Unsealing Prophecies: The Last Days, the Lion of Judah, and the Final Movements of Revelation
Key Takeaways
This article explores the prophetic significance of the Lion of the tribe of Judah in the context of biblical prophecy, particularly focusing on the unsealing of the last six verses of Daniel chapter eleven in 1989. It traces the prophetic timeline from the deadly wound inflicted on the papacy in 1798 to its healing and ultimate judgment. The article links the reform movements from the Millerites to the present-day movement of the one hundred and forty-four thousand, highlighting key events such as the unsealing of Daniel’s prophecies and the testing processes that God’s people must undergo. The message emphasizes the ongoing increase of knowledge meant to prepare believers for the final days, culminating in the Sunday law and the formation of the image of the beast. The article also reflects on how prophetic history repeats itself, offering insights into the significance of recent events like the July 2023 unsealing, which marks the beginning of the final phase of preparation for God’s people.
- Lion of Judah’s Role: Represents Christ’s authority in sealing and unsealing God’s word.
- Unsealing of Prophecies: Last six verses of Daniel chapter eleven were unsealed in 1989, revealing the healing and final judgment of the papacy.
- Prophetic Movements: Traces the connection between the Millerite movement and the modern reform movement of the one hundred and forty-four thousand.
- Increase of Knowledge: Emphasizes the prophetic increase in knowledge beginning in 1989 and again in July 2023, aimed at preparing believers for the last days.
- Testing Processes: Describes the three-step testing process that believers must undergo, linked to key historical events.
- July 2023 Unsealing: Marks the beginning of the final phase of preparation for God’s people, leading up to the Sunday law.
- Repeating Prophetic History: Highlights how past prophetic events foreshadow and parallel current and future events in the last days.
- Formation of the Image of the Beast: Discusses the prophetic timeline concerning the formation of the image of the beast in the United States and globally.
- Final Gathering: Describes the final gathering of the one hundred and forty-four thousand and the great multitude during the image of the beast test.
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In Revelation chapter five, the Lion of the tribe of Judah represents Christ’s position as the one who prevailed to seal and unseal God’s word according to His will. In 1989, one hundred and twenty-six years after the rebellion of 1863, the Lion of the tribe of Judah unsealed the last six verses of Daniel chapter eleven. Those verses begin with the deadly wound of the papacy in 1798, and introduce the testimony of how the papal wound is to be healed and beyond that to the final deadly wound of the papacy. The verses begin where they end; with the judgment of papal Rome.
Those six verses describe the healing of the papacy’s deadly wound, and also how the threefold union of the dragon, the beast and false prophet lead the world to Armageddon, which is identified in verse forty-five as “between the seas and the glorious holy mountain.”
Alpha and Omega represents Christ’s character of always illustrating the end with the beginning. The reform movement of the one hundred and forty-four thousand is the movement of the third angel, which is the ending movement that was prefigured by its beginning, which was the Millerite movement of the first and second angels. The Millerite movement began at the time of the end in 1798, which is where the last six verses of Daniel eleven begins, and the movement ended at the opening of judgment on October 22, 1844. The movement of the one hundred and forty-four thousand ends at the Sunday law in the United States.
At the beginning of the movement at the time of the end in 1989, the Lion of the tribe of Judah unsealed the last six verses of Daniel eleven, and at the ending of the movement, just before the Sunday law, He unseals the hidden history of verse forty of Daniel eleven. Sister White’s commentary of what part of Daniel is unsealed addresses the unsealing in 1989, and also the unsealing that began in July of 2023.
“The book that was sealed was not the book of Revelation, but that portion of the prophecy of Daniel which related to the last days. The Scripture says, ‘But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased’ (Daniel 12:4). When the book was opened, the proclamation was made, ‘Time shall be no longer.’ (See Revelation 10:6.) The book of Daniel is now unsealed, and the revelation made by Christ to John is to come to all the inhabitants of the earth. By the increase of knowledge a people is to be prepared to stand in the latter days. . . .
“In the first angel’s message men are called upon to worship God, our Creator, who made the world and all things that are therein. They have paid homage to an institution of the Papacy, making of no effect the law of Jehovah, but there is to be an increase of knowledge on this subject.” Selected Messages, book 2, 105, 106.
The portion of the book of Daniel that related to the last days in 1989 was the last six verses of chapter eleven, and as the movement of the one hundred and forty-four thousand reaches the ending of their movement, the portion of the book of Daniel that is unsealed is the hidden history of verse forty, which represents the history of 1989 unto the Sunday law in the United States. The hidden history of verse forty is the history of the one hundred and forty-four thousand. Every prophet provides witness to that period.
In the passage, an increase of knowledge that “is to prepare a people to stand in the last days,” represents the unsealing of the last six verses in 1989, and again it represents the unsealing of the hidden history of verse forty. In both histories inspiration identifies that there is to be an increase of knowledge upon the papal power and the Sunday law. In both the beginning and ending of the movement of the one hundred and forty-four thousand the increase of knowledge produces a three-step testing process, as represented in Daniel chapter twelve.
And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand. Daniel 12:9, 10.
As with all the sacred reform movements the three steps represented by Daniel as “purified, and made white, and tried” represent the waymark of the descent of a divine symbol, followed by the testing of a failed prediction, followed by a third litmus test which manifests the character of the two classes that are developed based upon their acceptance of, or their rejection of, the unsealed increase of knowledge. With the beginning of the movement of the one hundred and forty-four thousand, the three steps were September 11, 2001, followed by July 18, 2020, and then the Sunday law. At the ending of that very same movement the three steps are July 2023, the arrival of the Midnight Cry message and the Sunday law.
The message that prepares God’s people to stand that was unsealed in July 2023 contains several lines of prophetic truth, and included with those lines is Ezekiel’s dead dry bones in chapter thirty-seven. Ezekiel presents two messages. The first message brings the bones back together, but it was not until the second message that Israel stood upon its feet as a mighty army. The two witnesses of Revelation chapter eleven stood up when they were filled with the Holy Spirit.
And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. Revelation 11:11.
Ezekiel teaches the same truth.
And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee. And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me. Ezekiel 2:1, 2.
When Sister White says “by the increase of knowledge a people is to be prepared to stand in the latter days.” The increase of knowledge is identified as “oil” in the parable of the ten virgins, and the “oil” represents “the messages of God’s Spirit” and also “the Holy Spirit,” as well as “character.”
Between July 2023 and the soon-coming Sunday law there is an increase of knowledge that brings God’s people to life, and they stand up. They stand up representing that they have the “oil” of the message that was unsealed at that time. They stand up when they have the Holy Spirit within their vessels, and they stand up when they have a character prepared for the seal of God.
The first testing step that began in July 2023, was followed by a period that allows those candidates to accept or reject the oil. Those that accept are sealed and are then lifted up as an ensign at the soon-coming Sunday law. Those who reject the oil, receive strong delusion.
Those candidates were awakened out of spiritual sleep in July 2023, and they then were confronted with the final testing process before the close of their individual probation. The testing process was set within the context of a prophetic test associated with the formation of the image of the beast, during the time when those very candidates were to come back to life and form the image of Christ within. The prophetic structure where the test is to be accomplished is the history of 1989 unto the Sunday law. The inability of those candidates to wake up led the Lord to allow heresies to come in.
“God will arouse His people; if other means fail, heresies will come in among them, which will sift them, separating the chaff from the wheat. The Lord calls upon all who believe His word to awake out of sleep. Precious light has come, appropriate for this time. It is Bible truth, showing the perils that are right upon us. This light should lead us to a diligent study of the Scriptures and a most critical examination of the positions which we hold. God would have all the bearings and positions of truth thoroughly and perseveringly searched, with prayer and fasting.” Testimonies, volume 5, 708.
All the prophets address the last days, so in these last days, in July of 2023, the Lord attempted to “arouse” His people, but His efforts failed, and he allowed the first controversy over a symbol of Rome in Advent history to be repeated as a warning of the nearness of the end. He did this, even though “precious light” had “come, appropriate for this time.” The light that arrived in July 2023 is “Bible truth, showing the perils that are right upon us.” That light should have led “us to a diligent study of the Scriptures and a most critical examinations of the positions which we hold.”
The hidden history of verse forty is represented in verses ten through fifteen of Daniel eleven, for Alpha and Omega illustrated the end of Daniel’s final prophecy, with its beginning. Leading up to the disappointment of July 18, 2020, Satan had introduced confusion over verses ten through fifteen, for he knew the beginning of the chapter was the key to represent the end of the chapter. Then the original controversy of verse fourteen was introduced.
“There is nothing that the great deceiver fears so much as that we shall become acquainted with his devices.” The Great Controversy, 516.
It is obvious by the satanic attempts to confuse the meaning and purpose of those verses, that they are an important part of the testing process that is now sifting the candidates to be among the one hundred and forty-four thousand. Sister White emphasizes that the history represented in Daniel eleven that has been fulfilled before the time of the end in 1798 is repeated in the final six verses.
“We have no time to lose. Troublous times are before us. The world is stirred with the spirit of war. Soon the scenes of trouble spoken of in the prophecies will take place. The prophecy in the eleventh of Daniel has nearly reached its complete fulfillment. Much of the history that has taken place in fulfillment of this prophecy will be repeated.” Manuscript Releases, number 13, 394.
I contend that all the history represented in verses one through thirty-nine are repeated in the last six verses of the chapter. I also contend that the history of the last days, which is the history of the conclusion of the judgment which began on October 22, 1844, is represented with two primary prophetic periods. The first period represents the judgment that is accomplished upon the house of God, that is then followed by a period when judgment is accomplished for those outside of the house of God. The first period began in 1989 and ends at the Sunday law in the United States, which in turn marks the beginning of the second period which concludes when Michael stands up and human probation closes. The hidden history of verse forty also begins in 1989, and ends in verse forty-one, which is the Sunday law in the United States.
That is the same history as verse ten through fifteen of the same chapter. That history parallels the history of the Millerites from the time of the end in 1798, until judgment began on October 22, 1844. Those two histories run parallel with the prophetic history that began at the birth of Christ and concluded at the cross.
The history beginning in 1989, includes the testing period that began on September 11, 2001, as typified by the period of testing that began on August 11, 1840 and the testing period that began at Christ’s baptism. The formation of the image of the beast has been typified by several lines of prophetic history. One of those representations of the same period of time is the sealing time of the one hundred and forty-four thousand that began on September 11, 2001 and is finished at the soon coming Sunday law. The hidden history of verse forty can also be overlaid with the line of October 22, 1844 until the rebellion of 1863.
October 22, 1844 marked the arrival of the third angel. As with the arrival of any prophetic angel, he had a message which was to be eaten, but it was not to be; and Philadelphian Millerism changed unto Laodicean Millerism, in advance of 1863, when they formally took the name Seventh-day Adventist and began to wander in the wilderness of rebellion to this very day. The history of 1844 unto 1863 represents those who reject the calling to be among the one hundred and forty-four thousand. They are Daniel’s wicked in chapter twelve, Jeremiah’s assembly of mockers, John’s synagogue of Satan and Matthew’s foolish virgins.
The warning message represented by Christ as the “abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet” represents a warning to flee in advance of the destruction and scattering that is to follow. In the year 66 AD, the Roman general Cestius fulfilled that warning to the Christians of the era of pagan Rome. In the first century the apostle Paul recorded the same warning for the Christians that would suffer during the era of papal Rome. The warning for Sabbath-keepers to move out of the cities and live in the country came in 1888, the same year as the Blair Bill, the first attempt to establish Sunday as the National Day of Rest. The Blair Bill was the warning to flee in fulfillment of Christ’s reference of Daniel’s abomination of desolation.
As with Cestius in the year 66 AD, the Blair Bill was providentially withdrawn. 1888 typifies September 11, 2001, for Sister White marks the descent of the angel of Revelation eighteen in both histories. The warning to flee the cities in the last days became in force on September 11, 2001. Therefore, the Blair Bill of 1888, typified the Patriot Act of 2001. The angel who descended on September 11, 2001 proclaims the final warning message in the first three verses of Revelation eighteen, and the final warning message is also the third angel’s message, even though the message represented by the third angel in chapter fourteen is not the same expressions of truth as in chapter eighteen. Line upon line they are the same warning message.
The abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet was a sign given by Christ that identified when His people were to flee for their protection. It is a warning message, and therefore must be the final warning message, though it is expressed with different words than the message represented in chapter fourteen as well as chapter eighteen of Revelation. The history that begins in verse sixteen, of Jeremiah fifteen, is the same prophetic period of the warning testing message. It begins when Jeremiah eats God’s word, and that occurs when the angel descends, as He did when the great buildings of New York City came down.
When Jeremiah proclaims, “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart,” he represents Daniel’s first test upon diet in chapter one, and John in chapter ten of Revelation taking the book out of the angel’s hand and eating it. The eating of the message begins when an angel arrives, and when the angel arrives there is a testing prophecy that is unsealed. When the angel arrives the first testing period begins and it ends when the second testing period begins, and when Michael stands up, the second testing period ends.
When the angel arrives, the latter rain begins to fall.
“The latter rain is to fall upon the people of God. A mighty angel is to come down from heaven, and the whole earth is to be lighted with his glory.” Review and Herald, April 21, 1891.
The latter rain is received by those who walk in Jeremiah’s old paths.
Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein. Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken. Jeremiah 6:16, 17.
The “trumpet” the “watchmen” sound is the Laodicean message, that Jones and Waggoner presented in 1888.
Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. Isaiah 58:1.
On September 11, 2001 the sealing of the one hundred and forty-four thousand began. A warning message to Laodicea was proclaimed.
“The message given us by A. T. Jones, and E. J. Waggoner is the message of God to the Laodicean church, and woe be unto anyone who professes to believe the truth and yet does not reflect to others the God-given rays.” The 1888 Materials, 1053.
The warning to Laodicea is the sound of Jeremiah’s watchmen’s trumpet that the Laodicean Seventh-day Adventist church refuses to hear. It is the warning to flee the cities for country property in advance of the soon coming Sunday law.
What I just stated concerning these various prophetic lines, was an attempt to stimulate your discernment in an attempt to encourage you to truly test what I am about to write. Perhaps the most important characteristic of the image to and of the beast is that there are two formations of an image of and to the beast in the last days. The first, in the United States, and thereafter in the nations of the world.
There are certain prophetic characteristics associated with the image to and of the beast that are required to rightly apply if we are to navigate through the prophetic testing process of this image of Rome. A second important element of the testing period of the image of the beast (that can be shown on several witnesses), is that the sealing time of the one hundred and forty-four thousand occurs in the period of the image of the beast test in the United States, and that the period of the image of the beast test in the nations of the world is when God’s other children who are still in Babylon at the time of that Sunday law (represented by 321), are gathered into the fold.
The image of the beast represents two specific interconnected periods of testing time, and those two testing times also represent the final gathering of the one hundred and forty-four thousand of Revelation chapter seven, followed by the great multitude in the very same chapter.
At the Sunday law the United States speaks as a dragon in verse eleven of Revelation chapter thirteen. It then goes forth to deceive all the nations of the world saying to those nations that they should also make a worldwide image to the beast, as the United States just did. The period that begins at the Sunday law, represented by Constantine’s Sunday law of 321, ends when the final nation bows to papal Rome, where the Sunday law of 538 is represented, for in chapter thirteen the United States has the power to bring the image to the beast to life and cause it to speak. The period begins with the Sunday law of 321 and ends with the Sunday law of 538.
In 2001 the government of the United States “spoke” the Patriot Act into law.
We will continue this study in the next article.