Egypt, to be employed there as slaves, or distributed throughout the empire to be sacrificed as gladiators in the amphitheatres; whilst those who were under this age, were exposed to sale. Our Lord foretold, generally, that they should "fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations; and that Jerusalem should be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles should be fulfilled" (Luke 21:24). During every successive age and in all nations, the Jews have been constantly persecuted, enslaved, contemned, harassed, and oppressed; banished from one country to another, and abused in all; while countless multitudes have, at different periods, been barbarously massacred, particularly in Persia, Syria, Palestine, and Egypt; and in Russia, Germany, Hungary, France, and Spain. Jerusalem only recently became a possession of the Jews. It has been successively occupied by the Romans, Arabs, Franks, Turks, and British. It has always been trodden down.

Our Lord stated that there should "be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world, no, nor ever shall be" (Matt. 24:21). Josephus declares its fulfillment in parallel language: "If the misfortunes," says he, "of all nations, from the beginning of the world, were compared with those which befell the Jews, they would appear far less in comparison;" and again, "No other city ever suffered such things, as no other generation, from the beginning of the world, was ever more fruitful in wickedness." These were, indeed, "the days of vengeance," that all things which are written (especially by Moses, Joel, and Daniel,) might be fulfilled" (Luke 21:22). Nor were the calamities of the Jews even now ended; for there were still other places to subdue; and our Lord had thus predicted, "wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together" (Matt. 24:28).

After the destruction of Jerusalem seventeen hundred Jews who surrendered at Macherus were slain, and of fugitives not less than three thousand in the wood of Jardes. Titus having marched his army to Caesarea, he there, with great splendour, celebrated the birthday of his brother Domitian; and according to the barbarous manner of those times, punished many Jews in honour of it. The number who were burnt, and who fell by fighting with wild beasts, and in mutual combats, exceeded two thousand five hundred. At the siege of Massada, Eleazer, the commander, instigated the garrison to burn their stores, and to destroy first the women and children, and then themselves. Dreadful as it is to relate, this horrid design was executed. They were in number nine hundred and sixty. Ten were chosen to perform the bloody work: the rest sat 'on the ground,' and embracing their wives and children stretched out their necks to the sword: one was afterwards appointed to destroy the remaining nine, and then himself. The survivor, when he had looked round to see that all were slain, set fire to the place, and plunged his sword into his own bosom. Nevertheless, two women and five children successfully concealed themselves, and witnessed the whole transaction. The period of time from the first attack of the Jews upon the Romans at Masada, in May of A.D. 66, to the final resistance of the Jews at Masada in April of A.D. 73, encompassed seven years. “For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen ... Thy men shall fall by the sword and thy mighty in the war. And her gates shall lament and mourn, and she being desolate shall sit upon the ground” (Isaiah 3:8, 25-26). The mournful and desolate condition of Judea, at this time, is exactly described by the prophet Isaiah: "The cities were without inhabitant, and the houses without a man, and the land was utterly desolate, and the LORD had removed men far away, and there was a great forsaking in the midst of the land." (Isa. 6:11-12).

"And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up (by the destruction of the temple in 70 AD), there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days, Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days" (Dan. 12:11-12). Adding 1290 years to 70 AD, we arrive at the beginning of John Wycliffe's public ministry who attacked the Papal tyranny and erronious dogmas. Adding 1335 years, we arrive at 1405 when John Huss brought more reforms and began preaching against the corruptions of the Church of Rome at Prague in Bohemia 1405 AD.

A Nine-Month Pregnancy (270 Years -- 34 to 303 AD) With Birth Pangs (10 Years -- 303 to 313 AD) Before the Man Child (Constantine) Rules

We know that the Messiah would be cut off "in the midst of the week" of seven years (Dan. 9:24-27) -- in the spring of 31 AD. Adding three-and-a-half more years brings us to the fall of 34 AD when the vision would come to an end with the death of a prophet. Stephen was stoned in 34 AD (Acts 7:59) "to end a vision and a prophet" (Dan. 9:24). Jesus came "unto his own (the JEWS), and his own received him not" (John 1:11). The JEWS rejected him. Jesus was of the tribe of JUDAH (Heb 7:14; Rev 5:5). Paul also said, "salvation to every one that believeth; to the JEW first (for 490 years -- BC 457 - 34 AD), and also to the GREEK" (second for 280 years and more) (Rom 1:16). The GREEKS were Israel.

Stephen was the last prophet to speak to the JEWISH people of JUDEA as the elect of God. When he was rejected and stoned to death, the 'vision' and 'prophet' both ended. Soon after, Paul was called to be an apostle to the "gentiles" (ISRAEL) (Acts 9), and Peter was told that "gentiles" (ISRAEL) should be accepted into church fellowship (Acts 10). Jesus said to them, "The stone (Jesus the Messiah) which the builders (JEWS) rejected, the same is become the head of the corner ... The kingdom of God shall be taken from you (JEWS), and given to a nation (lost ISRAEL) bringing forth the fruits thereof." (Matthew 21:42-43). Those ISRAELITES who migrated to Britain. Notice, the New Covenant is with the "house of ISRAEL, AND with the house of JUDAH" (Jer. 31:31). It was to the "JEW FIRST, and also to the GREEK." (Rom 1:16). The gospel in the 490 years was only for the house of JUDAH. Notice Daniel 9:24 again, "Seventy weeks are determined upon THY people." Daniel was of the house of JUDAH, not the house of ISRAEL which was lost in history. The context is JUDAH'S 70-year captivity in Babylon and the remnant of JUDAH that returned -- not ISRAEL -- not the lost ten tribes. But as that period came to a close, Jesus said, "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of ISRAEL" (Matthew 15:24). And he commanded the apostles to, "Go NOT into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not ... But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of ISRAEL" (Matt 10:5-6).

If we add a nine-month PREGNANCY (270 years) to 34 A.D., we come to the "BIRTH PANGS" of 303-313 A.D. when Diocletian persecuted Christians prior to the coming of Constantine (a type of Christ) when their BIRTH figuratively occurred. "Ye shall have tribulation TEN DAYS" (Rev. 2:10). "These things are the beginning of travail" (Matt. 24:7-8). These things are a type of the plan just before the real second coming of Christ. The birth pains come "as travail upon a woman with child" (1 Th. 5:3) beginning the LABOR contractions: war, famine, disease, earthquakes and PERSECUTION (Matt. 24:8; Isa. 13:8). The woman (British Israel) brought forth a man child (Constantine) to rule all nations with a rod of iron (Rev. 12:1-5). Constantine's "Christianity" (Catholicism) was far from perfect, but it was a great improvement over polytheism. Barbaric customs such as branding humans, crucifixion and gladiatorial combat were abolished. Constantine prohibited pagan rites in his new capital of Constantinople. The "dragon was cast out" of heaven (Constantinople) (Rev. 12:9). By around 350 AD the performance of a PAGAN sacrifice had become a capital offense. When Christ returns, "we shall reign on the earth" (Rev. 5:10). The Israelite must be "born again" (John 3:3), not composed of flesh but composed of spirit this time (John 3:6). Jesus was the "firstborn among many brethren" (Rom. 8:29). The resurrection to rulership will occur at his Second Coming. "All other animals give birth to their young without pain; but woman must endure the severest sufferings" -- (Aristot. de Hist. Anim. 7:9)

What are the "ten days" (years) of tribulation (2:10)? From 23 Feb. 303 to 13 June 313 A.D. (Lactantius De Mort. Persec. 48; Eusebius E.H. 8:15-16), after Diocletan returned victorious from the Persian wars, he persecuted Christians. Hundreds of thousands of Christians died or were banished. Diocletian published his edict at Nicomedia on February 24, 303 and it lasted until his death. The Edict of Tolderation by Galerius was issued in 311 in Serdica (now Sofia Bulgaria) by Roman Emperor Galerius. It officially ended Diocletan's persecution of Christianity in the East. Constantine (West) and Licinius (Balkans) agreed to treat Christians kindly in the Edict of Milan which was agreed to on February 313 and the proclamation, made for the East by Licinius in June 313, granted all persons freedom to worship whatever deity they pleased. "In 313 A.D. Constantine's Edict of Milan restored confiscated Christian property and gave equal rights for all religions. In that same year Constantine exempted Christian clergy from civil and military service and their property from taxation" (SDABC). Besides lasting ten years, this was also the tenth persecution suffered under ten different emperors' edicts: Nero (64 A.D.), Domitian (95 A.D.), Trajan (107 A.D.), Hadrian (127 A.D.), Marcus Aurelius (165 A.D.), Septimius Severus (202 A.D.), Maximus (235 A.D.), Decius (249 A.D.), Valerianus (257 A.D.) and Diocletian (303 A.D.). Read about the 10 persecutions by pagan Rome in Fox's Book of Martyrs, pp. 13-31.

Julian the Apostate Was Unable To Rebuild the Jewish Temple in 363 AD

Matthew 23:39 says, "Behold, your house is left unto you DESOLATE." Then Matthew 24:1-2 says, "Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here ONE STONE UPON ANOTHER, that shall not be THROWN DOWN."

The number 666 has been discovered in the name Julian the Apostate (C.F. Jul. Caes. Aug. = DCLXVI). Being the last emperor of Constantine's dynasty, the son of Constantine the Great’s half brother, Julian attempted to prove Jesus a false prophet by rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem in 363AD. The effort failed dramatically. Emperor Julian’s friend, Ammianus Marcellinus, wrote about the attempt to restore the Jewish Temple:

“Julian thought to rebuild at an extravagant expense the proud Temple once at Jerusalem, and committed this task to Alypius of Antioch. But, though this Alypius pushed the work on with vigour, aided by the governor of the province, terrifying BALLS of FLAME kept bursting forth near the foundations of the temple, and made the place inaccessible to the workmen, some of whom were BURNED to DEATH; and since in this way the element persistently repelled them, the enterprise halted." (23:1) Though this historical fact is attested by contemporary writers, such as Ambrose, Chrysostom, and Gregory Nazianzen, the last of whom declares that "the preternatural event, which caused the suspension of the enterprise, was not desputed by infidels," it is sad to observe the intense skepticism of Gibbon as he reflects on Gregory's testimony by remarking that his assertion, "strange as it may seem, is confirmed by the unexceptional testimony of Ammianus Marcellinus" (Decline and Fall, ch. 23)

While trying to abrogate the Temple prophecy of Jesus, an EARTHQUAKE also occurred in Jerusalem at this very time in 363 AD. Christians credited the EARTHQUAKE to God sustaining the Temple prophecy of Jesus! The Jews and Romans attributed the quake to coincidence. The Jews actually tore down every remaining stone from the old temple in order to begin rebuilding it. That same year Emperor Julian was at war with the Persians and was KILLED by a Persian spear June 27, 363. After just two years of rule he was finished. He was only 32 years old. While dying, the emperor groaned, "You have conquered, O Galilean"-- referring to Jesus Christ. Even in 361 AD, the emperor Julian the Apostate admitted, "As to Jesus, neither Paul, nor Matthew, nor Luke, nor Mark, dared to call him 'GOD'; none but the honest John." (Cyril cont. Julian 10:327). However, Julian was mistaken about the rest, for Paul repeatedly admits Yeshua's divinity (Rom. 9:5; Phil. 2:6; 1 Tim. 3:16; Tit. 1:3; 2:13; Eph. 5:5; Heb. 1:8) and Matthew refers to him as "Immanuel" -- "God with us." Mark as "the son of God" (1:1), Luke as "God" (Acts 20:28), and Thomas -- "My Lord" and "My God" (John 20:28-29).

Battle of Ravenna in 476 A.D. -- Midpoint of The "Times of the Gentiles" (Lev. 26:28; Luke 21:24)

The Battle of Ravenna took place on the 2 September 476 and was a minor confrontation between the Heruli under their King Odoacer, of the Sciri clan (Issachar), and the remnants of the Western Roman Army in Italy. The Roman Empire had been in relative decline until 455 when the Vandals sacked Rome effectively destroying the empire. By 476 the Roman Emperor was little more than a warlord having very little de facto control of any territory outside of Italy. The Roman emperor, Romulus Augustulus, wasn't even recognized as a legitimate ruler outside of Italy.

Herulians were foederati of the Western Roman Empire; they were mercenary troops of the Roman Army of Italy. They envied the fortune of their brethren in Gaul, Spain, and Africa, whose victorious arms had acquired an independent and perpetual inheritance; and they insisted that A THIRD PART of the lands of Italy should be immediately divided among them (cp. Rev. 8:7-9:18). Orestes, the father of the last Roman Emperor, Romulus Augustus, rejected their demand causing their revolt. From all the camps and garrisons of Italy the confederates flocked to the standard of Odoacer, their leader; and Orestes retreated to Pavia. Pavia was pillaged and Orestes was executed.

The decisive battle was fought near Ravenna, the capital of the Western Roman Empire: it saw the Foederati defeat the heavily depleted Roman garrison. The city was captured swiftly and easily. Two days later the sixteen year old Emperor Romulus Augustulus was forced to abdicate by Odoacer ending twelve-hundred years of Roman rule in Italy beginning with the Roman Kingdom in 753 BC. Romulus was sent into retirement in Campania. Israelite Heruli were prophesied to "break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms" (Dan. 2:44; Jer. 51:20).

The first king of the Babylonian Empire represented by the image of Daniel 2 was Nabonassar who ascended the throne at noon, February 26, 747 B.C. This date has been determined with certainty through a series of exact astronomical observations given by Ptolemy. This is therefore the earliest date from which to measure the "seven times." If we add 1222.5 solar years or 446,503 days, to 747 B.C., we arrive at the fall of Romulus Augustulus, August 22nd, 476 A.D; while 1260 lunar years (or 15,120 lunations) contain 446,502.5 days, so that the difference, if any, is merely one of hours. Can any thinking mind regard this fact as mere chance coincidence? The duration of the four kingdoms of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome, from the era of Nabonassar B.C. 747, to the deposition of Romulus Augustulus and the end of the Western Roman Empire in August 22, 476 A.D., all fit perfectly within exactly 1260 LUNAR years (1,222.5 solar years).

Ten Kingdoms (Toes or Horns of Daniel) Continue 1260 Years Under Antichrist (2 Th 2:3-4) After Restrainer (Roman Emperor - 2 Th 2:7) is Taken Away ( 536-1796; 610-1870; etc)

The Historian Machiavelli, without the slightest reference to prophecy, gives the following list of the nations which occupied the territory of the Western Empire at the time of the fall of Romulus Augustulus, the last emperor of Rome, A.D. 476.: The Lombards, the Franks, the Burgundians, the Ostrogoths, the Visigoths, the Vandals, the Heruli, the Sueves, the Huns, and the Saxons -- TEN. The following list gives the contemporary kingdoms existing in Western Europe at intervals of a hundred years from the 9th to the 19th centuries. A question mark indicates some doubt about it's independent sovereignty.

860 A.D.: Italy, Provence, Lorrain, East France, West France, Exarchate, Venice, Navarre, England and Scotland -- TEN and the Little Horn called Pope.

950 A.D.: Germany, Burgundy, Lombardy, Exarchate, Venice, France, England, Scotland, Navarre and Leon -- TEN and the Little Horn called Pope.

1050 A.D.: Germany, Exarchate, Venice, Norman-Italy, France, England, Scotland, Arragon, Castile, Normandy(?) and Hungary (?) -- NINE to ELEVEN and the Little Horn called Pope.

1150 A.D.: Germany, Naples, Venice, France, England, Scotland, Arragon, Castile, Portugal, Hungary and Lombardy (?) -- TEN or ELEVEN and the Little Horn called Pope.

1250 A.D.: Germany, Naples, Venice, Lombardy, France, England, Scotland, Arragon, Castile, Portugal and Hungary -- TEN and the Little Horn called Pope.

1350 A.D.: Germany, Naples, Venice, Switzerland (?), Milan (?), Tuscany (?), France, England, Scotland and Castile -- NINE to TWELVE and the Little Horn called Pope

1433 A.D.: Austria, Naples, Venice, France, England, Scotland, Arragon, Castile, Portugal, Hungary, Switzerland (?), Savoy (?), Milan (?), and Tuscany (?) -- ELEVEN to FOURTEEN and the Little Horn called Pope.

In 1517 the Reformation begins to consume the Pope's dominion. Kings throw off his yoke. Daniel 7:26 says, "But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end."

1552 A.D.: Austria, Venice, France, England, Scotland, Spain, Naples, Portugal, Hungary, Switzerland (?) and Lombardy (?) -- NINE to ELEVEN and Papal power being consumed.

1648 A.D.: Austria, Venice, France, Britain, Spain, Naples, Portugal, Hungary, Switzerland, Savoy, Tuscany and Holland -- ELEVEN and Papal power being consumed.

1750 A.D.: Austria, Hungary, France, Savoy and Sardinia, Venice, Tuscany, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Naples (?), Britain and Holland -- TEN to ELEVEN and Papal power being consumed.

1816 A.D.: Austria, Bavaria, Wurtemburg (?), Naples, Tuscany, Sardinia, Lombardy (?), France, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Britain and Switzerland -- ELEVEN to THIRTEEN and Papal power being consumed.

In 1870 the Pope's temporal power fell.

The TEN TOES were smitten when "A stone was cut out (of Europe) without hands, which smote the image upon its feet ... and the stone became a great mountain ("kingdom" -- Isa. 2:2) and filled the whole earth" (Dan. 2:34-35). This is the British Empire and the United States. This process began about 1548 with the Act of Uniformity. Then Philip's Spanish Armada was destroyed in 1588. Napoleon's French were defeated by the British in 1814 at Waterloo. Later Great Britain "smote ... and broke ... to pieces" (Dan. 2:34) Germany, Austro-Hungary, Bulgaria, Russia, and the Ottoman Empire in 1918 at the end of the seven "times of the gentiles" (Lev. 26:28; Luke 21:24) (604-1917). Then World War Two where Germany was broken in half and Italy withdrew from Africa.

Who were the TEN HORNS of Rev. 17? Prior to the Napoleonic invasion into northern Italy in 1796, the Italian Peninsula itself was divided into TEN STATES: Then again at the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Italy was re-organized into TEN DIVISIONS, known as the TEN ITALIAN STATES, and all were placed under the power of Austria. The names of these TEN ITALIAN STATES are as follows: Sardinia, Lombardy, Parma, Modena, Tuscany, San Morino, states of the Church, Lucca, Naples including Sicily, and Monaco (See Butt's History of Italy, p.473). Then later, Pope Pius IX was declared infallible by Ecumenical Council's majority vote of 451 in favor on 16th July 1870. A gloomy lightning storm accompanied the celebration in St. Peter's Cathedral, the very day the Franco-Prussian war began, leaving the Pope without French support. "His kingdom was full of darkness" (Rev. 16:10). All French soldiers were needed against Prussia. Austria, long the dungeon of Europe, always the guardian of the Pope, when no one else could be found to support him, shocked at the Pope's assumption of an attribute of Deity, tore the concordat into shreds and cast it to the winds, and renounced the Pope's jurisdiction in Austria, root and branch. Then Austria passed a law granting liberty of the press, liberty of conscience and freedom of education, throughout the length and breadth of the land. Then 2nd October 1870, the Italians voted overwhelmingly to renounce the temporal power of the Pope.

Who were the SEVEN HEADS of Rev. 17? Beginning with Justinian, the Eastern Roman Empire supported the Papacy from 536 to 754 AD. During that period its emperors persecuted those who refused to submit to the decrees and dogmas of the Pope. Then Charlemagne, King of France, supported the Papacy from 800 to 1012 AD, when Pope Benedict VIII, having been driven from his position by one Gregory, sought the protection of Henry II, King of Germany, and found in him another friend and supporter of the Papacy. Pope Benedict VIII crowned Henry II, king of Germany, Emperor of the Romans on 14th Feb. 1014 AD, that German king having pledged himself to be the protector and defender of the Church and to obey the Pope. After about 250 years, Germany ceased to support the Papacy and the third head fell. Pope Clement IV established the fourth head, the Neapolitan Dynasty in 1265 AD and crowned Charles of Anjou as King of Naples. It continued till 1544 AD, when Charles V (Spanish rulers) became the fifth supporter of the Papacy. This continued for 150 years and included the Spanish Inquisition. Then in 1694, the Pope made an agreement whereby Leopold I (Austrian rulers) were crowned by the Pope and in exchange supported and submitted to the Pope. This arrangement continued over a hundred years. Jesuit persecution was abolished by Austria in 1773 AD. In 1804 Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of France, in the presence of Pope Pius VII, since Napoleon had agreed to support the Pope and to give him temporal power. But this seventh head only endured a "short space" (17:10) of ten years (1804-1814). The eighth head was again the Emperor of Austria who agreed to support Pope Pius VII and was one "of the seven" (17:11). This continued till 1870, when Austria became offended with "papal infallibility" and renounced the Pope's jurisdiction. In the meantime the Italian States tried to free themselves from Austria's yoke and regain liberty. Victor Emanuel, King of Sardinia, succeeded in liberating Sardinia from Austrian rule; and it became an independent government in 1853. Eight other Italian States followed and were liberated from Austrian rule, and united under Victor Emanuel in the Kingdom of Italy, leaving that division known as the States of the Church under the Pope allies to Austria till 1870. Then the Papacy was made "desolate and naked" when Italian troops entered Rome 20th Sep 1870 making it independent of Papal rule. Victor Emanuel was now head of Rome. Religious liberty and toleration were established.

But John beheld the beast as it existed under the sixth head -- Austria, five having fallen. He saw "ten horns" which "are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet", so they must have existed within the Austrian Empire. Austria had control of Italy; and Italy was divided into ten Italian States: Sardinia, Lombardy, Parma, Modena, Tuscany, San Moreno, States of the Church, Lucca, Naples including Sicily, and Monaco. They all "have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast" (Austria). The Austrian head was therefore "the beast that was (1694-1804), and is not (Napoleon:1804-1814), and yet is" (1815-1870) (Rev. 17:8). Multiple 1260-year periods exist within this period: Belisarius invaded Italy to make it Papal in 536 till 1796 when Napoleon invaded Italy to get rid of the Pope's temporal power. From Justinian's Imperial Restoration in 554 till 1814 when Napoleon was defeated; then 610-1870 is from Boniface III head of all churches till Austria renounced Papal Infallibility (Rev. 13:5).

The "little horn" of Daniel 8:9 appeared. Mohammed "whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon" (the destroyer) and whose Hegira or era is dated from his flight from Mecca in 622 AD. These Saracens tormented apostate Christendom in the eastern Greek Roman Empire for "five months" (Rev. 9:5,10) or 150 years "each day for a year" (Ez. 4:6; Nu. 14:34). From Ishmael descended the Koreish tribe. From this tribe descended Mohammed. Therefore, Mohammed descended from Ishmael (Poc. Spec. 6). "The Mohammedans are persuaded that the well Zem Zem, on the east side of it (the Kaaba), is the very spring which gushed out for the relief of Ishmael when his mother Hagar worshipped with him in the desert" (Sale, Prel. Disc. p.118, Koran). Mohammed first proclaimed his mission in 612 AD when he demanded, "Who will be my Visier?" To which Ali replied, "O prophet, I am the man. Whoever rises against thee, I will dash out his teeth, tear out his eyes, break his legs, and rip him up!" After having desolated Damascus and Jerusalem in 630 AD, they erected the Mosque of Omar on Mount Moriah and proclaimed, "Ye Christian dogs, ye know your option -- the Koran, the tribute, or the sword!" thus "waxing great toward the pleasant land" Palestine (Dan. 8:9-12). The Saracen Empire continued to extend itself almost unchecked from 612 AD till at length it began to decay, and so continued down to 762 AD -- precisely 150 years when its once-united power was split into the Abassid Dynasty in the east and Omayad Dynasty in the west. Its last remaining vestiges, however, disappeared in 1057 AD when Tangrolipix the Turk put an end to the Saracen Empire by the conquest of the caliph of Persia.

The Saracens attacked the holy people (Jews and Christians) (Dan. 7:25; Rev. 13:7), changed the law (to Sharia law)(Dan. 7:25), insulted God (denied Jesus' divinity) (Dan. 7:25; Rev. 13:6), insulted God's holy place (mosque built on Temple Mount) (Rev. 13:6) and the Jihad wars of religion were spread with the sword (Rev. 13:10). The ten horns (Rev. 17; Dan. 7) are kings: 1. Mohammed, 2 Abu Bakr, 3 Umar, 4 Utman, 5 Ali, 6 Hasan, 7 Husein, 8 Khalid ibn al Walid, 9 Abu Ubaidah, and 10 Jafar bin abi Talib. They will rule for "one hour" -- that's 41 years (one prophetic day equal to 1000 years) started 620 AD (Islam perfected when Mohammed ascended to heaven -- isra mijrad -- and received Allah's order to pray 5 times/day) until 661 when Ali, Hasan, Husein subdued to muawiyah (founder of Omayad caliphate) little horn: muawiyah. After Mohammed died he was replaced by 4 caliphs: Abu Bakr and Umar both father in law; Utman and Ali both son in law of Mohammed so all blood related to Mohammed. The problem arose when Utman was replaced by Ali, muawiyah who's blood related to Utman but not to Mohammed. Ali protested and said no need for blood to be related to Mohammed to rule Islam. Anyone can as long as justified and starting rebellion (first fitna – islam internal conflict). This is the origin of Sunni vs Shia conflict. In 660 AD muawiyah gained control of most of Islamic Caliphate territory and Jan 661 Ali died. Months later Ali sons Hasan (5th caliph) and Husain (2nd imam of shiah) surrendered to muawiyah new caliphate sytem (non blood/sunni) which lasted for 1260 years from 660 (muawiyah gain control of Islamic Caliphate) until 1920 (first meeting of league of nation, fall of Ottoman Empire)

The four horns of the shaggy goat (Dan. 8:8-9) were the Rashidun Caliphs (Rightly Guided Caliphs), often simply called collectively "the Rashidun" -- a term used in Sunni Islam to refer to the 30-year reign of the first four caliphs (successors) following the death of the Islamic prophet Mohammed, namely: Abu Bakr (632-634 AD), Umar (634-644 AD), Uthman ibn Affan (644-656 AD), and Ali (656-661 AD) of the Rashidun Caliphate, the first caliphate.

Mohammed claimed to be the prophet foretold by Moses (Deut. 18:15), and thereby became a "false prophet" (1 Ki. 13:18; Rev. 19:20; 20:10). Mohammed would hear ringing in his ears; his heart would beat rapidly; his face turn red; his breathing labored; he would fall to the ground or lie down; he would shake; his eyes would open wide; his lips tremble; spit drool from the corners of his mouth; he would sweat profusely; he saw and heard things no one else ever saw or heard; he would sometimes make a snoring noise like that of a camel; and he would be covered with a sheet (Hadith 1:1-4; 2:16,544; 3:17,829; 4:95,438, 458, 461; 5:170, 462, 618, 659; 6:447, 448, 468, 478, 481, 508). This was demon possession.

Mohammed would say things that were not true sometimes (Hadith Bukhari 7:658; 660; 661). Mohammed commanded his followers to drink camel urine (Hadith Bukhari 1:234). A palm tree cried like a baby once (Hadith Bukhari 2:41; 4:783). Mohammed's food would shout praises to Allah as he ate it (Hadith Bukhari 4:779). Mohammed saw Gabriel with 600 wings (Hadith Bukhari 6:380). If one sleeps rather than offer prayers, "Satan urinates in his ears" (Hadith Bukhari 2:245). "Yawning is from Satan" (Hadith 4:509). Allah won't hear prayers if we have bad breath due to garlic or onions (Hadith Bukhari 1:812; 7:362-363). Most of hell's inhabitants are women (Hadith Bukhari 1:28,301; 2:161). Mohammed taught that Satan lives in the upper part of one's nose all night. Thus we must snort water in and out of the nose before prayers to wash Satan out (Bukhari 4:516; Muslim 1:462). Mohammed condemned playing chess. "He who played chess is like one who dyed his hand with the flesh and blood of swine." (Hadith Muslim 4:5612:946). Non-Muslims have seven intestines while Muslims just have one (Hadith Muslim 3: 5113:1362). People should avoid lifting their eyes toward heaven while praying, otherwise their eyes will be snatched out of their head" (Hadith Muslim 1:863:173). The sun set in a pond of murky water (Quran Surah 18:86). "If a housefly falls into the drink of anyone ... he should dip it (into the drink) because one of its wings has a disease and the other wing has the cure (for that disease). (Hadith Bukhari 4:537; 7:673) Mohammed was a white man (Hadith Bukhari 1:63; 2:122,141; 4:744) who dyed his hair red (Hadith Bukhari 1:167). While Mohammed was at Mecca, the roof of his house opened and Gabriel descended, opened his chest and washed it with zam-zam water. Then he brought a tray full of wisdom and faith and poured it into Mohammed's chest, and closed it (Hadith Bukhari 1:345). When people broke the Sabbath by catching fish on the rest day, Allah punished them by changing them into monkeys. (Hadith Bukhari 4:32) Have you ever noticed that rats will drink milk from a sheep but not from a she-camel? This proves that Jews were transformed into rats. It was illegal for Israelites to eat the meat or drink the milk of camels while they were allowed to eat meat and drink milk of sheep. Later Mohammed found out they were transformed into pigs and monkeys (Hadith Bukhari 4:524).

Whatever is good in the Koran is plaigarized from the Bible.

After Khadijah's death, Mohammed married fifteen wives, of whom nine survived him. He had eight children by Khadijah, four sons and four daughters, who all died before him, except Fatima. He had no children by the rest, except a son, Ibraham, by a concubine, Mary the Copt, who died shortly before him. Mohammed was engaged to Aisha when she was six years old and married her when she was only nine years old (Hadith Bukhari 5:234,236).

Omar the Turk (the "Desolator") Took Jerusalem in 637 A.D. and Set Up the "Abomination"-- Another Midpoint in "The Times of the Gentiles"

Nabonassar revolted against Assyria and drove the Assyrians out of Babylon in 625 B.C. and the Neo-Babylonian Empire was established with a Chaldean dynasty by Nabopolassar in 624 B.C. The four Gentile Empires of Daniel 2 have possessed the Holy Land for a combined total of "42 MONTHS" or 1260 days which symbolize 1,260 years (Num. 14:34; Ez. 4:6): Babylon possessed Palestine for 90 years, from 624 to 534 B.C. Medo-Persia for 200 years, from 534 to 334 B.C. Greece for 304 years from 334 to 31 B.C. (Battle of Actium) and Rome for 666 years from 31 B.C. to 636 A.D. Now 90 + 200 + 304 + 666 = 1,260 SOLAR years. From 637 to 1897 A.D. Jerusalem was trodden under gentile feet (Lev. 26:28; Luke 21:24; Rev. 11:2). From when Omar the Turk took Jerusalem in 637 A.D., we add 1,260 more SOLAR years to arrive at 1897 when the Zionist Movement was founded in Basel, Switzerland by Jews of all nations with the object of again settling the Jews in the Holy Land. Just as the Gentiles "tread under foot" (Rev. 11:2) the physical Jerusalem for 42 months (1,260 days), so also Papal Rome was to continue for the second 1260 years (Dan. 7:25). "And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolator" (Dan. 9:27).

In 637, Omar captured Jerusalem and all Syria and in 638 a wooden mosque was erected on the site of Solomon's Temple, called the "Mosque of Omar." This was rebuilt in stone and called the "Dome of the Rock." "And the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months" (Rev. 11:2; Luke 21:24; Lev. 26:28). If we add 1260 SOLAR years, we arrive at 1897 when the Zionist Movement was founded in Basel, Switzerland by Jews of all nations with the object of again settling the Jews in the Holy Land. Jews held their first Zionist Congress thereby becoming an organized body politic for the first time since their dispersion. Also in 1897 was the Turko-Greek War. The autonomy of Crete was determined by the Great powers. If we add 1260 LUNAR years (1222.5 solar years), we arrive at July 9th, 1860 when there was a Mohammedan Druze massacre of 3,300 Christians in Lebanon and Damascus followed by English and French intervention. Lebanon was placed under a Christian governor and British Protectorate, England and France having a veto on the appointment. Lord Dufferin, British Commissioner, entered Damascus. The Universal Israelite Alliance, whose headquarters were at Paris, was also formed in this year. Its objective was to labor for freedom and moral progress of Israelites and encourage colonization of Palestine. If we add 1260 PROPHETIC years (1241.889 solar years), we arrive at 1878. The Russo-Turkish War of 1877 resulted in Russia totally defeating the Ottoman armies in1877, followed in 1878 by British occupation of Cyprus and a Protectorate in Asia. The Berlin Treaty dismembered the Ottoman Empire and deprived the Porte of its most important possessions in Europe and bound it to introduce "necessary reforms" signed 13th July 1878. The office of Sultan-Caliph was abolished by Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk) on March 1924. This is confirmed in Daniel 12:11, being 1290 solar years from 634 A.D., when Omar (the "desolator"), who set up the "abomination" here referred to, succeeded to the Caliphate. Exactly 1290 solar years after the Mosque of Omar was built in 638, Islam was abolished as the State religion of Turkey in 1928. In 1973 the Yom Kippur War occurred and Israel was victorious -- 1335 years after Omar Captured Jerusalem.

The date 637 A.D. is also tied in to the "FIVE MONTHS" mentioned twice (Rev. 9:5,10) in the 5th Trumpet, which comes to a total of 300 years (150 x 2). This is the full limit of the Arab supremacy from about 632 to 932 A.D. History bears this out. Through luxury and licentiousness the Arabs began to decline. The last Caliph of eminence was slain outside the walls of Baghdad near the Euphrates in 932 A.D. The Caliphate at Baghdad was stripped of its temporal power in 934 A.D. From the taking of Damascus and Jerusalem in 637 A.D., when the patriarch Sophronius saw Omar entering the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and he exclaimed, "This is of a truth the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place!" (Gibbon ch. 51), we add 300 years to get 937 A.D. In 936 A.D. Persia advanced on Bagdad and stripped the Caliph of his secular office of supremacy. Why not just say "ten months" instead then? Because natural locusts only appear FIVE MONTHS in the year..