Judgment: Wrath of the Lamb

by Brian Godawa

  22. Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. 23. Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. 24. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. Another shall rise after them

  – Nero was not in the direct line of succession, but three emperors were assassinated to make way for him.

  25. And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.

  “Until a time and times and the dividing of time – Literally, “time, times, half a time.” If we understand a “time “to mean a year, then it is three-and a-half years. Nero’s persecution of the Church lasted from about December AD 64 until his death in June AD 68. Although neither Suetonius not Tacitus give us the exact date when the persecution began, we can safely assume it was late 64 and lasted until Nero’s death.

  26. But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. 27. And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. 28. Hitherto is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel, my cogitations much troubled me, and my countenance changed in me: but I kept the matter in my heart.

  “An everlasting kingdom – The purpose of this passage, and the entire prophecy of Daniel, is to give the Jews a correct understanding of the time when the Messiah would come. The purpose is to declare when the kingdom of God would come on earth. Jesus alluded to Daniel when He said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.” (Matthew 16:28).”

  Jay Rogers, In the Days of These Kings: The Book of Daniel in Preterist Perspective (Clermont, FL, Media House Intl., 2017), 101, 54-57

  Titus as the Little Horn of Daniel:

  “Keeping in mind that the Antichrist was ultimately the demonic ruler from the abyss that worked through Titus (cf. Rev. 11:7; 17:8), the following are the prophecies of Daniel concerning the Antichrist that were fulfilled in Titus:

  1. Although Titus would become the eleventh Caesar of Rome (the fourth beast), he was only a general when he destroyed the Jewish nation, hence his designation as a little (eleventh) horn (Dan. 7:7-8). This agrees with the traditional Jewish understanding of the little horn of Daniel 7 (e.g., Rashi).

  2. Vespasian and Titus were victorious over three rulers (Galba, Otho, and Vitellius) in their takeover of the Roman Empire in AD 69 (the year of four emperors). These were the three horns removed before the little eleventh horn (Dan. 7:8). According to Roman historians, Titus was a major force behind the Flavian takeover of the empire.

  3. The little eleventh horn was to speak great blasphemies against the Most High God (Dan. 7:8, 11, 20, 25). Jewish sources say that Titus spoke extraordinary blasphemies against God when he captured the Temple (cf. Dan. 11:36-37; 2 Thess. 2:4; Rev. 13:5-6).

  4. The Antichrist was to have a three-and-a-half-year reign of terror (Dan. 7:25; Rev. 13:5). Titus persecuted Daniel’s people for a time, times, and half a time (three-and-a-half years, or forty-two months), from March/April AD 67 to August/September AD 70 (cf. Rev. 11:2). This time period ended with the shattering of the Jewish nation (Dan. 12:7).

  5. Titus and his father changed the times of religious observance and rules of Jewish law when they set up the equivalent of a new Sanhedrin in Yavneh (Dan.7:25).

  6. Titus was the one who the demonic prince to come worked through in his destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple (Dan. 9:26).

  7. The coming of Titus was associated with abominations (i.e., idols). He came on the wing of an army full of abominations (the images of Caesar on the Roman standards); this resulted in the Jewish nation being made desolate (Dan. 9:27; cf. 12:6-11).

  8. Titus exalted himself above every god when his troops sacrificed to his name/image as they worshiped the Roman standards in the Temple (Dan. 11:36-37; cf. 2 Thess. 2:4).

  9. The destruction of the Jews by Titus was assisted by the help of a foreign god named Sarapis; this god was not one of Titus’s ancestors’ gods. In recognition of this, Sarapis was elevated to the position of one of the Roman gods (Dan. 11:38-39).

  10. After Titus’s destruction of the Jewish nation in AD 70, the land of Israel was divided up by the Romans and leased out for profit (Dan. 11:39).

  11. Titus first invaded the Holy Land in AD 67 with his father. In late AD 69 Titus and Vespasian were in Egypt securing its precious things to help finance their takeover of the Roman Empire (Dan. 11:40-43).

  12. In mid-AD 69 Titus was given sole authority over Syria (the domain of the king of the North) as well as Judea. In the spring of AD 70, with tidings from the north (a revolt in Germany) and east (the continuing revolt in Judea) troubling him, Titus invaded the Holy Land from Egypt (Dan. 11:44). This was the Antichrist’s second coming to the Holy Land.

  13. In the final siege of Jerusalem, Titus set up his camp between the Mediterranean Sea and the glorious holy mountain of God (Dan. 11:45; cf. 9:26). It was at Jerusalem that the demonic king of the North (cf. Dan. 10:13), the spirit of Antichrist working through Titus (cf. 1 John 4:3), met its end as it was destroyed in the lake of fire (Dan. 7:11; cf. Rev. 19:20).

  14. The length of time between the abomination of desolation (the coming to sacred Jewish soil of the one who would make desolate, Dan. 9:27 NKJV) until the shattering of the power of the Jews was 1,290 days (Dan. 12:6-11). Titus came to the Holy Land around February of AD 67; 1,290 days later the Jewish nation was left shattered.”

  McKenzie PhD, Duncan W.. The Antichrist and the Second Coming: A Preterist Examination Volume I (K-Locations 4181-4216). Xulon Press. K-Edition.

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  The spiritual principality behind the earthly beast: Revelation talks about the Beast as a fluid image that sometimes represents the empire (Rev 17:9-10), sometimes an individual (Rev 17:11; 13:18), and sometimes a spiritual entity that seems to empower the earthly beast (Rev 11:7; 17:8).

  Revelation 11:7

  And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them,

  Revelation 17:8

  The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come.

  The destruction of Azazel as the spiritual principality behind the beast: The book of Revelation does not say that Azazel is the “beast that came out of the Abyss.” I have made that creative choice for the theological connections it helps to make. But this should not be considered a doctrinal claim on my part but rather theological speculation.

  Daniel 7:11–12

  11 “I looked then because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking. And as I looked, the beast was killed, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire. 12 As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.

  “When earthly rulers battle on earth, the Bible describes the host of heaven battling with them in spiritual unity. In Daniel 10, hostilities between Greece and Persia is accompanied by the battle of heavenly Watchers over those nations (described as “princes”).

  Daniel 10:13, 20-21

  The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Mich
ael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia.” …Then he said, “Do you know why I have come to you? But now I will return to fight against the prince of Persia; and when I go out, behold, the prince of Greece will come. 21 But I will tell you what is inscribed in the book of truth: there is none who contends by my side against these except Michael, your prince.

  “When Sisera fought with Israel, the earthly kings and heavenly authorities (host of heaven) are described interchangeably in unity.

  Judges 5:19–20

  “The kings came, they fought; then fought the kings of Canaan…From heaven the stars fought, from their courses they fought against Sisera.

  “When God punishes earthly rulers, he punishes them along with the heavenly rulers (“host of heaven”) above and behind them.

  Isaiah 24:21–22

  On that day the LORD will punish the host of heaven, in heaven, and the kings of the earth, on the earth. They will be gathered together as prisoners in a pit; they will be shut up in a prison, and after many days they will be punished.

  “Though this notion of territorial archons or spiritual rulers is Biblical and carries over into intertestamental literature such as the Book of Enoch (1 En. 89:59, 62-63; 67) and others, it seems to lessen at the time of the New Testament.

  “Walter Wink points out that the picture of Watchers over nations is hinted at in 1 Cor. 4:9 where the apostle explains their persecution has “become a spectacle (theatre) to the world, to angels and to men.” He explains that “the image of the Roman theater conjures up hostile and jeering crowds,” and the angels are “heavenly representatives of the Gentile nations and people, who watch, not without malicious glee, the tribulations endured by the apostle to their peoples.”

  “The epistles speak of the spiritual principalities and powers that are behind the earthly rulers and powers to be sure (Eph. 6:12-13), but it appears to be more generic in reference. And after the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, these spiritual powers have been disarmed and overthrown (Col. 2:15, Luke 10:18), at least legally losing their hegemony (Eph. 1:20-23).”

  Brian Godawa, When Giants Were Upon the Earth: The Watchers, the Nephilim, and the Biblical Cosmic War of the Seed (Los Angeles, CA: Embedded Pictures Publishing, 2014), 278-279.

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  Daniel’s resurrection as typological:

  Daniel 12:2–3

  2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.

  “The resurrection of verse 2 seems to connect to the evangelistic and teaching ministry spoken of in verse 3; thus, it is some kind of historical resurrection that is spoken of, a resurrectional event in this world, in our history.

  “The solution to our difficulty is found in Ezekiel 37. There the prophet is told to prophesy to the dead bones of the idolaters scattered all over the mountains of Israel (see Ezekiel 6:5). Ezekiel prophesies and the bones come to life again. This is explained in Ezekiel 37:11 as the national resurrection of Israel after the captivity. The language used by God is very “literal sounding,” to wit: “I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves” (vv. 12–13). Yet, this graphic language refers to the spiritual resurrection of the nation.

  “Now clearly, the resurrection of the whole nation does not mean the salvation of each individual. Thus, Daniel 12:2 tells us that in the days of Jesus the nation will undergo a last spiritual resurrection, but some will not persevere and their resurrection will only be unto destruction. The Parable of the Soils fits here (Matthew 13:3–23): three different kinds of people come to life, but only one of the three kinds is awakened to persevering, everlasting life.

  “During His ministry, Jesus raised the nation back to life. He healed the sick, cleansed the unclean, brought dead people back to life, restored the Law, entered the Temple as King, etc. Then, as always, the restored people fell into sin, and crucified Him.

  “Thus, a resurrection of Israel is in view. The wicked are raised, but do not profit from it, and are destroyed. The saints experience a great distress, and live with God forever and ever.”

  James B. Jordan, The Handwriting on the Wall: A Commentary on the Book of Daniel (Powder Springs, GA: American Vision, 2007), 618–619.

  “Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake – This refers primarily to the Gospel being preached. Many who sleep in the dust, both Jews and Gentiles, shall be awakened by the preaching of the Gospel out of their heathenism. It has a secondary application to a future resurrection when the multitude that sleep in the dust shall awake; many shall arise to life, and many to shame.

  “Is this referring to the First Resurrection in which we receive eternal life through regeneration?

  “Or does it refer to the Final Resurrection that will occur at the Second Coming of Jesus when we will be raised as spiritual bodies and glorified with Christ?

  “This is one of the verses in Daniel that creates a lot questions from a preterist perspective. In the context of the following verses, I believe it refers to awakening of God’s chosen people at the preaching of the Gospel. However, like other apocalyptic passages in the Bible, there is also a “telescoping” aspect of this imagery. The Final Resurrection is projected onto the historical events of the first century. We see in the dawning light of the Gospel during the first century a prefiguring of the final glorious state of the kingdom of God at the Second Coming of Christ and the Resurrection of the saints.

  Daniel 12:3 – And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.

  “They that be wise shall shine – Just as the kingdom of God is in the here and now, but won’t be revealed in all its glory until Christ returns, so the born-again believers in Jesus Christ are seated in heavenly places reigning with Christ in the present (Ephesians 2:4-7). This began to be made manifest when Jesus first began to preach the kingdom of God…

  “There are two aspects of our resurrection just as there are two aspects of Christ’s coming in the glory of His kingdom. We are even now raised with Christ and seated with Him. Spiritual death has been defeated.”

  Jay Rogers, In the Days of These Kings: The Book of Daniel in Preterist Perspective (Clermont, FL, Media House Intl., 2017) 477-478.

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  The Regeneration:

  “The “regeneration” (palingenesia) of which Jesus speaks in Matthew 19:28 appears in Revelation 21–22. As we shall see this refers to the renewal of God’s kingdom in the coming of new covenant Christianity. Later in Luke 22:30 Christ uses similar language to underscore Christianity’s new covenantal emphasis, for there he utters it while establishing the Lord’s Supper (Lk 22:28–29), the new covenant’s sacramental meal (Lk 22:20). The paligenesia need not refer to the consummate new heavens and new earth found in 2 Peter 3:10.63 In fact, both Philo (Mos 2:65) and Clement (1 Clem 9:4) use the word to speak of the world as it exists after Noah’s Flood. Josephus (Ant. 11:3:9 §66) uses it when referring to Israel’s renewal after her exile: “when they heard the same, [they] gave thanks also to God that he restored the land of their forefathers to them again.” The word signifies a radical re-orientation or a new beginning. This fits perfectly with the conception that new covenant Christianity would supplant old covenant Israel as the focus of divine activity. This is not only an important point in Revelation (indeed, its very theme), but is also the basic argument of Hebrews (Heb 1:1–4; 3:1–6; 8:1–13; 9:15–28; 10:19–22; 12:18–29) as well.”

  Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr., The Divorce of Israel: A Redemptive-Historical Interpretation of Revelation Vol. 1 (Dallas, GA: Tolle Lege Press, 2016), 674.

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  The great white throne judgment:

  Revelation 20:11–15

&
nbsp; 11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

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  CHAPTER 70

  The first words of the Copper Scroll: Florentino Garcı́a Martı́nez and Eibert J. C. Tigchelaar, “The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition (translations)” (Leiden; New York: Brill, 1997–1998), 233.