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# The Book of Daniel - Number Forty-Two

Connecting Links

Author

Jeff Pippenger

Published

January 6, 2024

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Key Takeaways

- John the Baptist
- Apostle Paul
- The “Daily”
- Prophetic Timelines
- Daniel 12:11-12

John the Baptist was a connecting link prophet.

> “The prophet John was the connecting link between the two dispensations. As God’s representative he stood forth to show the relation of the law and the prophets to the Christian dispensation. He was the lesser light, which was to be followed by a greater. The mind of John was illuminated by the Holy Spirit, that he might shed light upon his people; but no other light ever has shone or ever will shine so clearly upon fallen man as that which emanated from the teaching and example of Jesus. Christ and His mission had been but dimly understood as typified in the shadowy sacrifices. Even John had not fully comprehended the future, immortal life through the Saviour.” The Desire of Ages, 220.

Jesus was also a connecting link prophet.

> “Christ has led the way from earth to heaven. He forms the connecting link between the two worlds. He brings the love and condescension of God to man, and brings man up through His merits to meet the reconciliation of God. Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. It is hard work to follow on, step by step, painfully and slowly, onward and upward, in the path of purity and holiness. But Christ has made ample provision to impart new vigor and divine strength at every advance step in the divine life. This is the knowledge and experience that the hands in the office all want, and must have, or they daily bring reproach upon the cause of Christ.” Testimonies, volume 3, 193.

John the Baptist’s prophetic work included connecting the dispensation of the earthly to the heavenly sanctuary. The first words John said when he first saw Jesus was:

> The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. John 1:29.

But even though John was to identify the transition from ancient Israel unto spiritual Israel, his understanding of that transition was limited.

> “Said Christ, in vindication of John, ‘But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.’ Not only was John a prophet to foretell future events, but he was a child of promise, filled with the Holy Spirit from his birth, and was ordained of God to execute a special work as a reformer, in preparing a people for the reception of Christ. The prophet John was the connecting link between the two dispensations.

> “The religion of the Jews, in consequence of their departure from God, consisted mostly in ceremony. John was the lesser light, which was to be followed by a greater light. He was to shake the confidence of the people in their traditions, and call their sins to their remembrance, and lead them to repentance; that they might be prepared to appreciate the work of Christ. God communicated to John by inspiration, illuminating the prophet that he might remove the superstition and darkness from the minds of the honest Jews, which had been, through false teachings for generations, gathering upon them.

> “The least disciple that followed Jesus, that witnessed his miracles, and listened to his divine lessons of instruction, and heard the comforting words which fell from his lips, was more privileged than John the Baptist, for he had a clearer light. No other light has shone, or ever will shine, upon the intellect of sinful, fallen man, save that which was, and is, communicated through Him who is the light of the world. Christ and his mission had been but dimly understood through the shadowy sacrifices. Even John thought that the reign of Christ would be in Jerusalem, and that he would set up a temporal kingdom, the subjects of which would be holy.” Review and Herald, April 8, 1873.

The apostle Paul was also a connecting link prophet that was to identify the prophetic applications of the literal transitioning unto the spiritual. He understood that literal Jerusalem was no longer the Jerusalem of prophecy, for it then had transitioned unto heavenly Jerusalem.

> For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. Galatians 4:25, 26.

In chapter two of 2 Thessalonians, which we have been considering, Paul identified that literal pagan Rome was the power that restrained spiritual papal Rome from ascending to the throne until the year 538. In the chapter he identifies that the “man of sin” which is seated in the temple of God, was the same “king” that Daniel identified in chapter eleven, verse thirty-six. The proof that the “king of the north” in the last six verses of Daniel eleven is the papacy became the key to establish the framework of truth employed by Future for America from the increase of knowledge in 1989.

In the same chapter, Paul identified pagan Rome’s work of restraining the rise of the papacy, until the time when pagan Rome would be taken away, and thus identified that “the daily” in the book of Daniel was pagan Rome. That truth became the very key to establish the framework of truth which produced the increase of knowledge in 1798.

In William Miller’s history the message was proclaimed when a transition from the Philadelphian to the Laodicean movement was to take place. In Future for America’s history the transition from a Laodicean movement unto the Philadelphian movement is now taking place.

The truth that Paul set forth in 2 Thessalonians that identified the transition from literal pagan Rome unto spiritual papal Rome became the framework for Miller’s prophetic understanding. Both John the Baptist and Paul were raised up to explain the transition from literal to spiritual. William Miller was typified by John the Baptist and in his work it was essential that he recognized the relation and transition of pagan and papal Rome, the transition that John was raised up to identify.

There are five references to “the daily” in the book of Daniel, and they always precede a symbol of the papal power. In the context of the prophetic transition we are considering, all five references include the transition from literal Rome to spiritual Rome. “The daily” in the book of Daniel is one of the truths represented upon Habakkuk’s two tables, and is therefore a foundational truth that was to be defended; a truth which would ultimately become covered up with false and counterfeit jewels and coins. It is no accident that every truth represented upon the two sacred charts has direct inspired endorsements within the writings of Ellen White. To reject any of the foundational truths (including “the daily”), is to simultaneously reject the authority of the Spirit of Prophecy.

> “Then I saw in relation to the ‘Daily,’ that the word ‘sacrifice’ was supplied by man’s wisdom, and does not belong to the text; and that the Lord gave the correct view of it to those who gave the judgment hour cry. When union existed, before 1844, nearly all were united on the correct view of the ‘Daily;’ but since 1844, in the confusion, other views have been embraced, and darkness and confusion has followed.” Review and Herald, November 1, 1850.

Those “who gave the judgment hour cry,” understood “the daily” as a symbol of paganism, and/or pagan Rome. Their understanding included the fact that they understood that the word “sacrifice” did not belong in the passage in Daniel, where it had been added by the translators (by human wisdom) of the King James Bible. The pioneer understanding also included that “the daily” was always presented in connection with one of the two symbols of the papal power, and that paganism (“the daily”), always preceded the papal symbol. They were always identified in the sequence in which they arrived into prophetic history. The books of Daniel and Revelation never deviate from the historical sequence of paganism preceding papalism, and when the book of Revelation introduces the third desolating power of the false prophet, that sequence is always upheld.

Without Paul’s instruction that the literal things of prophecy transitioned to the spiritual in the time period of the cross, a dilemma is produced with Christ’s prediction of the destruction of Jerusalem found in all the gospels except John. The two symbols of the papacy connected with “the daily” in the book of Daniel are the abomination of desolation and the transgression of desolation. Those two symbols represent the mark of the beast (the abomination) and the image of the beast (the transgression).

The transgression that allows the papacy to murder those it deems as heretics is the combination of church and state, with the church in control of the relationship. Thus, Daniel represents the combination of church and state which is the image of the papal beast, as the transgression of desolation. The Bible identifies idolatry as an abomination, and all the idolatry of the papal power is represented with its idol sabbath, which John calls the mark of the beast, and Daniel calls the abomination that maketh desolate.

> And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land. And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them. Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practiced, and prospered. Daniel 8:9–12.

We will address these verses in greater detail in another article, but in verse eleven, the power that magnified itself against Christ was pagan Rome, when they attempted to kill him at his birth and then finally did so at the cross. The verse states that “by him” (pagan Rome), “the daily was taken away.” The Hebrew word translated as “taken away” is “rum,” and it means “to lift up and exalt”. Pagan Rome would lift up and exalt the religion of paganism, and they did that very thing in history. This is why they are called “pagan” Rome.

The next verse identifies that papal Rome, was given a “host” (military power), that was against, or was to overcome “the daily” (paganism). This also is a fact of history, for military strength was employed by the papacy (though she never has her own army), to overcome the restraint placed upon her rise to power. That power came from pagan Rome. The military power that she employed was given unto her through “transgression,” for the transgression that allowed her to control the armies of the kings that placed her on the throne in the year 538, was the transgression of the combination of church and state. First pagan Rome is addressed in verse eleven, informing the student that pagan Rome would stand up against Christ, and that it would exalt the religion of paganism.

The next verse describes the transgression of the combination of church and state that allowed the papacy to overcome and remove the restraint that pagan Rome had exercised against her. History upholds the application of both those verses. “The daily” represents either pagan Rome, the power that stood against Christ, or the religion of paganism that was exalted by pagan Rome. The symbol of “the daily” is then followed by the papacy, as it identifies the transgression of church and state that is what empowers the papacy with an army to do its dirty work. Daniel’s third use of “the daily,” is the question that produces the answer, that is the central pillar of Adventism.

> Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? Daniel 8:13.

In this verse, the question is asked of how long shall the vision be, thus asking for an answer that represents duration, and not a point in time. The question is not on what date will the vision be fulfilled, but what is the duration of the vision. The verse does not ask “When?”, it asks, “How long?” The vision is about the desolating powers of paganism, represented as “the daily,” and papalism as represented by the transgression of the papacy that is accomplished when she commits fornication with the kings of the earth. Those two desolating powers of paganism followed by papalism were to trample down the sanctuary and the host for a period of “seven times.”

It is important to recognize that the trampling down of the literal sanctuary which began in the time of Babylon, and continued through to the destruction of Jerusalem by pagan Rome in 70 AD, was done by pagan powers from the beginning of the history to the end. Thus, it was literal paganism in the plural that trampled down the literal sanctuary and literal host (God’s people). But it was spiritual Rome that trampled down spiritual Jerusalem and spiritual Israel.

> But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months. And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. Revelation 11:2, 3.

John the Baptist was a connecting link prophet that identified the change of dispensation from the earthly sanctuary to the heavenly, without knowing the fullness of his work. Paul was a connecting link prophet that identified the change of dispensation from literal Israel (the host) to spiritual Israel. The Jerusalem that was trampled down for forty-two months was spiritual Jerusalem.

> “The periods here mentioned—forty and two months,” and ‘a thousand two hundred and threescore days’—are the same, alike representing the time in which the church of Christ was to suffer oppression from Rome. The 1260 years of papal supremacy began in A.D. 538, and would therefore terminate in 1798. At that time a French army entered Rome and made the pope a prisoner, and he died in exile. Though a new pope was soon afterward elected, the papal hierarchy has never since been able to wield the power which it before possessed.” The Great Controversy, 266.

Paul identified that at the transition which took place in the history of the cross, spiritual Jerusalem which “is above,” became the city which God chose to place his name, and literal Jerusalem ceased to be the Jerusalem of Bible prophecy.

> For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. Galatians 4:25, 26.

This truth is essential to understand correctly, and the false application of literal Jerusalem as the symbol of Bible prophecy is part of the deception created by the Jesuits to undermine the truth that the pope of Rome is the antichrist. That false teaching produces a belief within apostate Protestantism that allows them to incorrectly look to the modern Jewish nation of Israel as a symbol of prophecy. Literal Jerusalem ceased to be God’s Jerusalem in the time of the cross.

> “The city of Jerusalem is no longer a sacred place. The curse of God is upon it because of the rejection and crucifixion of Christ. A dark blot of guilt rests upon it, and never again will it be a sacred place until it has been cleansed by the purifying fires of heaven. At the time when this sin-cursed earth is purified from every stain of sin, Christ will again stand upon the Mount of Olives. As His feet rest upon it, it will part asunder, and become a great plain, prepared for the city of God.” Review and Herald, July 30, 1901.

The relevance of the distinction between literal Jerusalem and spiritual Jerusalem will be addressed as we consider Christ’s prophecy of the end of the world. The fourth time Daniel identifies “the daily,” is in chapter eleven.

> And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate. Daniel 11:31.

This verse is identifying the work of pagan Rome in placing the papacy on the throne of the earth in the year 538. The “arms” represent the military strength of pagan Rome that stood up for the papacy beginning with Clovis, king of the Franks in the year 496. Different European kings worked for the placement of the papacy following Clovis, but the verse is identifying four things the European kings (arms) did for the papacy, once they transgressed by forming a church and state alliance with the whore of Tyre.

Once they stood up for the papacy, they “polluted” or destroyed the city of Rome, which was the symbol of strength of both pagan and papal Rome. The pollution of the verse was carried out repeatedly through the years, as the city of Rome was brought under continuous military attacks. Those European kings (the arms), would also “take away the daily.” The Hebrew word translated as “take away” in this verse is not “rum,” as it was in chapter eight. In this verse, the word translated as “take away,” is “sur,” and it means to remove. The arms of the European kings would remove the pagan resistance to the rise of the papacy in the year 508. Then in the year 538, those arms would place the papacy on the throne of the earth. Then at the Counsel of Orleans, in that very year, the papacy implemented a Sunday law.

Sunday as a day of worship is what Sister White calls the “idol” sabbath, and idolatry is the perfect biblical definition of the word “abomination”. In the year 538, the arms of pagan Rome placed the abomination that maketh desolate.

> “All who will exalt and worship the idol Sabbath, a day that God has not blessed, help the devil and his angels with all the power of their God-given ability, which they have perverted to a wrong use. Inspired by another spirit, which blinds their discernment, they cannot see that the exaltation of Sunday is entirely the institution of the Catholic Church.” Selected Messages, book 3, 423.

Prophecy and history uphold the application we have just identified for verse thirty-one. When we say prophecy upholds this application, we are referring to the fact that there are other prophecies which address these same facts, without bringing them into the discussion at this time. The fifth and final time Daniel uses “the daily,” is found in chapter twelve.

> And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days. Daniel 12:11, 12.

Prophecy and history uphold that in the year 508, the resistance to the rise of the papacy essentially ended, when the last of three geographical obstacles (the Goths), were plucked up as Daniel chapter seven identifies.

> I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things. Daniel 7:8.

The three horns being removed are illustrated on the two sacred tables, and when the third of those three geographical obstacles was driven out of the city of Rome, in the year 508, the resistance against the rise of the papal power was taken away. The setting up referenced in verse eleven, represents the thirty years between 508 and 538. It identifies thirty years where the preparation of establishing the man of sin in the temple of God was accomplished.

The word translated as “taken away” is also “sur,” which means to remove, and in 508, the resistance against the rise of the papacy was removed (taken away). From that date, twelve hundred and ninety years takes you to 1798, and the deadly wound of the papacy. Thirteen hundred and thirty-five days takes you to the first disappointment, and the beginning of the tarrying time at the very end of the year 1843. The verse promises a blessing to those who “cometh” to 1843. The word “cometh” means to touch. The first day of 1844, marks the first disappointment, but the last day of 1843, touches the first moment of 1844. The last day of a year touches the first day of the following year. The blessing associated with that date is upheld by history and prophecy.

We will continue our consideration of the significance of “the daily” as a foundational truth in the next article.

> “All the messages given from 1840–1844 are to be made forcible now, for there are many people who have lost their bearings. The messages are to go to all the churches.

> “Christ said, ‘Blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them’ [Matthew 13:16, 17]. Blessed are the eyes which saw the things that were seen in 1843 and 1844.

> “The message was given. And there should be no delay in repeating the message, for the signs of the times are fulfilling; the closing work must be done. A great work will be done in a short time. A message will soon be given by God’s appointment that will swell into a loud cry. Then Daniel will stand in his lot, to give his testimony.” Manuscript Releases, volume 21, 437.

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