or Inheriting the Earth

Structure of Daniel 7 – Part 3

Now that we have covered the central point, Testing, we are working out way back out from the centre of the chapter. The main revelation is always given at Ascension to the Covenant Head (as in Moses on Sinai), opened at Testing (as in Numbers) and received by the people from the Covenant Head in Deuteronomy. Daniel 7 echoes this formula. The vision was given in “sign language” by God’s finger, and is now being received by Daniel in plain language. Of course, we see a similar pattern between the Old Testament’s dark sayings and the plain statements of the New, the two linked by the life of Christ.

However, this second part — the second witness — contains its own complete seven-fold pattern. Read on to find out why.

Creation – Transcendence
ARK – MOST HOLY
My spirit was distressed, (Ark)
…..I Daniel, within [my] body, (Veil)
……….and the visions of my head were alarming. (Altar)
……….I came near (Table – Nearbringing)
……………to one of those who stood by, (Ruling Lights)
……….and asked him the truth of all this. (Law repeated)
……….So he told me and made known to me (Sanctions)
the interpretation of these things: (Succession – Future)

So much for Sabbath! This stanza puts Daniel face-to-face with the Law of God. The Ark always causes trouble for fallen Man. Notice Daniel is humbled before he is “lifted up.”

There is a similar reference to “those who stand” in the book of Zechariah. They are the angelic elders who advised God and administered the Law until the saints inherited their thrones in AD70. In the Revelation, they vacate the heavenly Holy Place one by one, each ministering a judgment on the way out.

Division – Hierarchy
VEIL – HOLY PLACE
‘Those great beasts, which are four, (Light)
…..[are] four kings (Firmament)
……….[which] arise out of the [Land] (Land)
……………[and] receive the kingdom (Ruling Lights)
……….[shall] the saints of the Highest (Swarms/Clouds)
…..and possess the kingdom forever,
[even] for all ages.

You might notice I have “translated” this differently. I have followed the Hebrew word order because it fits the matrix better!

Using the four empires, the Lord formed the oikoumene, the “empire house.” But as with the Land of Canaan, God would come has a thief in the night and take everything the godless had toiled for and give it on a platter to His people. Succession has to do with “inheritance in history.” The meek (submissive to God) would inherit the Land, as Jesus reiterated in His famous sermon.

“Most High” is the Gentile name for God. Here it is at Maturity, the place of Gentile swarms. The very name of God used here gives us a hint of the mystery yet to be opened: Jew and Gentile in one Body.

Ascension – Ethics 1
BRONZE ALTAR
Then I wished to know the truth
…..about the fourth beast,
……….which was different from all the others,
……….(a head above the rest? A Gentile king)
……………exceedingly dreadful,
……….[with] its teeth of iron and its nails of bronze,
…..[which] devoured, broke in pieces,
…..and trampled the residue with its feet;
and the ten horns that [were] on its head, (Succession)

The fourth beast has its own stanza. If Ascension is divided in two (and it often is), the first part is the Altar (earth lifted up) and the second part is the Nearbringing, the Sacrifice. The final form of the earthly “Land” was the “four corners” of the boundary of the Roman empire, within which Paul conducted his “harvest” journeys.

Instead of grain and fruit, proto-bread and proto-wine, growing out of it, we have a Succession of emperors, men who will not give up their lives, men who eventually claimed to be gods.

Regarding “dreadful.” Trembling often appears at Testing. Isaiah uses it ironically when Israel fails to tremble at God’s Law. But here, the Covenant people are trembling instead at the power of Rome, the beast they were supposed to conquer and convert, as Joseph and Daniel did: men at the right hand of the power, imaging Christ. This is exactly what we see in the Revelation concerning the relationship of the Jewish elite to the beast.

Iron and bronze here are at Maturity. Metals appear here frequently, as plunder. But here they are the tools of plunder.

When feet appear at Conquest, it is the ruling mediator, walking on whatever “Sea” of dominion God has marked out at that time in history. Mouth is Word; Hand is Sacrament; Feet are Government. The world is now being put under Jesus’ feet.

GOLDEN TABLE
and the other [horn] which came up, (False Transcendence)
…..before which three fell, namely, (Hierarchy)
……….that horn which had eyes (Ethics)
…..and a mouth which spoke pompous words, (Sanctions)
whose appearance [was] greater than his associates. (Succession)

The “Firstfruits Man” is lifted up because he has humbled himself before God. But here it is the line of the Herods, who lifted themselves up by twisting the arms of three emperors (from memory. See Jordan on this.) With eyes “full of darkness” from their sorcerous Oral Law, and a mouth which spoke self-aggrandizing words instead of honoring the Covenant Oath (note that this appears at Sanctions/Oath). The fact that it seems to be a five-line stanza means that the Law here at Ascension remains closed when it should be open. The Herods were not worthy to open the scroll because they were not unblemished lambs but foxes (Luke 13:32). Without the Bible Matrix structure, much of the “Covenant irony” here is not apparent.

The fact that his appearance was greater means perhaps that here was the real driving force behind the corruption of the oikoumene. Revelation is not a polemic against emperor worship. The Covenant is always central. It is a lawsuit against those who married idolatry instead of converting the idolaters, again, the sin of Solomon.

Testing – Ethics 2
LAMPSTAND
“I was watching; (Sabbath – Light)
…..and the same horn was making war against the saints, (Passover)
……….and prevailing against them, (Firstfruits)
……………until the Ancient of Days came,
……….and a judgment was made [in favor]
…..of the saints of the Most High,
and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom.

The little horn has short-sighted eyes, but humble Daniel sees his future. Here at the centre is the changing of the guard. Adam was confronted with a beast at Testing. Jesus faced the spirit of the same beast, yet overcame, so the saints filled with His Spirit would also overcome. There is perhaps a structural allusion here to the battle against Amalek, who prevailed until Moses was seated in judgment as prophet with His arms supported by Aaron (priest) and Hur (kingly Judah). Here it is Christ flanked by Moses and Elijah, the law and the prophets, the two (or three) witnesses required for a Covenant execution.

How brilliant is the second line? The Herods are ascending, yet the first century church is the true Firstfruits! According to Jordan, this is the subject of Revelation 14.

Maturity – Ethics 3
GOLDEN ALTAR
“Thus he said: (Light – Ark)
…..‘The fourth beast (Veil – Hierarchy)
……….shall be a fourth kingdom on [the Land], (Altar)
……………Which shall differ from all the kingdoms, (Lights)
……….And shall devour the whole [Land], (Table)
…..[and tread and crush]. (Laver – Feet – No Mediators)
(No Succession, No Entry into God’s Rest)

Notice that the Land beast, instead of being true holy, fruitful Land, is treading and crushing the grain and fruit under its feet.

This stanza is also very interesting because it has two parts. We are back to the Land beasts. This Golden Altar chiastically mirrors the Bronze Altar and Golden Table of Ascension: Beast – Horn / Judgment / Beast – Horn. This time, the saints are the incense crushed during the Great Tribulation (beginning around AD64), and set alight, a holy, fragrant cloud passing through the Veil to complete the Totus Christus and celebrate the marriage feast.

INCENSE
The ten horns [are] ten kings (Genesis – Transcendence)
…..[Who] shall arise from this kingdom. (Exodus – Hierarchy)
……….And another shall rise after them; (Leviticus – 3 levels)
……….He shall be different from the first,
……….And shall subdue three kings. (Firstfruits)
……………He shall speak [pompous] words (Numbers)
……………against the Most High,
……….Shall persecute the saints of the Most High, (Trumpets)
……….And shall intend to change times and law. (Deuteronomy)
…..Then [the saints] shall be given into his hand (False Joshua)
For a time and times and half a time. (Failure of Judges)

The central point is the Ethics. Here is the false prophet speaking the “Hath God said” in the second Temple garden. This is the explanation of the use of the Balaam (Head) and Balaamite (Body) symbols in the Revelation. The first century priesthood was a false prophet who would cause Israel to commit adultery and suffer the Covenant curses.

Conquest – Sanctions
But the court shall be seated,
…..And they shall take away his dominion,
……….To consume and destroy [it] forever.
……….Then the kingdom and dominion,
……………And the greatness of the kingdoms
……………under the whole heaven,
……….Shall be given to the people,
……….the saints of the Most High.
…..His kingdom [is] an everlasting kingdom, (Head)
…..And all dominions shall serve and obey Him.’ (Body)
This [is] the end of the account.

Here, the curses of the Covenant are poured out upon those who wilfully remain under the Old Covenant. The matrix structure is forming and filling, Law and Grace. So here, structurally, the Law of the flesh is abolished, and only the Law of the Spirit remains.

In the wilderness, Satan offered Christ all the kingdoms of the World. Here, those kingdoms are at Testing, the Wilderness step. Jesus shared His rule with the martyred Firstfruits Church, who now sit on thrones–alive–in the place of the Old Covenant angels. The disciples sat on twelve thrones and judged the twelve tribes. It’s history.

Glorification – Succession
As for me, Daniel, (Source)
…..my thoughts greatly troubled me, (Veil)
……….and my countenance changed; (Facebread Man)
……………but I kept the matter in my heart. (Internal Law)

This is hilarious! It’s just like one of those movies that is set up for a sequel. Just as the saints would be subject to the Roman-powered Herods for a three-and-a-half (Testing), [1] so the Succession stanza leaves the story unfinished, open, ready for the coming of the Lord. The stanza itself is a time, times and half a time.

If you remember, the first half of the chapter was also a three-and-a-half. It finished at Testing. This second part, the interpretation, fills out the complete pattern, yet the final verse reminds us that the actual fulfilment was yet to be revealed.

Finally, notice the architectural similarity between the Lord’s throne in heaven with its four beastly guardians, the nation of Israel on earth serving within four beastly guardian empires, and Daniel in the den of lions. His experience was the template for the Jews for the next 500 years. They were to tame the Gentile kingdoms by faith, not aspire to be like Gentile kings (as Saul did). The devouring lions became ministers of God’s judgment upon Daniel’s enemies! Daniel himself was a lion of Judah.

For the cover of James Jordan’s complete lectures DVD box (see right column), I used a lion head door knocker. For those willing to listen, Jordan’s lectures are a very practical gateway to understand the Bible, and I wanted to communicate that very simply. The image links the two-edged message of traditional “gargoyled” doors with the two-edged gospel: for the faithful, the Lion of Judah is a guardian and a door; for the unfaithful, He is merely a guard at the door.

_________________________________
[1] This half-week was completed by the Jewish War, three years of hell on the Land, the Herodian harlot being devoured by her beastly Roman lover. See The End of Shadows.

“Now Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock, from the beginning of harvest until the late rains poured on them from heaven. And she did not allow the birds of the air to rest on them by day nor the beasts of the field by night.” 2 Samuel 21:10

NOTE: THIS POST HAS BEEN REMIXED AND INCLUDED IN GOD’S KITCHEN.

At the heart of the Bible Matrix is Testing. Although all the major narratives follow the pattern, many of the minor ones do too. If Adam had not failed his initial “qualifying round,” he would have progressed to the next stage of dominion. We know this because we see others later in the Bible move beyond this first round to greater glory. For instance, Daniel’s first challenge mirrors Adam’s challenge exactly. He was offered kingdom food and refused it.

You must be logged in to see the rest of this post.

Join now for a year for $15!

_____________________________________
[1] Notice that God’s purifying judgment upon King Nebuchadnezzar was to make him a kind of Covenant-curse-hybrid: both a beast and a bird. He was being transformed into a guardian for God’s people—a cherubim.
[2] In the Creation week, God formed the house over three days, then filled it over the next three. The filling begins at Day 4, feast 4, Pentecost, Testing.

or Through a Glass Sea Darkly

“Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.”  1 Cor. 13:8-10

I remember hearing a Southern Baptist pastor many years ago teaching that “that which is perfect” was the completed New Testament. He was forced to find some point in first century history that would justify his belief in the cessation of miraculous gifts like tongues. Well, to a point, I think he was right.

The apostolic church was quite a different kettle of fish to the church after AD70.[1] Paul and the other apostles would very soon be face to face with Christ, but only after the Word was completed (around AD64-65) as a final witness to the Jews, and the gospel was preached to all the Gentiles in the oikoumene (Matt. 24:14). Only then could the end of the age come.

That premillennial pastor wouldn’t entertain a “first resurrection” in AD70, but I believe concerning the completion of the Bible and the end of tongues as “business as usual” he was right on the money.

This interpretation is also supported by the Dominion pattern. The chapter begins with Paul’s Word from God as the “prime mover” (the Ark), runs through the “mystery veil” (Red Sea) to the Altar and Table (Tabernacle) to a wilderness where, in response to the Law, Eve is victorious through an exercise of love. If this is true, it paints the miraculous gifts as Trumpets which were a warning to the Jews. They are the ministry of the two legal witnesses against the old order, pictured in Revelation as partial judgments.[2] These childish signs weren’t going to make it across the Jordan, which is the Laver, the crystal sea, the glass barrier through which Paul peered and upon which the firstfruits saints including the apostles would soon stand (Rev. 15:2) (Jericho – Atonement) [3]. Then faith, hope and love are the finished, perfect (mature) Tabernacle which remains to this day.

___________________________________________
[1] See Babel and Pentecost and End of the Abrahamic Rift.
[2] See The Two Witnesses.
[3] I know the “glass” refers to a mirror. The laver was made out of bronze mirrors. It symbolises the firmament. See Exodus 38:8; Job 37:18; 2 Cor. 3:18.

“And she saw two angels in white sitting,
one at the head and the other at the feet,
where the body of Jesus had lain.”
- John 20:12

Two Witnesses

The father of the English backpacker who was lost in the Blue Mountains wrote in the visitors book at the hotel where he stayed. He wrote that he was going briefly back into the bush to carve a memorial to his son into one of the rockfaces. Thankfully, as he waited for his flight home to the UK, his son walked out of the wilderness yesterday suffering from hunger and exposure, but alive. As I have discussed in this series [1], the Bible is full of memorials to important events.

Getting God’s people out of the wilderness is a legal procedure. A minimum of two witnesses is required. First, there are two preachers who spy out the enemy and warn them of impending judgment. The feast pattern consistently puts this at “Trumpets”, which helps us identify some of its more subtle appearances:

- Abel’s blood and the Land against Cain

- Noah’s two faithful sons against Ham

- The Lord as the plural elohim against Babel

- The two angels sent to Sodom

- The witness who guides Joseph to his brothers and then Joseph himself as a martyr

- Moses and Aaron sent to Egypt

- Joshua and Caleb’s courageous testimony

- the two spies sent to Jericho

- The Lord and His ‘son’, Ezekiel, whom He continually asks to “see” as a witness against Jerusalem

- the apostolic (firstfruits) church as two witnesses against Herod’s Temple. The literary structure implies they were like the two cherubim at the garden gate with the flaming sword of the gospel. [2]

These are the speaking witnesses. Unlike those who accused Christ, their testimonies do not conflict.

Ten days after Trumpets comes the Day of Atonement. After the ‘ten plagues’, the Lord separates the two goats. His people ascend and the wicked are sent to oblivion. Again there are two witnesses, two memorials.

A Silent Witness

The Bible never teaches that all will eventually be saved (universalism). We see this in Lot’s rescue from Sodom. In this case, the ‘first goat’ was Lot and his daughters. The second was Lot’s wife who looked back. She became a pillar of salt, a ‘whited sepulchre’. Lot became (incestuously) fruitful, but his wife became a silent testimony to the barrenness of the judged cities of the plain.[3] The New Testament repeatedly warned Jewish Christians not to look back like Lot’s wife, like those whose bodies fell in the wilderness. The pattern was happening again.

“…there were two lime-washed pillars that Joshua set up as a memorial to his church’s river crossing. At the church’s crossing of the crystal sea into the promised heavenly country, Herod’s Temple was the second pillar. What was the first?”

The High Priest had ‘holy to the Lord’ written on his forehead. The harlot of Herodian worship also had words written on her forehead. Saints and sinners were marked like the urim and thummim, Ebal and Gerazim, yes and no. The saints were sealed with the mark of the High Priest with the inkhorn. The sinners were sealed with the mark of the beast. Both saints and sinners were written on as memorials to the goodness and severity of God.

Paul speaks of bearing in his body the marks of Christ. The literary structure puts these stigmata at the same position in the structure that gospel witness appears many times before. He was a living epistle [4], a tree cut down, engraved as tablets of flesh with the Torah of Christ by the finger of God, and erected as a pillar in a new Temple.

Of the two stones that witness the church’s exit from the carcass of Judaism, the first was the martyrdom, witness, of saints described in Revelation 14. The old city could not be destroyed until this ‘first goat’ ascended to the Lord as an offering. Like the head, the body became bread and wine, the bread of obedient priesthood glorified with the robe of kingdom.

“I was watching; and the same horn was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them, until the Ancient of Days came, and a judgment was made in favour of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom.” (Daniel 7:21-22)

Paul refers to this judgment as the “revelation of the sons of God”, ie. who were the true sons of God, the Jews or the Christians. Which goat was which? Like the earthly High Priest, Christ came down and judged Herod’s Babel in AD70. He took the urim and thummim and decided between the ‘identical’ goats, fulfilling the Day of Atonement.

A Singing Witness

Herod’s white house was made a silent witness forever. The apostolic church now rules from heaven, robed in white in a bridal city. She still gloats over the death of her enemies and sings the songs of Moses and David, the Lamb. Her testimony, carved in the apostles’ flesh, speaks across the globe in every language. To us, the firstfruits church is a permanent token of faithful wilderness priesthood, a manna memorial. We feed on her New Covenant words and are marked by the Spirit for the final Day.

Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?” And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” Revelation 7:13-14

____________________________________________
[1] A White Stone – all articles.

[2] See Slavery to Sabbath in Revelation 5-11

[3] See Don’t Look Back

[4] See Paul the Epistle

The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father.

Christ refers here to Psalm 2. It had been fulfilled in the “head” at His ascension. At this point, it was yet to be fulfilled in the “body.”

“Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,
“Let us burst their bonds apart
and cast away their cords from us.”
He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord holds them in derision.
Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
and terrify them in his fury, saying,
“As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.””

Jesus’ reference to this Psalm here is striking for two reasons. Firstly, it settles the matter of whether or not earthly Jerusalem is the city of God. Christ was set on the holy hill (the throne of David) at His ascension, and it was in heaven, not in Palestine. Secondly, this promise of divine authority over the nations is opened to the faithful saints:

“I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me,
“You are my Son; today I have begotten you.
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron
and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.””

Any faithful saint, as one like the Son of Man, should now be feared by the rulers of the Land:

“Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the Land.
Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.”

This organic sharing of Christ’s authority is demonstrated when the church prays part of Psalm 2 in Acts 4:25-6. They identify the nations, kings, peoples and rulers as “Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel” (v. 27). However, they go on to identify the “Anointed” as Peter and John, who are suffering from the same “threats.” Again, in Acts 9:1, Saul was “breathing” murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples, yet in v.4, the Lord asks of him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” This might explain the identity of the “glorious ones” whom the false prophets reviled in 2 Peter 2:10. Peter Leithart comments:

“The condemnation of the false teachers for blaspheming “glories” is a continuation of the example concerning Sodom… in second Peter 2:10-12, what we have is a charge that these false teachers revile or blaspheme the “glories,” the angelic messengers, the apostles, in literal terms, who are warning them as the angels warned Lot to escape from the city of destruction. In 2:11, angels who are greater in might and power do not bring reviling judgments against them before the Lord. That simply repeats what Peter says in his first letter. When reviled, Jesus did not revile in return, which is an example for us. The “glories” that are reviled and blasphemed by these false teachers don’t respond in kind.” 1

This identification of the apostles with the angels who rescued Lot is more important than it may seem at first. As we observed earlier, the angels were “two witnesses.”

1  Peter J. Leithart, 1999 Biblical Horizons Conference lecture on 2 Peter 2. www.wordmp3.com

“Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons.” Mark 16:9

The relationship of the Ark to the Lampstand is important. The Ark is the single ‘light’ in the darkness of the Most Holy Place. It rules the first three days of creation. The Lampstand is the seven governing lights (sun, moon and five bright planets) and it rules the next three days of creation. The Ark is the Adam-light (Sabbath) to the Eve-lights (Pentecost). The Ark ascends first (head) and the Lampstand ascends later (body). This might sound weird but it runs right throughout the Bible. (For this pattern in the exile and restoration, see here.)

Now to the New Testament. The Sermon on the Mount follows the Creation Week/Tabernacle pattern. When Jesus gets to the Lampstand, He says this:

“The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matt. 6:22-23)

Now I want to relate that to this statement in Matthew 12:45:

“Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.”

Jesus had cast the evil spirit (false Ark – “Adam-light”) out of the house of God, and the Temple had remained intact. It was completed and glorified by the Herods. Covered in white marble and gold, it dazzled the eyes when it reflected the early morning and late afternoon sun. It was finished in AD64, and the demon returned with seven others worse than itself (false Lampstand – “Eve-lights”) to a house that was clean, decorated and empty (Matthew 12:45). How great was their darkness! (Matthew 6:23). The Jews had blasphemed both witnesses—the Son (bridegroom) and the Spirit (matchmaker)—and the true glory-light had departed. They had substituted the prophets with their own traditions, and received the “Emmanuel” they deserved—the Accuser instead of the Advocate.

Just as the Lampstand “conquered” Belshazzar and led the vessels to Ezra’s restored Temple, Herod’s house was a counterfeit Restoration. His seven-fold demonic Lampstand was a false Pentecost. In the darkness, he could not see the writing on the wall (Matthew 6:23).

Jesus cast seven demons out of Mary Magdalene, picturing the Jewish ‘greater Eve’ who would believe. But the harlot who refused was blinded and her kingdom taken away. TAOTA

“…though Jews returned to the land after the decree of Cyrus, they did not enjoy the fruits of it (Haggai 1:1-11). They were still alienated from the land. They did not really occupy it until they rebuilt the Temple, which was completed in the sixth year of Darius, 20 years later.”1

Darius listened to those who opposed the Jews and ordered the Temple reconstruction to officially cease, so the Lord raised up two witnesses, Haggai and Zechariah. Haggai would chastise the people for neglecting the house of God, and stir up their hearts to finish it. Zechariah would deal with the spiritual war going on behind the scenes.

Zechariah’s visions perform the same function as Abram’s animal sacrifice. (In Abram’s time, there was a famine in the Land, and later it did not support Abram and Lot’s flocks). In Zechariah, the mediator who is “passed over” is not Abram but Joshua the High Priest. The sins are atoned for again, but not with animal sacrifices. In Zechariah it is the Angel of the Lord who steps in, chases away the accusations of Satan (as the ravens), and provides clean robes as a New Covenant.

Then the Temple could be completed, and the abundant fruits of a recreated Land were enjoyed by a new Israel.

________
1 James B. Jordan, Jubilee, 
Biblical Chronology Vol. 5, No. 4, www.biblicalhorizons.com