Daniel 11:42 a. and he shall send hand of him in lands and land of Egypt not she shall become to deliverance. (Hebrew direct translation)
Daniel 11:42 b. as “He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape”. (Hebrew/English translation)
The text is talking about some kind of control and rulership the papacy shall impose on lands in the future. Shall we look at the land of Egypt as literal interpretation or figurative in this text? Well the king of the north and the king of Negev are interpreted figuratively in the whole chapter, therefore we shall do the same here.
Egypt the land of Pharaoh, who went against God and Moses, said before the 10 plagues came upon the land, Ex 5:2 And Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go.” The word Egypt is a symbol of atheism or unbelievers all over the world. These will not escape the hand of the papacy´s controlling power to decide what they should believe in. The Little Horn will decide for them all, even if they do not want anyone compelling them.
Daniel 11:43 a. and he rules in reserves of the gold and the silver and in all of coveted things of Egypt and Libyans and Ethiopians in steps of him.
Daniel 11:43 b. But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians at his steps.
One is tempted to translate the gold and silver as literal here in the text; however, one will be out of harmony with the method of using a literal interpretation with the rest of the chapter.
What do the symbols of gold and silver mean in prophecy?
They are symbols of belief, faith, teachings from the Bible, preaching, doctrines and practicing ones faith. Hence, the papacy´s power will have powers to impose worship, belief, faith, doctrines and preaching in the future over every atheistic believer and Christian believer in the world. How?
Rev. 13: 17. ”No one may buy or sell”
Most Bible commentaries interpret the text above literally. This means the ‘buying and selling’ of goods such as food and clothing as a means for survival. However, there could be an alternative view and that is the spiritual interpretation. For example in Rev. 3:18 the SDA Bible Commentary interprets this verse to the church at Laodicea, spiritually[1]. “I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.”
The spiritual interpretation for gold is faith tried in fire. 1 Pet 1:6.7. The white garment is a symbol of Christ’s righteousness. Rev 7:13.14. Isaiah 61:10. The eye salve represents the Holy Spirit. Ephes 1:17.18. Laodicea is a symbol of the church living in the in last days before Christ’s Second coming. Christ invites us to buy faith, his righteousness and the Holy Spirit. With what? What do we have to offer? Money and worldly possessions cannot purchase them. Christ wants our hearts or our lives to be exact, and in return, we get more than he is offering in the verse. We become members of Christ’s family and part of God’s kingdom.
Let us look at Rev. 18:11 “And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore.” This chapter tells of the downfall of spiritual Babylon, which in a nutshell is a symbol of all false gods, false religions and churches with false teachings hat are not from the Bible. The merchants are a symbol of all peddlers who sell their spiritual merchandise of false doctrines and policies to all people on this earth. It is interesting to note that the first merchandise to be named in the following verse is gold, which is a symbol of faith, but this would be a false teaching of faith. The word ‘buys’ is interpreted spiritually in this verse.
Now let us look at Rev. 13:17. Shall we take these words of ‘buying and selling’ literally or should it have a spiritual application? As a rule of interpretation, if the context is interpreted spiritually then this verse should also be interpreted spiritually. The context is Rev. 13:11-18 and is about the beast with the lamb like horns, which we interpret to mean the USA. All of the symbols in this text have a spiritual application, so we do injustice to the text to interpret verse 17 as literal only.
If we give this verse a spiritual application, what would ‘buying and selling’ mean?
From Rev.3:18 we have the spiritual interpretation of buying and selling related to faith, Christ’s righteousness and the Holy Spirit. Rev. 13:17 is telling us of a power in the future which will prevent us from preaching and teaching doctrines related to our faith, Christ’s righteousness and the Holy Spirit.
We relate this text to the future, but there are laws now on the statute books, preventing us preachers and teachers in expounding the whole Bible.
We have all heard of Salmon Rushdi, the Muslim author who wrote against his religion, and as a result, a death sentence was pronounced on him from his religious community. Then there was the Muhammed cartoons printed in the ‘Jutlands Post’ newspaper here in Denmark last year, which caused quite a reaction from the Muslims in the east. Then there was the terrorist attack on the twin towers in New York, USA.
All these conflicts and many more around the world have given rise to the bringing in of ‘Hate Laws’ on the statute books in some countries. What are ‘Hate Laws’? They are laws of discrimination, which have been made by governments during the past 10 years. When you type ‘Hate Laws’ on the internet in Google, you find these laws in different countries of the world which discriminate between people of different ethnic origins, skin color, race, religion, sexual orientation and nationality.[2] If you criticize in word or look at another person in a peculiar way, then you are in danger of being taken to court and be sentenced from 2 to 14 years imprisonment in some countries. Even the Queen of England supports this law,[3] which was incorporated into the British legal system in April 2007. This is called the equality act.
The following is taken from an article which is located at: http://www.christianitytoday.com/gleanings/2015/june/supreme-court-states-cant-ban-same-sex-marriage.html
On Friday the 26th June, 2015, “the US Supreme Court ruled 5-4 today that State bans on same-sex marriage are no longer legal in America.”
The U.S. supreme court
What does this mean? It means all homosexual men and lesbian women have the right to get married in the USA and no one has the right to criticize them for doing so.
What does this law mean for all Bible believing Christians in the USA? It means that there is a conflict between the US law and the Holy Bible. The law says one thing and the Bible says the opposite. This will bring conflict to many court sessions in the USA. This law also means that Christians will no longer be able to preach and teach from the Bible in our churches and in our schools and colleges against homosexuals and lesbians. One cannot uphold the traditional marriage union of man and wife only. This law will be interpreted in the Courts in this way, that the marriage union between homosexuals and lesbians is equal to that of man and wife. This law will go directly against the teachings of the Bible.
This is a strange new law because it goes directly against another law in the USA, which is called the “First Amendment” giving protection to all religious groups who advocate the traditional marriage union from the Bible. This new law will be implemeted in the future in many countries of the World and is already on their statute books awaiting to be enforced.
For example in 2002 the Swedish government passed a law prohibiting unfavorable speech towards Homosexuals, bisexuals and heterosexuals. On the 29 June, 2004 a Pentecostal pastor preached a sermon in his church, citing from the Bible against homosexuals, saying that it was sinful. He was taken to court and sentenced to 30 days imprisonment. His lawyer made an appeal and the pastor was later released. You can read his full story and sermon on the internet.[4]
Ellen G. White writes in the book “Confrontation” Grantham, Lincs: Stanborough Press, 1978, page 459. “And the Bible teaches that a time is approaching when the Laws of the State will so conflict with the law of God that whosoever would obey all the divine precepts must brave reproach and punishment as an evil doer.” It seems like this prophecy is on its way to be fulfilled.
Update on the first casualty as a result of the Supreme Courts decision can be seen on the internet FoxNews.com called “The Christian purge has begun: Chaplain banned from preaching that homosexuality is a sin, by Todd James, published August 11, 2015.
“Chaplain David Wells was told he could either sign a state-mandated document promising to never tell inmates that homosexuality is “sinful” or else the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice would revoke his credentials. David Wells could not sign the document and he was fired after 13 years of ministry to underage inmates.”
Update on the second casualty 4th September, 2015, as a result of the Supreme Courts decision can be read on the www.DailyMail.co.uk and other websites. “Kentucky clerk jailed for defying court orders on gay marriage. Kim Davies has said that her Christian faith should exempt her from signing the licences for gay marriages.” “US District Judge David Burning said to Kim Davies, 48, she would stay behind bars until she complied with his order to resume issuing the licences.” Davies has been released after one week in jail.
This is the first of many Christian casualties to come, because of the Supreme Courts law on homosexuality, which now takes precedence over the First Amendment. It is amazing that we do not hear any sermons in the Adventist church or any other protestant church against the Supreme Courts decision going against the First Amendment. This is a milestone in prophetic history. Prophesy is being fulfilled and we are silent. A man is fired from his job and a woman is sent to prison, because they believe in the Bible. What is the Protestant Church saying about this event? Not very much. Lord forgive us of our passiveness in the present world of today.
I have received a link from a friend of mine, if you go on Google and type ADTV News Liberty of Conscience with Michael Mc Caffrey one can hear about this incidence with Kim Davies and much more.
What implications do these ‘Hate Laws’ have on the future preacher and teacher of the Bible?
There will come a time when we cannot condemn sin anymore or preach against sin. There will be restrictions on preachers from preaching from the Bible. For example, we will not be able to use a text like 1 Cor. 6:10 preaching against fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, thieves, covetousness, drunkards, revilers and extortioners. Why? Because they will be protected by hate laws, and their sinful practices will be accepted by all in society as part of the norm.
How can a preacher bring people to Christ without preaching against their sins? The law of God being the Ten Commandments which reveals their sins will become nullified. A new world order will be set up of religious beliefs and teachings: like what takes place in Mega churches all over the USA. The future preacher will extol the virtues of having a good relationship with God through a spiritual experience, involving the Holy Spirit either in worship or personally, like the charismatic Christians do, who use healing and speaking in tongues. Hence, the word of God from the Bible will take second place to the experience with the Holy Spirit.
When looking at the context of Rev. 13:11-18 we find from our reading that these laws will come from the USA. This is yet future and there will be a worldwide national law to follow suit with further amendments and severe penalties ending with the death penalty. However most of these ‘hate laws’ are already on the books in some countries, just waiting to be used when a preacher or any other person steps out of line.
So remember the next time you preach against sin and there is a ‘Hate Law’ in that country, you might be accused of breaking the law of the land. Hence, if you ignore this interpretation of ‘buying and selling’ you could end up with a prison sentence for preaching from the word of God in the Bible. When looking at this law from a broader aspect into the future, it does not only prevent Adventists preachers, but it will prevent all preachers from every denomination in the world in preaching from the whole of the Bible.
Bible texts used are from the New King James Version.
[1] Francis D. Nichol, Ed., The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Vol. 7 (Washington D.C.: Review & Herald Pub., 1957), 762.
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hate_speech
[3] http://politics.guardian.co.uk/queensspeech2004/story/0,,1357680.html
[4] www.religioustolerance.org/hom_hat8.htm