Article

# The Book of Daniel - Number Four

The Plummet

Author

Jeff Pippenger

Published

November 27, 2023

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Key Takeaways

- Theme of the “Seven Times”
- Rejection of the “Seven Times”
- Biblical Context
- Prophetic Applications
- Judgment Symbols
- Connection to the Book of Daniel
- Final Test of Faith

We are addressing the “seven times” of Leviticus twenty-six as represented in the book of Daniel. We are doing so because one of the prophetic characteristics of the “seven times,” is that it represents the “stumbling stone” that the builders rejected. I am defining the stone of stumbling that is represented in the Scriptures as a truth that can be seen, but isn’t. For those that see it, it is precious, but for those that don’t see it, it is not only what they stumble over, but it is the stone that grinds them to powder.

When Christ presented the stone that the builders rejected, He identified that the corner stone would become the “head” of the corner. The message of the rejected stone in the Scriptures always has to do with God passing by a former covenant people, while at the same time God is entering into covenant with a people who had not formerly been the people of God.

> Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. Matthew 21:42–44.

The first “time prophecy” that William Miller was led to by the holy angels, was the “seven times” of Leviticus twenty-six. Laodicean Adventism started the process of tearing down the foundational truths which the Lord assembled through the ministry of Miller by rejecting the very first of Miller’s discoveries. Of course, any prophetic illustration of a sacred foundation is an illustration of Christ, who is “The Stone”, so the rejection of the “seven times” in 1863, identifies not only the beginning of the process of rejecting the foundational truths, it represents a rejection of Christ. As with Christ’s testimony of the rejected stone, Peter also identifies that one of the prophecies connected with the foundation stone is that it would ultimately become “the head of the corner”.

> Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed. But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. 1 Peter 2:6–8.

The foundation stone in the beginning of Adventism, becomes the head of the corner. Isaiah is in agreement with Christ and Peter, and Isaiah uses the foundation stone to represent a covenant people who are being passed by for a new covenant people. In his testimony he represents a class that has made a covenant with death, and who have received a lie. The lie they receive, is the lie that Paul identifies as bringing strong delusion upon those that make a covenant with death, because they did not receive the love of the truth.

> Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem. Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves: Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste. Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it. Isaiah 28:14–18.

The “seven times” has been hidden under falsehoods, and when God passes by His former covenant people and enters into covenant with the one hundred and forty-four thousand, the stone that was formerly the rejected corner stone will ascend to be the “head” of the corner. For those that understand this truth, it is precious, and for those that don’t, the stone that becomes the head of the corner, not only crushes them, but it metaphorically becomes their headstone.

In the book of Daniel, in chapter eight and verse nineteen, we find the “last end” of the indignation, thus identifying that there must also be a “first end” of the indignation. The period of time from 677 BC, until October 22, 1844 represents the period of time that the sanctuary (and host) would be tread down. But the papacy was to prosper until the indignation was accomplished, according to Daniel chapter eleven, and verse thirty-six. If the end of the indignation of chapter eight, represents the end of a period of time, then the end of the indignation of chapter eleven, also represents the end of a period of time. This is what the Bible clearly teaches, though this truth has been covered up with lies by those who have made a covenant with death.

The end of both indignations represent the end of an identical period of time, for both were a fulfillment of the same curse of twenty-five hundred and twenty years of scattering, captivity and slavery. The northern kingdom first suffered the scattering, captivity and slavery of the “seven times,” when in 723 BC, the king of Assyria took them captive. The southern kingdom suffered the same fate in 677 BC. Jeremiah confirms this fact.

> Israel is a scattered sheep; the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones. Jeremiah 50:17.

Jeremiah is identifying a progressive judgment. The Assyrians remove the northern kingdom in 723 BC, then they take Manasseh to Babylon, their capital city, in 677 BC. Then Nebuchadnezzar takes Jehoiakim, thus marking the beginning of the seventy years of captivity in 606 BC. Then Nebuchadnezzar takes Zedekiah and destroys Jerusalem in 586 BC.

The southern kingdom had been warned that they would suffer the same fate as the northern kingdom if they continued in their rebellion. The judgment of the northern kingdom would be accomplished upon the southern kingdom, and the symbol of that judgment was a line that was to be stretched over Judah. In Isaiah’s testimony, it was simply the “line,” but in the following passage, the “line” is the “line of Samaria.”

> Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle. And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down. And I will forsake the remnant of mine inheritance, and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies; Because they have done that which was evil in my sight, and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came forth out of Egypt, even unto this day. 2 Kings 21:12–15.

There are two prophetic expressions in the verses just cited that must be considered. The first is the tingling of the ears, and the other is the plummet. In these verses the line of Samaria is also identified as the plummet of the house of Ahab. The line and the plummet are instruments of judgment, which are used in the building process. In the verses, they identify that the same judgment that was carried out against the northern kingdom, represented as Samaria and the house of Ahab, would be brought upon Judah and Jerusalem. When the warning was set forth, the northern kingdom of Israel had already been invaded, conquered, destroyed and taken into slavery. The message of God’s judgment produces the tingling of the ears of those that hear the warning. Both the plummet and the tingling of the ears are found three times each in the Scriptures. In each case, they represent God’s indignation against His own people.

> And the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth. And the Lord said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle. In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end. 1 Samuel 3:10–12.

The overthrow of Eli’s house is the prophecy that would make both ears tingle in anyone who heard it. The tingling of the ears, in the time of Samuel symbolizes the passing by of the house of Eli. The fulfillment of the prediction given to Samuel was the overthrow of Eli’s house and the establishment of Samuel as the prophet. Samuel represents a people who as Peter says, in times past were not the people of God, but now are, for when Samuel was established as prophet, the house of Eli was destroyed. Jeremiah also proclaims a judgment against the leadership of Jerusalem that causes ears to tingle.

> And say, Hear ye the word of the Lord, O kings of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem; Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, the which whosoever heareth, his ears shall tingle. Jeremiah 19:3.

All three references to ears tingling are associated with a covenant people who have made a covenant with death and are thereafter invaded, conquered, destroyed, scattered, and taken into slavery. The tingling ears is a symbol of the judgment of God’s indignation, and the symbol of that judgment is also represented three times in the Scriptures, with the word “plummet.” We have already read it in second Kings and Isaiah, but there is one other reference of the “plummet” in the Scriptures, and in that reference the word plummet is translated from a different Hebrew word, than the previous two references.

> And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep, And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof: And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof. So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord? Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it. Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you. For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth. Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof? And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves? And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth. Zechariah 4:1–14.

The word translated as “plummet” in second Kings and Isaiah twenty-eight, is “mishqâl” and it means a weight. In both passages a weight (plummet) was going to be added to the line. The weight is what is used in a scale, and represents judgment. The line with a weight is a line of judgment. The line of Samaria was the period of “seven times,” or twenty-five hundred and twenty years. The same period of time was going to be placed upon the southern kingdom that had been brought upon the northern kingdom. The ending of either line is identified in the book of Daniel as either the end of the last indignation or the end of the first indignation. The period is represented in Daniel as the period when Jerusalem and the host were to be trodden down by the two desolating powers of paganism and papalism. Both periods would begin when their respective capital cities were invaded, conquered, destroyed and their citizens carried into slavery.

But in Zechariah, the word “plummet” is formed by the combination of two Hebrew words. The first word is “‘eben”, and it means “to build”, and it also means “a stone”. It means “a building stone”. That word is then combined with the Hebrew word “bedı̂yl”, which means “to divide or separate”. The “plummet” in Zechariah, is the stone that is built upon and produces a separation and division. The division is between two classes of worshippers; one class that rejoices when they see the stone, make it the head of their corner, and build upon it, and the other that doesn’t see it, rejects it, stumbles over it, and is finally crushed by it, which then becomes their headstone or tombstone. One class makes a covenant with life, the other a covenant of death.

In the history of Zechariah, ancient Israel had just come out of Babylon to rebuild and restore Jerusalem. Zerubbabel was appointed the governor, and was to oversee the work. He laid the foundation stone at the beginning of the work and he placed the headstone, or capstone, at the end of the work. Zerubbabel means “the offspring of Babylon”. All the prophecies are identifying the last days, and Zerubbabel’s name is the symbol of the history of the first angel’s message when the foundation stone was laid, and his name is also the symbol of the third angel’s message, when the headstone, or capstone, is placed. The manifestation of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in either the first movement or the second movement is represented by Zerubbabel’s name (offspring of Babylon), for it represents the message which calls for the final generation of the “offspring of Babylon”, to come out. It represents the message of the Midnight Cry that took place in the first movement, and that is about to take place in the last movement of the Loud Cry.

The two olive trees, two olive branches, and the two anointed ones that represent the vessels into which the two golden pipes empty the oil into:

> “The anointed ones standing by the Lord of the whole earth, have the position once given to Satan as covering cherub. By the holy beings surrounding his throne, the Lord keeps up a constant communication with the inhabitants of the earth. The golden oil represents the grace with which God keeps the lamps of believers supplied, that they shall not flicker and go out. Were it not that this holy oil is poured from heaven in the messages of God’s Spirit, the agencies of evil would have entire control over men.

> “God is dishonored when we do not receive the communications which he sends us. Thus we refuse the golden oil which he would pour into our souls to be communicated to those in darkness. When the call shall come, ‘Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him,’ those who have not received the holy oil, who have not cherished the grace of Christ in their hearts, will find, like the foolish virgins, that they are not ready to meet their Lord. They have not, in themselves, the power to obtain the oil, and their lives are wrecked. But if God’s Holy Spirit is asked for, if we plead, as did Moses, ‘Show me thy glory,’ the love of God will be shed abroad in our hearts. Through the golden pipes, the golden oil will be communicated to us. ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts.’ By receiving the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness, God’s children shine as lights in the world.” Review and Herald, July 20, 1897.

Zechariah had repeatedly asked who the two olive trees were, thus drawing attention to the various symbols of the two witnesses. Sister White identifies the two olive trees as the two witnesses of Revelation eleven.

> “Concerning the two witnesses the prophet declares further: ‘These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.’ ‘Thy word,’ said the psalmist, ‘is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.’ Revelation 11:4; Psalm 119:105. The two witnesses represent the Scriptures of the Old and the New Testament.” The Great Controversy, 267.

Zechariah had wanted to understand who these two witnesses were. In the French Revolution they were the Old and New Testaments. They were represented as Moses and Elijah that were slain in the street by the beast that ascended out of the bottomless pit. They represent the ministry of Future for America that was slain on July 18, 2020.

In the beginning of the chapter, after Zechariah is awakened, when the dead dry bones are brought together, but not yet alive, Gabriel asks “What seest thou?” Zechariah describes what he has seen, and then asks “What are these my lord?” Gabriel emphasizes the subject of the question, by answering Zechariah’s question with a question. He asks Zechariah, “Knowest thou not what these be?” Gabriel then answers “This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.”

The Word of the Lord that was given to Zerubbabel was, “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit. Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.”

Zerubbabel, the governor, represents the messenger that prepares the way in the beginning and ending history, before whom the mountain becomes as a plain. Isaiah identifies the work of the same messenger and says he will “make straight in the desert a highway for our God,” and that he will cause “every valley” to “be exalted.” He will also cause “every mountain and hill” to “be made low,” for the “great mountain” before governor Zerubbabel “shall become a plain.”

William Miller’s message of the “seven times” was given him by God. Zerubbabel represents William Miller who placed the foundation stone of the “seven times,” and he also represents the hands that “shall bring forth the headstone” with “shouting, crying, Grace, Grace unto it.” The doubling of the word “grace,” represents the message of the Midnight Cry. The “shouting” represents the same message as represented by the loud cry of the third angel and the “crying” represents the Midnight Cry. The entire passage is about the Midnight Cry message. It is about the virgins that were asleep in death on the streets of Revelation eleven, that runs through the valley of dead dry bones. It is about the resurrection of the dead dry bones, and it is about the prophetic role of the “plummet” that the wise virgins see that causes them to rejoice.

Then Zechariah says, “moreover.” Moreover, means to place the following passage over the top of the previous passage. It is a reference to the prophetic principle of line upon line. The previous dialogue identified the awakening at midnight of God’s people, represented by Zechariah. The previous dialogue repeatedly emphasized the desire of God’s people in the last days to understand who the two witnesses of Revelation eleven are. The previous dialogue identified that Zerubbabel represents the work in the first movement and also the work in the last movement. It identified Zerubbabel’s “hands” (representing human power), were to lay the foundation stone and the headstone, but the work of his hands was and is only accomplished through the divine power of the Comforter.

The dialogue that followed, which is to be placed over the previous dialogue, identifies that when the “hands of Zerubbabel” are finishing the work, then God’s people in the last days, will “know that the Lord” “sent” Gabriel, the light bearer “unto” God’s people. They will recognize the heavenly communication process that is the first truth represented in connection with the Revelation of Jesus Christ. To refuse the message and work of Zerubbabel, is to refuse the message that comes from Gabriel, which he received from Christ, which He in turn received from the Father.

Then the two classes of worshippers are defined. One class “hath despised the day of small things?” The other class “shall rejoice” when they “shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven” who “are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth.” Those that despise the day of small things, are despising the historical work of William Miller as represented by the “plummet.” They are contrasted with those who rejoice when they see the “plummet” in the hands of Zerubbabel. Zechariah’s “plummet” is the building stone that produces a division. One class despises the “plummet,” for they refuse to see that the “plummet” in the hand of Zerubbabel is with “those seven.” The word “seven” that is with the “plummet,” is the same Hebrew word that is translated as “seven times” in Leviticus twenty-six.

Then Zechariah repeats the fact that when he wakes up, he does not know who the two witnesses are. He therefore asks another time, “What are these two olive trees?” He repeats it again, questioning “What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves?” And Gabriel emphasizes the question by once again answering Zechariah’s question with a question, “Knowest thou not what these be?” to which Zechariah answers, “No.” Gabriel then says “These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”

The chapter begins with Gabriel awakening Zechariah out of his sleep. Zechariah therefore represents the virgins that are awakened at midnight, and when those virgins are awakened, they are represented as having an overwhelming burden to understand what the two witnesses of Revelation chapter eleven represent. All the books of the Bible meet and end in the book of Revelation. All the prophets agree with one another, for God is not the author of confusion. All the prophets are speaking more about the last days, than the days in which they lived.

Gabriel employs the Alpha and Omega principle by identifying that Zerubbabel will begin and end the work of building the temple. His work is represented as laying the foundation stone at the beginning and the headstone at the end. Zerubbabel represents the movement of the Millerites and the movement of Future for America.

What Gabriel presents to Zechariah is that the work of the Midnight Cry, whether in the movement of the first angel or in the movement of the third angel, is accomplished with the power of the Holy Spirit.

While they lay dead in the street, the world rejoiced over their dead bodies, but when they arose, the world then feared and they rejoiced. They rejoice because they see the plummet of those “seven times” in the hand of Zerubbabel. The plummet is the stone that is built upon, which separates the wise from the foolish.

Zechariah does not say “the seven,” he says, “those seven.” They see both twenty-five hundred and twenty years of scattering. The word translated as “seven” is the same word that is translated as “seven times” in Leviticus twenty-six, and represents “the curse” of slavery that was brought upon both the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel. The book of Daniel identifies “those seven” as a first and a last indignation.

The foundation stone laid by William Miller was the “seven times,” and the headstone laid by the movement of the third angel is the “seven times.” Those that rejoice when they see “those seven” in the awakening of the Midnight Cry of the last days, will witness a division and separation of the precious and the vile. The precious will rejoice as they come into full unity, and the vile will find out too late that they have not the oil that has been coming down through the two golden pipes. The truth that causes the rejoicing for one class will be a stone of stumbling for the other class, though it was available to see for all that were willing to see.

Just as the “seven times” became a test in the beginning in 1856, when Philadelphian Adventism transitioned unto Laodicean Adventism, the “seven times” is once again a test at the ending, right where Laodicean Adventism is transitioned unto Philadelphian Adventism. The test in the beginning was failed in 1863, with the rejection of the biblical doctrine of “seven times.” Those that fail the test at the ending in 2023, will do so for rejecting the experience demanded by the remedy identified by the “seven times” of Leviticus twenty-six.

It was important to identify that the book of Daniel fully upholds the “seven times,” before we begin to consider the prophetic message of the first six chapters of the book of Daniel, for chapters four and five are about the “seven times,” and they identify the beginning and ending of the two horns of the earth beast of Revelation chapter thirteen.

We will begin our consideration of those first six chapters in the next article.

> “The light that Daniel received from God was given especially for these last days. The visions he saw by the banks of the Ulai and the Hiddekel, the great rivers of Shinar, are now in process of fulfillment, and all the events foretold will soon come to pass.

> “Consider the circumstances of the Jewish nation when the prophecies of Daniel were given.

> “Let us give more time to the study of the Bible. We do not understand the word as we should. The book of Revelation opens with an injunction to us to understand the instruction that it contains. ‘Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy,’ God declares, ‘and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.’ When we as a people understand what this book means to us, there will be seen among us a great revival. We do not understand fully the lessons that it teaches, notwithstanding the injunction given us to search and study it.

> “In the past teachers have declared Daniel and the Revelation to be sealed books, and the people have turned from them. The veil whose apparent mystery has kept many from lifting it, God’s own hand has withdrawn from these portions of His word. The very name ‘Revelation’ contradicts the statement that it is a sealed book. ‘Revelation’ means that something of importance is revealed. The truths of this book are addressed to those living in these last days. We are standing with the veil removed in the holy place of sacred things. We are not to stand without. We are to enter, not with careless, irreverent thoughts, not with impetuous footsteps, but with reverence and godly fear. We are nearing the time when the prophecies of the book of Revelation are to be fulfilled.” Testimonies to Ministers, 113.

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