THE FINAL DAYS OF
THE END-GAME

The inspiration for the above title came suddenly to my mind after I had asked the Lord to give me something that would summarize in a nutshell what I have been trying to explain to everyone regarding the final events of this world's history based on the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation.

First of all the, above headline reveals the era or eon (Aion in Greek) in which we are now living, i.e., "The Final or Last Days of this Age," while the expression, "END GAME" is a perfect metaphor to describe the final act of the "GREAT CONTROVERSY BETWEEN CHRIST AND SATAN." I urge you to read this entire article because you are going to see how this phrase "Final days of this age" is referring to a prophecy in the book of Daniel that theologians are still arguing about because they do not know the character of God. If you will enter into this revelation the Lord will bless you with great wisdom as he did Daniel when he prayed for wisdom to know and interpret Nebuchadnezzar's dream in Daniel 2.

As some of you may know, "END-GAME" is a term or expression chess players use to describe the final stages of a game of chess. Webster's New World dictionary, in its third college edition defines "end game" thusly: 1 the final stage of a game of chess, in which each player has only a few pieces left. 2 the final stage of anything.

In his book "THE KEYS OF THIS BLOOD," Malachi Martin writes about "The Millennium Endgame," in chapter 25, beginning on page 477. Because Martin's books are always such fascinating reading, I am tempted to quote long paragraphs but fear we would drown ourselves in his eloquent verbosity before we grasped the point I am trying to make. In brief he argued that at least three entities were in an "Endgame" struggle for the control of this world. Published in 1991, the purpose of the book was obviously a public relations gamble (move) on the part of the Vatican to promote Pope John Paul II as the most qualified person to lead us into the new millennium. This was not just hinted but boldly stated on the back of the book, and I quote: Only Malachi Martin, consummate Vatican insider and intelligence expert, could reveal the untold story behind the Vatican's role in today's winner-take-all race against time to establish, maintain, and control the first one-world government.

Malachi Martin was a former Jesuit and professor at the Vatican's Pontifical Biblical Institute, author of numerous other best selling books. Without doubt he was the most fascinating and widely read writer in the religious field for the last 15 to 20 years until his sudden and mysterious death this year, the very day after his appearance on the Art Bell show. A friend sent me an audio cassette tape in which Art Bell makes an obvious reference to Martin's sudden demise. There is no speculation, per se, as to the why or how of his passing or if he is yet another Vatican victim of political foul play. Some people believe Martin, during the course of his remarks, may have inadvertently revealed something the powers that be did not want the public to know about, such as HAARP or UFO's, two topics that Art Bell is always discussing with his guests.

But back to Pope Paul's "End game gamble." Martin talks about the "terminal effect" of "this end game." Pg. 479, "Keys of this Blood." In the shifting sands of time nothing is definite or certain. Who could have imagined that the powers that be would stage the "End of Communism" by tearing down the Berlin wall? Yet, most everyone believes that Communism is dead. Don't forget the simple prophecy: "Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived." 2 Tim 3:13.

The Lord gave me this text about 20 years ago in a dream one night. I have been pondering its implications ever since. So, all of these "end game" players from the Pope to the various and changing presidents of all the nations of the world are deceived and are in turn deceiving others. This is very important to understand in light of Daniel's prophecy that there would be "WISE ONES" in the end game who would know and understand what is going on while the rest of the wicked world would be groping in gross darkness. This is the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy (Isa. 60:1-3) that God's glory would shine on His Elect and Chosen people while "gross" darkness enveloped the majority of Israel in Isaiah's day, who went into captivity. The Jews in Christ's day repeated the same sad scenario, and now again, God's professed people in our day are "repeating the history of Israel step by step."

So, how far up the ladder does this "deception" extend? All one needs to do to answer that question is read Isa. 14:12-14 where the Lord speaks directly to Lucifer about how deceived he is about his own selfish future plans. "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High." Lucifer, I know what you are thinking...but it will never happen. "The angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he has reserved in everlasting (Age (aion)lasting) chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day." Jude 6. KJV. The New American Standard says, "And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day."

Please notice that Satan and his angels left or abandoned (EGW uses the word "deserted" DA 435) their heavenly home at the beginning of the great controversy and went into a self-imposed darkness where truth, logic and facts have no relevance or reality. But during this judgment hour "end game" those chains are going to begin to be loosened and cracked and after the 1,000 years completely broken off. In 1991 Martin wrote about the players then on the chess board...e.g. George Bush, Mikhail Gorbachev and Pope John Paul II. Bush and Gorbachev, like pawns in the game, are no longer players on the board although Bush Jr. seems to be for the present. John Paul II is nearing the end of his journey, yet somehow continues to hang on. But we must remember that the Pope is only a representative and servant (slave) of the Vatican (RCC) who in turn is a servant and slave of the god of this world, Satan. Yet, as we have already noted, Satan himself is a victim of deception. So, only the Creator knows what is going on and is in charge through His servants, the Wise Ones of the earth. Dan. 12:10; Amos 3:7.

So, the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation are being fulfilled as we speak. For example we read in Dan. 2 about a dream king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had about 603 BC. Only the prophet Daniel was given wisdom to interpret this dream which bears directly on our present subject of the end game. He reminded the king that he had dreamed about an image of a man composed of various metals and whose feet were made of iron and clay. The dream had a dramatic climax when a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands and hit the image on the feet of iron and clay causing it to be broken to pieces. But the stone turned into a "great mountain which filled the whole earth," Dan. 2:35, which indicates that it will begin with only a little support but grow and expand with dramatic rapidity and speed.

Although I have explained the meanings of these symbols in former articles I will try and touch on them again later because Dan. 2:29 states that the purpose of the prophecy was to "reveal secrets" and to make known to the king at that time, as well as all of us today, "what shall come to pass." Daniel also pointed out that the God of heaven sets kings up and puts them down. So, it is the God of heaven who is in charge of all that transpires in this earth, not Satan or the wicked men who are doing his bidding. The fact that Gorbachev is no longer head of the USSR, nor Bush the President of the USA and the Pope is ready to pass off the scene only underscores the truth of Daniel's statement that the God of heaven truly is in charge of all the affairs of this planet, for which we thank Him and praise His holy Name. Yes, there are bad things that happen but there are also good and the Lord quietly uses both to accomplish His grand design for which we are counseled to praise His holy Name at each step of the way. Eph. 5:20; I Thess. 5:18. The Lord is in charge of the Time and the Ages. He alone knows the final sequence of events.

Because John Paul II is still alive the following quote is relevant: Note: "From the beginning of his pontificate, John Paul has been talking incessantly about the convergence of the nations. (the iron and clay coming together in the feet & toes). He had the end game in view some ten years before other men faced into it; and, for his pains, he has been seen by many in the West as a man of the East, and by many in the East as man of the West. Deterred in no way by such misunderstanding, John Paul hinged the success of his pontificate on what was and still remains a gamble concerning the present end game. He would endow his papacy with an international profile and, as Pope, move around among world leaders and nations, vindicating a position for himself as a special leader among leaders, because in that competition he plans to emerge as the victor." "Keys of this Blood," page 480.

Remember this was written in 1991. He thought the end game had already started but in reality it had not yet even begun. What a big shock for him. Pope John Paul II will most likely pass off of the scene before the end game begins, if the Prophecies of Saint Malachi have any validity at all. Beginning in October 1517 the truth about the Papacy was exposed to the world by Martin Luther and other writers of that time. It will be exposed again as the Bible and SOP have predicted in the book, "The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan." I have used the game of chess as a metaphor in order to make this final end game struggle as clear as possible. Although I no longer play chess myself I find it useful in illustrating the Final Conflict of the Ages. I do not believe it is a game Christians should play because of the spirit of competition and implications of killing your opponent which are necessary for winning. But that is something each person must decide on his own just as I did when I realized how incompatible the game is with the non-destructive character and Spirit of Christ.

Nevertheless, chess is useful for the purpose of illustrating the "Great Controversy," a book for our time which exposes the carnal and futile efforts of man to destroy the truth of God. I found the following statement by chess master Emanuel Lasker clearly proves my point: Notice: On the chessboard lies and hypocrisy do not survive long. The creative combination lays bare the presumption of a lie; the merciless fact, culminating in a checkmate, contradicts the hypocrite. I found it fascinating that this statement was selected by the greatest chess player of all time, Robert (Bobby) J. Fischer, on the page opposite his preface to his 384 page book, "Bobby Fischer, My 60 Memorable Games," published in 1969.

I bought this book in the early 90's before the Lord led me to give up playing chess on the computer as well as on occasion with friends. I had hoped to learn new strategies and moves to improve my end game. One day shortly after this, it was strongly impressed upon my mind that I would be much better off if I were to spend the same amount of time studying the Bible. It was a real struggle I went through including withdrawal pains but the Lord finally helped me to give it up completely. Now, as I look back I can see the evil spirits that originated and still control this very competitive and intellectual mind game. I don't know what religion, if any, Fischer follows today. I read that he had given a donation to Herbert Armstrong's church and then tried to get it back. I don't know the outcome of that story. What little I heard about Bobby Fischer made me believe he was a very bright and honest young man who became the US Open Chess champion in 1957 at the age of 14. From what I have read about him he hated lies and hypocrisy which is probably the reason he selected this particular quote for his book. Don't you find it fascinating that in this coming end game all the lies and sins of Babylon are going to be laid bare? All things will be made known so all created beings in God's universe can see the truth. The most important truth to be made known is the character of God, that our Heavenly Father has never hurt or killed anyone. "The hour of His judgment (Trial) has come." Rev. 14:6-11.

With that in mind let us enter into our present study of the longest time prophecy in the Holy Bible, the 2300 days of Dan. 8:14. We will begin with a letter that I wrote to a Jewish organization for information about the re-building of the temple in Jerusalem which is a key event in the fulfillment and understanding of this important prophecy.

--

From: <MCLUTE777>
To: <brethren@qumran.com>
Sent: Sunday, August 19, 2001 10:18 AM
Subject: Re: Sabbath Message from QB 08_17_2001 __My question re: rebuilding of temple Dear Br. & Sister,

Thanks for your most interesting message. My question is simple. What will it take for the temple to be rebuilt in Jerusalem? A group calling themselves, "The Temple Mount Faithful," recently received permission from the supreme court in Jerusalem to drive a truck up to the gates where the location is where they hope to lay the cornerstone for the temple. They even had the cornerstone on the truck. Did you hear about this? It was in the news a few weeks ago. Will they not need a decree to begin rebuilding the temple similar to the one the Jews were given back about 456 or 457 BC from King Cyrus of Persia, when they began rebuilding the temple that Nebuchadnezzar destroyed? So, who will have the authority to give such a decree? Do you think this would be big news if they got such permission and laid that corner stone? It seems to me that would be world wide news. Right? Do you agree? Your comments please.--

Subj: Re: Sabbath Message from QB 08_17_2001 __My question re: rebuilding of temple
Date: 8/19/01 8:38:22 AM Pacific Daylight Time
From: brethren@qumran.com (Brethren of Qumran Bet Community)
To: MCLUTE777

Mike,

According to the information given to us by those in Yisrael, the Temple Mount Faithful were refused permission to lay the cornerstone. It appears that there will have to be Torah observant men in the positions of power in order for a decree to be given. At this point, the leadership seems to be mostly secular.

I think right now what would make news if they were given permission to lay the cornerstone and actually did lay it, the violence, the deaths, the terroristic increase would probably be the real news.

--

The 2300 day prophecy is one of the most unique prophetic utterances in all the prophecies of the Bible. Dan. 8:14, "Unto 2300 days then shall the sanctuary be cleansed," is the very prediction that launched the Millerite movement which ended in the great disappointment of Oct. 22, 1844. Yet, it was out of the ruin and ashes of this failed prediction that the SDA Church was born. These scattered believers, a mere remnant of Miller's estimated one million followers, formed the nucleus of a new movement which re-interpreted Gabrielle's words to Daniel. The new interpretation involved the specific event that was to occur. Miller had taught that the "cleansing of the sanctuary" meant three specific events would transpire:

1. The world would be cleansed by fire when Christ returned in flaming glory to resurrect the righteous dead.
2. Translate or catch up the living righteous into the air.
3. Destroy the wicked.

When all of this did not occur the movement fell apart. What these pioneer Advent believers came to believe went wrong was that Miller had interpreted the earth itself to be the sanctuary that would be cleansed when in reality, the real sanctuary was in heaven, the Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary. This has been the official interpretation ever since, even though it has not been without its critics, especially during the last thirty years.

The most vulnerable part of this belief is that the word "days" actually meant "years." Since the prophecy never came to pass as expected, this whole doctrinal interpretation deserves to be re-examined. Is it possible that the word "days" really are 24 hour periods and not years? As the prophetic roll continues to unfold and we are able to fit the pieces of the puzzle together with greater understanding and clarity than ever before, it would seem that the word "days" truly does mean 2300 literal days. But what about the starting point? When will the 2300 days begin?

Well, I was up late last night struggling with this. Let me share with you what I have discovered so far, that I didn't realize before. First of all, Gabrielle was sent to Daniel as a result of His long prayer for His people, beginning in Dan. 9:3. So, this is an important key. Only when we pray for information that will help God's people will the Lord reveal truths to us. Secondly, Daniel was very humble and totally dedicated to the cause of God. The Lord will never reveal truths to anyone who is not totally dedicated and completely humble and desirous only for His glory.

Gabrielle begins the explanation of the 2300 days in Dan. 9:24. "Seventy weeks are determined (decreed) upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy." Ok, now when will this begin or start?

Vs. 25, 26 spells it out. There is to be a commandment or decree to restore and to build Jerusalem "unto or until Messiah the Prince." There will be 69 weeks or 483 days from the time that the order or decree is made to re-build old Jerusalem until the coming Prince or world ruler comes and is anointed. So, 483 = one year and 123 days.

So, that is how long it will take to re-build "the street...and the wall even in troublous times." Vs, 25. Someone may say, well what about the Temple? Yes, it will be re-built too. How do I know? Because the very next verse tells how it is going to be destroyed after 3 ? years. Now, this is a tricky verse because you have two personalities here. In verse 25 the true Prince is referred to as "Messiah, the Prince." Here we have a dual application because the first application or fulfillment of this was Jesus Christ. But there is to be a second fulfillment which no one knows about but the "wise Ones" of Dan. 12. Psalm 2 refers to this Messiah or Anointed or Christos as "My Son" and as "My King." Dan. 2:45 refers to this anointed One as the "stone that is cut out of the Mountain without hands." Rev. 11:15 and 12:10 refers to this same being as the "Christos," and Rev. 3:9 calls it "The Church of Philadelphia" which is perfect and which the Synagogue of Satan will worship. So, it has to be the same group. Isa. 66:5-7 refers to them as a Man child and then says that this Man child is a Nation. Jesus had to come first and complete the first part of the Mystery of God, demonstrating that divine perfection or holiness (wholeness) could be developed or perfected in a body of flesh thus revealing the destiny of all the Sons of Adam who were created in the image of God for the very purpose of being like their Creator, John 10:34, Psalm 82.

Now, 2000 + years later the Spirit of Christ via His Holy Spirit, will bring a representative group of human beings to total perfection at the beginning of the harvest. This group I refer to as the "Barley Group." EGW refers to them as "The Little Company." Early Writings, pg. 270. There are at least 21 specific designations for this same group.

So, Gabriel predicted through the prophet Daniel that this "Prince" will be "Messiahed" or "anointed" at the same time old Jerusalem is restored and begins to function again, including the animal sacrifice system which will continue for 3 ? years until "The people of the prince (Satan) that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined." vs. 26. Notice the word "flood" is also used in Rev. 12:15-17 as referring to the "serpent or dragon" "who cast out of his mouth water as a flood." The reason why Satan and all of his followers will turn right around and destroy the city and temple they have just built, is because the Barley group have completely exposed them by preaching the truth of the Word of God. Rev. 11:6-8. This is explained in great detail in the last five chapters of the book, "The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan." The wicked of the earth have absorbed Satan's same spirit of hatred and rebellion and are led by him to destroy the earth. Rev. 11:18.

I believe that this Prince is referring to the "Christos" in our day and not primarily to Jesus because Jerusalem was not destroyed after seven years as the prophecy of Dan. 9:26 predicts it will be. It was not destroyed until AD 70, about 40 years after Jesus began His ministry. That does not mean it did not have applications to Jesus and His ministry, but that all these prophecies of Daniel and Revelation are primarily for our day. The are also conditional, as we know. If the Jewish nation had accepted Jesus as their Messiah everything would have been so different. They would not have had to perish. How it would have been different would require speculation. But we can see how the Father knew all things from the beginning. As a human being Jesus submitted Himself to the Father's wisdom even to the point of accepting the cup of death in the Garden of Gethsamane, when he said, "Nevertheless, not my will but thine be done."

Here is a modern paraphrase which sheds a little more light on what Gabrielle was actually trying to tell Daniel. We may not agree with some of the theology but I think it helps clarify the meaning a little more.

This takes place after the temple is built and functioning for 3 ? years. Then, suddenly, Satan will go into the temple and proclaim himself as God. Why? For the purpose of gaining the allegiance of the whole, wicked world whom he will then lead to destroy the Jews and all of God's true Sabbath keeping people. During that 3 ? years Jews from all over the world will gather in Jerusalem to celebrate the feast days each year. Then suddenly, after 483 days, he will betray the Jewish people and turn against them with the fury of demons to destroy them and all who will not line up with His laws, and believe that He is the Messiah and that his true day of worship is Sunday. Paul speaks of this coming event when the "man of sin" will be revealed. "Let no one in any way deceive you; for the apostasy is to come first, and the man of sin is to be revealed, the one doomed to hell, the adversary who opposes and rises up against every so-called god and what is worshiped, so that he seats himself in the temple of God with the claim that he himself is God." 2 Thess. 2:3, 4.

The word "man" here has the meaning of a person or power or evil being which could include Satan, who although not a man, per se, is a created being. The commentary's comments on 2 Thess. 2:8 clearly reveal this is indeed Satan--first of all working through the papacy at first and then finally Satan himself when he will manifest himself out in the open. According to a second view, he is not only the papacy, but more importantly, Satan himself, the supreme Antichirst, as he impersonates Christ just before the last day (see on vs. 4, 9). 7BC 273. "In this age antichrist will appear as the true Christ, and then the law of God will be fully made void...But the true leader of all this rebellion is Satan clothed as an angel of light. Men will be deceived and will exalt him to the place of God, and deify him" (GC 593). Cf 6T14; 9T 230.

Going back to Dan. 9:24 we see six things are to occur and/or be accomplished:

1. Finish the transgression.
2. Make an end of sins.
3. Make reconciliation for iniquity.
4. Bring in everlasting righteousness.
5. Seal up the vision and prophecy.
6. To anoint the most Holy.

At first reading this list may seem repetitive and redundant to those who feel they do not have the time to go beyond the surface to find the hidden meanings. I must confess that at one time I was in that class, yet I desired to know the true meaning of each statement.

Based on my study of the character of God for over 25 years, here is what I believe it means:

• At the close of the 70 weeks the original transgression of Adam and Eve will be fully exposed, explored, explained and understood to be a gigantic fraud of the most stupendous guilt trip ever foisted upon the human race.
• This will make or explain all the "sins" of mankind that have followed in the train of this gigantic hoax and fraud which made all the children of Adam act so lawless (crazy) and out harmony with the character of God which reveals their true heritage and destiny.
• Reconciliation will be fully made by the life and death of Jesus Christ and the revealing of His "Christos" during the seven years of the 70th week.
• These facts having been fully exposed and revealed for what they really are, Daniel's vision and prophecy of the real truth about the Great Controversy and the ultimate victory of God's people will, at long last, receive the final seal of approval from the Father Himself.
• All of these things will be made possible by the "anointing of the most Holy (ones)," who will be the Barley group who will do the same work Jesus did for 3 ? years, revealing the true Gospel and exposing the lies of Satan, which cause the total collapse of His kingdom of darkness. "He will come to His end and none shall help him." Dan. 11:44, 45.

Then in vs 25 Gabrielle reveals to Daniel the exact number of days there will be until "Messiah the Prince" comes on the scene and is anointed to begin preaching the "Good News of the kingdom," the same as Jesus did at the time He was baptized in the Jordan river by John the Baptist. This event will be the decree or commandment to restore and re-build Jerusalem. And after that decree is made there will be 483 days until the Barley Group or Little Company will go high profile to begin preaching the final version of the Three Angels Messages to the entire world.

Rev. 11 is a parallel to these verses of Dan. 9. Notice: "And I will give power unto my two witnesses (Barley or Little Company preaching the Old & New Testaments of the Holy Bible) , and they shall prophesy (preach) a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth." What does "sackcloth" symbolize or mean? The wearing of sackcloth-a coarse, dark cloth, woven usually of goat's or camel's hair-was a symbol of deep sorrow and mourning (2 Sam 3:31; 2 Kings 19:1, 2). It does not necessarily mean poverty for even the King of Nineveh put on sackcloth when Jonah preached. I have already explained in detail about the two witnesses in a former issue of this periodical. You can read about that on God's Last Call Web site.

The name of the article is "THE TWO WITNESSES OF REVELATION 11 IDENTIFIED." I explain there that when Rev. 11:7 states that when John says the beast from the bottomless pit will make war against them and "kill" them it does not mean a literal death, but an assassination of their character. Dan. 9:26 confirms this when it says that the Messiah will be "cut off." It is like cutting off their mike, so to speak, so they can no longer be heard. I just checked the original Greek word translated here as "kill." Strong's 615 "Apokteino" which is derived from 575 "APO" which usually denotes separation, departure, cessation, completion, reversal. It is also from "Kteino" (to slay) or kill outright or it can also be used as a figure of speech in a figurative or symbolical sense to mean "to destroy:-put to death, kill, slay." Then I found also the Greek word Apollumi which means "destroy, die, lose, mar, perish," also in a figurative sense. So, in what sense do you think that John meant this to be used? Well, again I checked Strong's exhaustive concordance in the Hebrew section in the back under 5648 and found "Abad" which means, "to do, make, prepare, keep, etc. cut, do execute." There is another word, "karath" which is the one used in Dan. 9:26 and has various meanings, including to be put to death. But is that what Daniel and John saw would happen at the end of time to the "anointed" of God which is the Barley group, the Lord's "Christos" of Rev. 11:15 and 12:10?

The SDA Bible commentary tells us that "there are 36 instances in which an individual who had neglected some particular religious duty, is threatened with being 'cut off.'...In all probability it simply meant separation from the rights and privileges belonging to an Israelite. After being 'cut off' the person was considered a stranger, with no share whatever in the blessing of the covenant." 1BC 551. It clearly did not mean to be killed nor is that the meaning of what is going to happen to the Barley Group or Elect for they have been promised to be spared alive and translated. Luke 21:34-36; Mal. 3:16-18. Today, it would be like being ex-communicated or disfellowshipped from a church or disbarred from being a lawyer or doctor, etc. This is what I believe both Daniel and John are predicting will happen to the Barley or Little Company. A final point here is that the NAS (New American Standard Version) says "The Messiah will be cut off and have nothing." Dan. 9:27b. Someone will say, but this is what happened to Jesus. Yes, that is true, but as we have already noted this prophecy has a primary application for our day. If you read "Desire of Ages" carefully, you will find that Jesus did everything possible to prevent and stop the Jewish nation from killing Him. He even asked the Father to take the cup away so He would not have to drink it. But there was no other way. Of course, the Father knew ahead of time this would happen and predicted it through the profits. The Father and Son absorbed all of the pain and suffering into themselves so the end time elect would not have to endure the same fate. But those who do not accept the final message will receive the Mark of the Beast and suffer the Wrath of God which will be poured out in the seven last plagues.

Now we come to Dan. 9:27 which I have been working on now for about half an hour, looking at various versions of the Bible as well as two SOP books. "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 desolate."

This is the KJV and is a very poor and unclear translation. SDAs have traditionally applied the entire verse to the life and death of Jesus. But as you will see there are two personalities described here. The NAS states: "And He will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week He will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate." Dan. 9:27. The marginal reading says "causes horror," instead of "desolate." So, here we have a text even in the KJV with the relative pronoun "he" used twice, each time referring to two different personages. The first personage is Jesus (and 2000 years later the Barley) and second "he" is Satan. The New Century Version in fact reads, "A destroyer will do terrible things until the ordered end comes to the destroyed city (referring to Jerusalem)." The LB says, "The Enemy shall utterly defile the sanctuary of God. But in God's time and plan, his judgment will be poured out upon this Evil one." The RSV says, "And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week; and for half of the week he shall cause sacrifice and offering to cease; and upon the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolater." This is referring to Dan. 11:45. "Yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him."

The him is referring to Satan himself who will be forsaken by all of his earthly puppets as well as all his demon allies (evil angels) when they realize he has been defeated by the Lord's Christos, the Barley or Little Company and those five wise Virgins who wake up and become the 144,000. That will be the Wheat Harvest.

Now, I would like to make a few comments on the phrase, "He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week." DA 233 clearly defines this as applying to Christ's ministry of 3 ? years first and the apostles who witnessed to the Jewish nation for 3 ? years making seven years based on the old method of each day for a year. Now, what is the "covenant" that both Jesus and the coming Christos "confirmed" to Israel, each in their time frames?

In Gen. 17:1 we read how the "Almighty God" appeared to Abraham. This was "El Shaddai" the Almighty Breasted One, who is the true and original Mother God of Israel. The "Queen of heaven" the Jews worshiped in Jeremiah's day was a counterfeit, just like all the female pagan deities are counterfeits. Diana of the Ephesians is but one example. This "Almighty Breasted One" is the counterpart of the Father God of Israel and the mother of Michael and Gabrielle. More on that in a later article. But notice what she says to Abraham: "And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee." This expression is used at least 12 times throughout the OT in such books as Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. This covenant goes clear back to the Garden of Eden to Genesis 1 when God told Adam and Eve that all of His creation was perfect and good and all of the trees belonged to them. This was God's covenant or agreement or deal, if you please. God told Adam to take care of this Garden and to eat of the fruit of the trees because it was all good and it all belonged to him. Satan was allowed to tempt Adam and Eve and he tricked them into believing there was death in one of the trees he named, "The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil." I have already written about this in my papers and on the web site. But this original covenant is going to be presented again to the people of the earth and many will accept and join with the Barley to help wake up the 144,000 who will continue to sleep until the death decree, after the 3 ? years. In a later article we will deal with the rest of the 2300 days and how they will be fulfilled. mfc