TIME OF THE END!

9- Returning From the Dead

by Jeff Pippenger

HE shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 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 shall be at his steps." Daniel 11:42-43.

Previously in this series of articles we identified the prophetic use of the word "hand" as illustrative of a power which brings another power under its dominion, influence, or control. As the sequence of events illustrated in Daniel 11:40-45 began in verse 40, we saw the king of the north sweep away the king of the south, but we do not see the prophetic use of the word "hand" to illustrate that the southern king comes under the control of the king of the north. The king of the north "enters," but does not stretch forth his hand.

In verse 40 we simply see the king of the south being swept away as the king of the north passes through the countries which made up the king of the south's domain. We identified the message in verse 40 as the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989, through the combined efforts of the Papacy and the United States. While verse 40 identifies the war between atheism and the Papacy, which began during the French Revolution and continued until 1989, it does not illustrate that the Soviet Union came under the spiritual control of the Papacy in 1989. It simply identifies a tremendous historical event which was used by the Lord to identify the starting point for the final verses of Daniel 11.

In Daniel 11:41 we see the United States brought under the spiritual control of the Papacy by the symbols used within the verse. We previously discussed Sister White's teaching, "that much of the history" of Daniel 11 would be "repeated" as the final verses of that chapter come to pass. Some of those histories were the events connected with the rise to power of the Papacy which marked the beginning of the Dark Ages. The rise of the Papacy to control the world was itself a repetition of history, for pagan Rome conquered three geographical areas in order to come to rule the world, and, likewise, the Papacy had to pluck up three horns before it ascended to the control of the earth.

Modern Rome is first presented as retaliating and sweeping away the southern kingdom--the "kingdom" of atheism which brought about its deadly wound in 1798. Then its second obstacle is the glorious land of the United States. Following the United States, we see the third hindrance illustrated as it brings "Egypt," or the rest of the world, under its spiritual control, thus returning it to its former position as ruler of the world.

Pagan Rome, papal Rome of the Dark Ages, and the Papacy of today each overcome three obstacles in order to take the throne of the earth. Though these histories parallel each other in the sense of three obstacles, they are different in some respects. Pagan Rome literally conquered the world using its own military prowess. Papal Rome of the Dark Ages took the throne of the earth by the literal conquest of three horns, though they did so without their own army, using instead the armed forces of their sympathetic allies. After the three horns were literally subdued, then the spiritual bondage was enforced. The Papacy of today will first spiritually conquer the glorious land and Egypt, and then the literal consequences will follow.

In Daniel 11:41 the United States will come under the spiritual control of the Papacy when it (the United States) legislates a national Sunday law--the mark of papal authority. In verse 41 the subjection of the United States represented by the "hand" is alluded to by the identification of those who escape the hand of the Papacy.

The Final Obstacle

In Daniel 11:42 we see the king of the north once more "stretching forth his hand." This time it is against her final obstacle, which is identified as "the countries" and the "land of Egypt." The "land of Egypt" symbolizes the world with all its countries.

"Why is it so hard to lead a self-denying, humble life? Because professed Christians are not dead to the world. It is easy living after we are dead. But many are longing for the leeks and onions of Egypt. They have a disposition to dress and act as much like the world as possible and yet go to heaven. Such climb up some other way. They do not enter through the strait gate and narrow way." Testimonies, vol. 1, 131. (All emphasis supplied unless otherwise noted.)

"I am filled with sadness when I think of our condition as a people. The Lord has not closed heaven to us, but our own course of continual backsliding has separated us from God. Pride, covetousness, and love of the world have lived in the heart without fear of banishment or condemnation. . . . The church has turned back from following Christ her Leader and is steadily retreating toward Egypt. . . . Have we not been seeking the friendship and applause of the world rather than the presence of Christ and a deeper knowledge of His will?" Ibid., vol. 5, 217-218.

"Many are not growing strong, because they do not take God at His Word. They are conforming to the world. Every day they pitch their tents nearer to Egypt, when they should encamp a day's march nearer the heavenly Canaan." Signs of The Times, March 6, 1884.

"The plagues upon Egypt when God was about to deliver Israel were similar in character to those more terrible and extensive judgments which are to fall upon the world just before the final deliverance of God's people." The Great Controversy, 627-628.

"The Lord God of Israel is to execute judgment upon the gods of this world, as upon the gods of Egypt." Manuscript Releases, vol. 10, 240.

The context of the passage under consideration points out that the next step for the Papacy, after passage of the Sunday law in the United States, is to move against the rest of the countries of the world. This is also the sequence of events which the Spirit of Prophecy identifies:

"As America, the land of religious liberty, shall unite with the Papacy in forcing the conscience and compelling men to honor the false sabbath, the people of every country on the globe will be led to follow her example." Testimonies, vol. 6, 18.

"Foreign nations will follow the example of the United States. Though she leads out, yet the same crisis will come upon our people in all parts of the world." Ibid., 395.

Not only does Sister White uphold this sequence of the conquest of the world by the Papacy but this is also the order of events in Revelation 13. First, through the passage of a national Sunday law, the United States speaks as a dragon, as well as forming an image to the beast:

"And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon." Revelation 13:11.

The word "spake" describes the action of a government:

"The 'speaking' of the nation is the action of its legislative and judicial authorities." The Great Controversy, 442.

The "image of the beast" is a description of the use of secular power to enforce religious dogma:

"When the churches of our land, uniting upon such points of faith as are held by them in common, shall influence the State to enforce their decrees and sustain their institutions, then will Protestant America have formed an image of the Roman hierarchy." The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 4, 278.

Both the speaking as a dragon and the making of an image to the beast officially will take place at the time of the national Sunday law. There are, no doubt, many events which lead up to this climactic act of apostasy, but it is after the event in Revelation 13:11, when the United States will force the world also to set up an image to the beast:

"Saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live." Revelation 13:14, last part.

The world will make their own image to the beast, and the United States will empower it. By definition, in order for the world to set up an image to the beast, and thus "enforce" and "sustain" the "decrees" of the "churches," it must have a world system, such as the United Nations, in place:

"And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed." Revelation 13:15.

Deceived Through Spiritualism

When the United States passes the national Sunday law, it not only speaks as a dragon but also erects an image to the beast. After this action, the glorious land of the United States will deceive the whole world through the spiritualistic powers that were so profoundly associated with the history of Egypt:

"I was pointed back to the children of Israel in Egypt. I saw [that] when God worked through Moses before Pharaoh, the magicians came up and said they could do the same. I saw the same work was now going on in the world and among the professed churches similar to the work of the magicians anciently." Manuscript Releases, vol. 19, 129-130.

Through these deceptions the whole world will be brought to worship the Papacy:

"And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast." Revelation 13:14, first part.

The spiritual bondage portrayed by John is represented by Daniel in verse 42 when the king of the north stretches forth his "hand" upon the "countries" of "Egypt." When the United States "causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed," (Revelation 13:12) the world in reality will be worshiping Satan, for to worship "the beast," is to "worship the dragon which gave power unto the beast."

"Satan, in his pride and arrogance, had declared himself to be the rightful and permanent ruler of the world, the possessor of all its riches and glory, claiming homage of all who lived in it, as though he had created the world and all things that were therein." Review and Herald, September 1, 1874.

"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." Isaiah 14:12-14.

"Ever since his fall, Satan has been at work to establish himself as ruler of this earth." Review and Herald, March 9, 1886.

The Two Classes of the World

After John identifies "them that dwell on the earth" making "an image to the beast," he states in Revelation 13:16 that "all" people will be affected by this image. The whole world will follow the United States, but as John describes the "all" who will be affected by this action, he then divides this group into two classes--"both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond." Daniel also divides the world up into "rich and poor." Ancient Egypt had two neighbors who had interesting histories:

The Libyans, to the west of Egypt, lived on the fringe of the desert, which prevented them from attaining to any measure of prosperity. Throughout their history they had cast a longing eye toward Egypt and the fertile Nile valley. They attempted to invade Egypt several times, but were always repulsed. Egypt symbolizes the entire world, while Libya represents what is labeled today as the Third World. Libya symbolizes the poor, underprivileged, and downtrodden countries which long to move up to the prosperity of the affluent Western World.

Ancient Ethiopia included not only Nubia but also the part of Western Arabia bordering the Red Sea. The Egyptians coveted Ethiopia because of the gold mines in its mountains and its wealth in cattle, ivory, hides, and ebony, and because products from Central Africa entered Egypt through Ethiopian traders. The wealth of Egypt first passed through the hands of the shrewd Ethiopian traders. As modern Egypt represents the world, and Libya the poor, third-world countries, so Ethiopia represents the most affluent countries of the world.

Daniel links up with John's testimony when identifying that the Papacy will control the entire world, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond--Libya and Ethiopia. See Daniel 11:43; Revelation 13:16.

"As we near the close of this world's history, the prophecies recorded by Daniel demand our special attention, as they relate to the very time in which we are living. With them should be linked the teachings of the last book of the New Testament Scriptures." Prophets and Kings, 547.

Daniel adds that the Libyans and Ethiopians shall be at his steps. See Daniel 11:43.

"steps--4703: from 6805; a step; figuratively companionship:--going, step.

"6805: a primative root; to pace, i.e. step regularly; (upward) to mount; (along) to march; (down and causative) to hurl:--bring, go, march (through), run over." Strong's Exhaustive Concordance.

To be at the steps of the king of the north is to march with him as he runs over the whole world. John states that the second beast causes "the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast." Revelation 13:12. In the book, Keys of This Blood, written by Malachi Martin, we find an interesting passage. Martin is a Vatican insider who has written many books concerning Catholicism. In Keys of This Blood, Martin elaborates on why he believes that within this century the pope will be enthroned over the whole world.

As Malachi Martin addresses the structure of the countries of the world, he describes in depth how the pope views them. Here are quotations from Keys of This Blood, showing how a "contemporary map" of the world would be drawn by the pope:

"In short, that contemporary map of shame would be the graphic expression of the atrocity we have come to describe so blandly as the division of the world into North and South, which is to say, in plainer terms, the division of nations, and of populations within nations, into rich and poor. . . .

"It is just such a map of shame that Pope John Paul does hold up to the world in his moral assessment of the geopolitical arrangements that are setting up our future for us. . . .

"On the modern map of world shame that is the subject of so much of John Paul's attention, North and South do not figure as precise geographical terms. Instead, they are global frontiers where wealth and poverty divide not only nations, but societies within nations. . . .

"Whether it is applied in the confines of the United States, or in the world at large, John Paul's moral assessment of North and South is simple and clear. In a morally adjusted economy, he insists, the rich should not get richer if the poor get poorer." Keys of This Blood, Malachi Martin, 163-164, 171.

Egypt Shall Not Escape

In Daniel 11:42 the land of Egypt represents the entire world, which has many countries that, according to Daniel, will not escape. The word translated as "escape" in this verse is different from the word translated as "escape" in the last verse. The last verse conveyed an idea of being saved by slipping out of a hand which had previously been clasped. The word escape in this verse conveys the meaning of not finding any deliverance from Rome's iron fist.

"escape--6413: feminine of 6412; deliverance; concretely an escaped portion:--deliverance, (that is) escape (-d), remnant.

"6412: a refugee:--(that have) escape (-d, -th), fugitive." Strong's Exhaustive Concordance.

In verse 41 when the United States passes the national Sunday law, speaks as a dragon, and erects an image to the beast, many people will be overthrown--not many countries. Then the world will follow the United States, and many countries, in fact, all the countries of the earth will be overthrown as they march in step with the Papacy.

Verse 42 introduces us to the pope in the process of bringing the world into harmony with the Papacy. There we see the third obstacle overcome, which allows the Papacy to ascend to the throne of the world. At this point the king of the north ceases to be simply a church, and returns to the position of the ruling geopolitical power in the world. This position of authority was taken away in Daniel 11:40 when the king of the south "pushed" at him in 1798. The deadly wound will be fully healed when the Papacy stretches forth his hand upon the world and its countries, and is subsequently given "control" of the economies of the world.

We know he will assume control of the economy of the world, for John tells us "that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name." Revelation 13:17. Daniel links his testimony with John's as he states in verse 43 that at this time the king of the north "shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt." Daniel 11:43.

Daniel uses Egypt to provide the scenario to identify these end-time scenes. He uses Egypt to symbolize the world, as well as using Egypt's ancient neighbors to divide the world into both rich and poor, free and bond. The history of Egypt allows us to see the spiritualistic influence which will mislead and entrap the world into accepting this deception as we remember the role of the Egyptian magicians in resisting the plagues of God. The story of Egypt also provides the perfect scenario to help us recognize the final deliverance of God's people as represented by the Red Sea crossing. However, recognizing Egypt as illustrating the world provides even more information which impacts this time period.

Apostasy Leads to Ruin

We see the Papacy receiving "power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt." Daniel 11:43. In Daniel 11:41 the United States legislates a national Sunday law as it begins to march with the Papacy. At this point, the laws of cause and effect begin to increasingly impact the world environment:

"With rapid steps we are approaching this period. When the Protestant churches shall unite with the secular power to sustain a false religion, for opposing which their ancestors endured the fiercest persecution: when the state shall use its power to enforce the decrees and sustain the institutions of the church--then will Protestant America have formed an image to the Papacy, and there will be a national apostasy which will end only in national ruin." Signs of the Times, March 22, 1910.

As the United States, and then the world, legislates and enforces apostasy against God, each step away from truth is followed by more and increasingly destructive judgments:

"Roman Catholic principles will be taken under the care and protection of the state. This national apostasy will speedily be followed by national ruin." Last Day Events, 134.

Each step in apostasy will bring more devastation upon the world. When Daniel identifies the king of the north as stretching forth his hand upon Egypt and the countries of the world in Daniel 11:42, the apostasy will have nearly reached its ultimate climax. At that time the world will be racked with the judgments of God as the Spirit of God is withdrawn and man's rebellion is almost fully developed. In this condition, the people of the world will surely be looking for a Saviour to promise them a return to temporal prosperity. We see in this scenario a perfect ploy for the pope of Rome to make promises of peace to a devastated population. This crisis situation has a parallel to the history of the Egyptian plagues:

"But Egypt was desolated by plagues before Pharaoh would consent to listen to the great I AM. He persisted in his stubbornness till Egypt was ruined, and the Egyptians, from the lowest serf to the king upon his throne, looked upon the dead bodies of their firstborn." Review and Herald, April 23, 1901.

In this devastated condition the population of Egypt was terrified and quite willing to surrender their "treasures of gold and of silver, and all the precious things."

"The Egyptians had been enriched by the labor unjustly exacted from the Israelites, and as the latter were to start on the journey to their new home, it was right for them to claim the reward of their years of toil. They were to ask for articles of value, such as could be easily transported, and God would give them favor in the sight of the Egyptians. The mighty miracles wrought for their deliverance would strike terror to the oppressors, so that the requests of the bondsmen would be granted." Patriarchs and Prophets, 253.

As the time of destructive judgments confronts humanity, when world apostasy has given control over to the Papacy, conditions in the world will have brought such terror upon mankind that the people will easily trade their economic privileges for false promises of peace. Clearly, the history of Egypt provides powerful insights into Daniel 11:42-43.