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# The Book of Daniel - Number Thirty-Two

From Lions to Deception: A Deep Dive into Daniel 6 and End-Time Prophecy

Author

Jeff Pippenger

Published

December 27, 2023

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Key Takeaways

- Daniel 6 represents the end-time Sunday law crisis, with Daniel symbolizing the faithful remnant who are persecuted for worshiping God.
- Daniel’s sealing in the lion’s den symbolizes the sealing of God’s people at the close of probation.
- The three worthies in Daniel 3 and Daniel in chapter 6 form parallel illustrations of worship-based persecution.
- The king’s deception by the presidents and princes in Daniel 6 foreshadows the deception of the United Nations by the papacy at the end of time.
- Darius, the king, represents the ten kings (United Nations) of Revelation 17 who are deceived into giving power to the papacy.
- Islam, represented by Ishmael, is prophesied to anger the nations, triggering global panic and prompting a false solution via Sunday enforcement.
- The United States, symbolized as the earth beast, transitions from lamb-like to dragon-like as it legislates religious laws and forms the image of the beast.

Daniel chapter six, is the third line in the first six chapters of Daniel, which directly presents an illustration of the Sunday law crisis. In chapter three Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image, and the three worthies, represent the ensign which is lifted up, and the entire world beholds.

> Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. Daniel 3:2.

In chapter three, the three worthies refused to bow, and their action brought upon them the persecution of the furnace, whereas Daniel in chapter six, bows three times a day, and his action brought upon him the persecution of the lion’s den. Line upon line, they represent the Sunday law persecution as a decision of worship, that in both cases, has already been determined by the faithful. Those represented by the three and one combination that symbolizes the one hundred and forty-four thousand have settled into the truth before the shaking of persecution arrives.

> “Said the angel, ‘Deny self; ye must step fast.’ Some of us have had time to get the truth and to advance step by step, and every step we have taken has given us strength to take the next. But now time is almost finished, and what we have been years learning, they will have to learn in a few months. They will also have much to unlearn and much to learn again. Those who would not receive the mark of the beast and his image when the decree goes forth, must have decision now to say, Nay, we will not regard the institution of the beast.” Early Writings, 68.

In chapter five, the Sunday law is addressing the end of the earth beast, and the judgment brought by the enemies that came through the wall.

> In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old. Daniel 5:30, 31.

In chapter six, the sealing of God’s people, represented by the king’s seal being placed upon the lion’s den is identified.

> And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel. Daniel 6:17.

The three lines all contribute to the characteristics of the ensign that is lifted up in a cloud, during the hour of the great earthquake in Revelation chapter eleven.

> And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven. Revelation 11:12, 13.

Daniel chapter six, identifies the sealing of God’s people, but it is more specifically addressing the punishment of the confederacy of the “presidents, the governors, and the princes, the counsellors, and the captains,” that deceived the king into killing Daniel. The deception of the king (a symbol of the state), is a significant prophetic subject, containing several prophetic witnesses. Unlike Nebuchadnezzar in chapter three, or Belshazzar in chapter five, who were both oblivious to Daniel and the three witnesses until after the crisis arrived, Darius’ “preference” for Daniel, in advance of the crisis identifies a different setting for the crisis of the Sunday law.

Daniel was “preferred” above the other two presidents, and the three presidents were over the one hundred and twenty princes. Daniel is contrasted primarily with the presidents and princes, and he is favored above the two that form a confederacy of deception represented by five (five foolish virgins).

> It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom; And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first: that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage. Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm. Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him. Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God. Daniel 6:1–5.

Darius is being used to illustrate a deception that is carried out against the king, which represents the ten kings (the United Nations), at the end of the world. The deception contributes to the hatred which the ten kings (the United Nations), manifest against the whore (the papacy), which causes them to “make her desolate and naked,” and “eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.”

> And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth. Revelation 17:16–18.

The United Nations (the seventh kingdom), will destroy the papacy, even though they will have just recently given her their kingdom, for they rule for a “short space.”

> And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. Revelation 17:10.

At the Sunday law the sixth kingdom of Bible prophecy, the earth beast of Revelation thirteen (the United States), has just finished its reign of the seventy symbolic years, in which the fifth kingdom of Bible prophecy, the sea beast of Revelation thirteen (the papacy), has been forgotten for those seventy symbolic years of Isaiah chapter twenty-three.

> And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot. Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered. And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the Lord will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth. Isaiah 23:15–17.

At the Sunday law the seventh kingdom of Bible prophecy, the ten kings (the United Nations), begins to reign, but only briefly, for the premier king of the ten kings, then begins its work of forcing the entire world to align under the structure of the beast, which is the combination of church and state, and is symbolized as the image of 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. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, 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; 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 13:11–14.

A primary element of the symbolism of the earth beast (the United States), that begins as a lamb and ends speaking as a dragon, is its speaking. Speaking prophetically identifies an action of the legislative and judicial authorities.

> “The speaking of the nation is the action of its legislative and judicial authorities.” The Great Controversy, 443.

When the United States first spoke as a lamb, it produced the Constitution of the United States, thus establishing a land of refuge for those fleeing the persecution of the papacy and the kings of Europe.

> And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. Revelation 12:16.

At the end of the seventy symbolic years, the earth beast speaks again, but then as a dragon, as it enforces Sunday worship, which is the mark of papal authority. When the mark of papal authority is enforced, the papacy is remembered, and she is remembered, when the Commandment that was never to be forgotten is made illegal to observe.

> Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. Exodus 20:8–11.

National apostasy is then followed by national ruin, and the three powers that lead the world to Armageddon join hands.

> “By the decree enforcing the institution of the Papacy in violation of the law of God, our nation will disconnect herself fully from righteousness. When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with Spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near.” Testimonies, volume 5, 451.

When “Protestantism” (the United States), “the Roman power” (the Vatican) and “Spiritualism” (the United Nations), join hands at the Sunday law, they begin to lead the world to Armageddon, which is represented as first forcing the world to accept the authority of a one-world government, which consists of church and state, with the church in control of the relationship. The power of the miracles that are employed by the earth beast, not only brings about the fornication of the whore of Tyre with the kings of the earth, but it enforces the “speaking” of the world-wide image of the beast. By prophetic definition this means the one-world government must have a legislative body (located in New York), and a judicial body (located in the Hague).

> 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; 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. 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. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And 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. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six. Revelation 13:14–18.

The earth beast (the United States), will deceive the entire world into accepting a worldwide image of the beast, the same image which the United States had formed as it led to and ultimately enforced the Sunday law. It will then empower the one-world government to enforce its laws upon pain of death, and/or economic penalties. The deception of Darius the king, is a symbol of the deception of the kings that is repeatedly identified in prophecy, for as the earth beast begins to force the world to accept the one-world government the argument that is used to force the world to accept the arrangement, is that the power that has angered the nations (Islam), must be opposed with a worldwide war.

The United States enforces the mark of papal authority, for the judgments of God had brought such a state of crisis in the United States leading up to the Sunday law, that the solution was offered that by returning to the god of Catholicism, the economic hardships that had been increasing would be ended. Yet at the Sunday law, the enemy that had snuck in under the lower wall, brings the judgment of national ruin.

> “And then the great deceiver will persuade men that those who serve God are causing these evils. The class that have provoked the displeasure of Heaven will charge all their troubles upon those whose obedience to God’s commandments is a perpetual reproof to transgressors. It will be declared that men are offending God by the violation of the Sunday sabbath; that this sin has brought calamities which will not cease until Sunday observance shall be strictly enforced; and that those who present the claims of the fourth commandment, thus destroying reverence for Sunday, are troublers of the people, preventing their restoration to divine favor and temporal prosperity. Thus the accusation urged of old against the servant of God will be repeated and upon grounds equally well established: ‘And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim.’ 1 Kings 18:17, 18. As the wrath of the people shall be excited by false charges, they will pursue a course toward God’s ambassadors very similar to that which apostate Israel pursued toward Elijah.” The Great Controversy, 590.

In the “hour” of “the great earthquake” of Revelation chapter eleven, the “third Woe” of Islam, that is also the Seventh Trumpet then sounds, and it will anger the nations. That anger of the nations against Islam will be used to deceive the world into accepting the same empty promise that had just failed for the earth beast. The empty promise being; that by submitting to the authority of Catholicism, as represented by the mark of papal authority, that the increasing judgments of God would cease. That promise, already proven to be ineffective for the United States, will then be employed as a promise to the panicking world.

It will be urged that if the nations of the world would only agree and allow the one-world government to be established for the purpose of addressing the warfare brought by Islam, stability would return. Islam is the power identified in the scriptures that brings every man together against Islam, but that coming together is the ultimate deception of the kings.

> And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the Lord hath heard thy affliction. And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren. Genesis 16:11, 12.

Ishmael is the spiritual father of the religion of Islam. It is true that Mohammed, the father of Islam did not arrive in history until the seventh century, but the ancient literal people are what God uses to represent the spiritual people in the last days.

> Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them show unto them. Isaiah 44:6, 7.

Before Ishmael was born, he was named and his prophetic role was identified. His spiritual descendants’ hands would “be against every man, and every man’s hand” will be against “him.” And unlike the foolish teaching of progressive liberalism, the Bible teaches that Ishmael will “dwell in the presence of all his brethren.” They do not assimilate into the culture around them, but rather, many condemn it, protest against it and attack it. The spirit of Ishmael is that “he” would “be a wild man.” The idea that there exists a peaceful class of the Islamic faith is not sustained in God’s Word, nor in the Koran.

The deception of the two presidents and one hundred and twenty princes in Daniel chapter six, is identifying the deception that is brought upon the ten kings when they are led to believe the purpose and urgency for implementing a one-world government, under the control of Rome, is to address the escalating crisis of the Islamic warfare that is the “third Woe”. Once the image of the beast is set up and empowered to “speak,” the world will find out, too late, that the purposes of the papacy is to address those who uphold the seventh-day Sabbath (Daniel), not the enemy that snuck in through the unguarded southern wall.

> “God’s word has given warning of the impending danger; let this be unheeded, and the Protestant world will learn what the purposes of Rome really are, only when it is too late to escape the snare. She is silently growing into power. Her doctrines are exerting their influence in legislative halls, in the churches, and in the hearts of men. She is piling up her lofty and massive structures in the secret recesses of which her former persecutions will be repeated. Stealthily and unsuspectedly she is strengthening her forces to further her own ends when the time shall come for her to strike. All that she desires is vantage ground, and this is already being given her. We shall soon see and shall feel what the purpose of the Roman element is. Whoever shall believe and obey the word of God will thereby incur reproach and persecution.” The Great Controversy, 581.

The deception of the United Nations that is carried out by the papacy, that produces the vengeance of their hearts, is often illustrated in the Scriptures, and the story of Darius is a primary example of this truth. It is a deception that is accomplished first in the United States and then repeated upon the world. This truth is identified in the story of Elijah and Jezebel, then again in the story of John the Baptist and Herodias, as well as in the crucifixion of Christ. Islam’s angering of the nations is the ploy employed by the papal power that provides her the vantage ground for attacking Sabbath-keepers all around the world.

The first mention of Islam is the introduction of Ishmael into the Scriptures, and the role identified of Islam at the end of the world that of putting the world into a universal panic so they will accept any proposal as a solution, is what allows the deception to be accomplished. The deception is what motivates the United Nations (the ten kings), to fulfill God’s will, and agree to give their kingdom (the seventh kingdom) unto the papacy (the beast).

The deception illustrated by Darius, and the other prophetic lines, includes the role of Islam angering the nations, the ultimate reason the papacy is destroyed by the United Nations, and just as significantly, it identifies the circumstances surrounding the enigma of the eighth kingdom, that is of the seven being put in place as the head of modern Babylon.

Daniel in the lion’s den is a very complex prophetic representation, but the understanding is only available when the methodology of “line upon line,” is applied.

We will continue Daniel chapter six in the next article.

> “When we as a people understand what this book means to us, there will be seen among us a great revival.” Testimonies to Ministers, 113.

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