Breaking the Beast

[David Kent]

View attachment 333861

Breaking the Beast
July 28, 2023


Purpose​

The purpose of this expository is to catch whoever will fulfill Biblical prophecy by killing the two witnesses in Jerusalem. First, it aims to expound on earlier prophecies.

Seventy Weeks and the Messiah​

“Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the wrongdoing, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for guilt, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy Place. So you are to know and understand that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, until Messiah the Prince, there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with streets and moat, even in times of distress. Then after the sixty-two weeks, the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined. And he will confirm a covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come the one who makes desolate, until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, gushes forth on the one who makes desolate (Dan. 9:24–27).”

The Day-Year Principle​

“Then you are to lie down on your left side and put the wrongdoing of the house of Israel on it; you shall bear their wrongdoing for the number of days that you lie on it. For I have assigned you a number of days corresponding to the years of their wrongdoing, 390 days; so you shall bear the wrongdoing of the house of Israel. When you have completed these days, you shall lie down a second time, but on your right side, and bear the wrongdoing of the house of Judah; I have assigned it to you for forty days, a day for each year (Eze. 4:4–6).”

1 prophetic day = 1 year

Jeroboam’s idolatry (976 BC) – 390 years (Eze. 4:5) = destruction of Solomon’s Temple (586 BC)

Crucifixion of Jesus (AD 30) + 40 years (Eze. 4:6) = destruction of Herod’s Temple (AD 70)

Seventy Weeks​

“Seventy weeks have been decreed…,” not 355 weeks.

70 weeks * 7 days/wk. = 490 days

490 days * 1 year/prophetic day = 490 years

355 weeks * 7 days/wk. = 2,485 days

2,485 days *1 year/prophetic day = 2,485 years

This prophecy was fulfilled by the Messiah, not by some future antichrist figure.

The Issuing of a Decree to Restore and Rebuild Jerusalem​

“So you are to know and understand that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, until Messiah the Prince, there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with streets and moat, even in times of distress (Dan. 9:25).”

Ezra Journeys from Babylon to Jerusalem​

“Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra went up to Jerusalem; Ezra was the son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, son of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub, son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of Meraioth, son of Zerahiah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki, son of Abishua, son of Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the chief priest. So this Ezra went up from Babylon, and he was a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given; and the king granted him all he requested because the hand of the Lord his God was upon him. Some of the sons of Israel and some of the priests, the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants went up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes [458 BC].

“And he came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king [458 BC]. For on the first day of the first month he began to go up from Babylon; and on the first of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, because the good hand of his God was upon him. For Ezra had firmly resolved to study the Law of the Lord and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel (Ezr. 7:1–10).”

King’s Decree on Behalf of Ezra​

“Now this is the copy of the letter which King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, learned in the words of the commandments of the Lord and His statutes to Israel: ‘Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, perfect peace. And now I have issued a decree that any of the people of Israel and their priests and the Levites in my kingdom who are willing to go to Jerusalem, may go with you. Since you are sent on the part of the king and his seven advisers to inquire about Judah and Jerusalem according to the Law of your God which is in your hand, and to bring the silver and gold, which the king and his advisers have voluntarily given to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem, with all the silver and gold which you find in the entire province of Babylon, along with the voluntary offering of the people and of the priests, who offered willingly for the house of their God which is in Jerusalem; with this money, therefore, you shall diligently buy bulls, rams, and lambs, with their grain offerings and their drink offerings, and offer them on the altar of the house of your God which is in Jerusalem. And whatever seems good to you and your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and gold, you may do according to the will of your God. Also the utensils which are given to you for the service of the house of your God, deliver in full before the God of Jerusalem. And the rest of the needs of the house of your God, for which it may be incumbent upon you to provide, provide for them from the royal treasury.

“I myself, King Artaxerxes, issue a decree to all the treasurers who are in the provinces beyond the Euphrates River, that whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, may require of you, it shall be done diligently, up to a hundred talents of silver, a hundred kors of wheat, a hundred baths of wine, a hundred baths of anointing oil, and salt as needed. Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven, it shall be done with zeal for the house of the God of heaven, so that there will not be wrath against the kingdom of the king and his sons. We also inform you that it is not allowed to impose tax, tribute, or toll on any of the priests, Levites, singers, doorkeepers, temple servants, or other servants of this house of God.

“And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God which is in your hand, appoint magistrates and judges so that they may judge all the people who are in the province beyond the Euphrates River, that is, all those who know the laws of your God; and you may teach anyone who is ignorant of them. And whoever does not comply with the Law of your God and the law of the king, judgment is to be executed upon him strictly, whether for death or for banishment, or for confiscation of property or for imprisonment (Ezr. 7:11–26).’”

Seven Weeks​

7 weeks * 7 days/wk. = 49 days

49 days * 1 year/prophetic day = 49 years

King’s decree on behalf of Ezra (458 BC) – 49 years (Dan. 9:25) = restoration and rebuilding of Jerusalem (409 BC)

Nehemiah’s Prayer Answered​

“And it came about in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes [445 BC], that wine was before him, and I picked up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence. So the king said to me, ‘Why is your face sad, though you are not ill? This is nothing but sadness of heart.’ Then I was very much afraid. And I said to the king, ‘May the king live forever. Why should my face not be sad when the city, the site of my fathers’ tombs, is desolate and its gates have been consumed by fire?’ Then the king said to me, ‘What would you request?’ So I prayed to the God of heaven. Then I said to the king, ‘If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor before you, I request that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.’ Then the king said to me, with the queen sitting beside him, ‘How long will your journey be, and when will you return?’ So it pleased the king to send me, and I gave him a definite time (Neh. 2:1–6).”

Nehemiah Inspects Jerusalem’s Walls​

“Then I said to them, ‘You see the bad situation we are in, that Jerusalem is desolate and its gates have been burned by fire. Come, let’s rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that we will no longer be a disgrace.’ And I told them how the hand of my God had been favorable to me and also about the king’s words which he had spoken to me. Then they said, ‘Let’s arise and build.’ So they put their hands to the good work (Neh. 3:17–18).”

The Wall Is Finished​

“So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of the month Elul [445 BC], in fifty-two days. When all our enemies heard about it, and all the nations surrounding us saw it, they lost their confidence; for they realized that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God (Neh. 6:15–16).”

The Restoration and Rebuilding of Jerusalem​

“… it will be built again, with streets and moat, even in times of distress (Dan. 9:25).”

The wall of Jerusalem was completed in 445 BC, but there is no mention of streets and a moat. The streets and moat would have been completed by 409 BC.

Messiah the Prince​

“So you are to know and understand that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, until Messiah the Prince, there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks (Dan. 9:25);”

Sixty-two Weeks​

62 weeks * 7 days/wk. = 434 days

434 days * 1 year/prophetic day = 434 years

Restoration and rebuilding of Jerusalem (409 BC) – 434 years (Dan. 9:26) = baptism of Jesus (AD 26)

The Messiah Cut Off​

“Then after the sixty-two weeks, the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing… (Dan. 9:26a).”

The Suffering Servant​

“He was oppressed and afflicted,
Yet He did not open His mouth;
Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,
And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,
So He did not open His mouth.
By oppression and judgment He was taken away;
And as for His generation, who considered
That He was cut off from the land of the living
For the wrongdoing of my people, to whom the blow was due?
And His grave was assigned with wicked men,
Yet He was with a rich man in His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was there any deceit in His mouth (Isa. 53:7–9).”

The Prince Who Is to Come​

“… and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined (Dan. 9:26b).”

The Destruction of Herod’s Temple​

Nero entrusted the job of crushing the rebellion in Judaea to Vespasian, a talented and unassuming general. In early AD 68, Roman General Vespasian landed at Ptolemais and began suppression of the revolt with operations in the Galilee. By July 69 all of Judea but Jerusalem had been pacified and the city, now hosting rebel leaders from all over the country, came under Roman siege. A fortified stronghold, it may have held for a significant amount of time, if not for the intense civil war that then broke out between moderates and Zealots.

In the summer of AD 69, Vespasian departed Judea for Rome and in December became Emperor. Command of the Roman legions passed to his son [Prince] Titus, who was now in charge of the siege of Jerusalem.

Following a brutal five-month siege, the Romans destroyed the city and the Second Jewish Temple. On Tisha B’Av, AD 70 (August 30), Roman forces finally overwhelmed the defenders and set fire to the Temple. Resistance continued for another month, but eventually the upper and lower parts of the city were taken as well, and the city was burned to the ground (Wikipedia).

A Stop to Sacrifice and the Grain Offering​

“And he will confirm a covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering… (Dan. 9:27a).”

1 week * 7 days/wk. = 7 days

7 days * 1 year/prophetic day = 7 years

Baptism of Jesus (AD 26) + 3 ½ years (Dan. 9:27) = crucifixion of Jesus (AD 30)

Crucifixion of Jesus (AD 30) + 3 ½ years (Dan. 9:27) = conversion of Paul (AD 33)

Christ, an Offering for Sin​

“For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit (Rom. 8:3–4).”

Conversion of Paul​

Council of Jerusalem (AD 50) – 14 years (Gal. 2:1) – 3 years (Gal. 1:18) = conversion of Paul (AD 33)

“Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas [Peter], and stayed with him for fifteen days (Gal. 1:18).”

“Then after an interval of fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along also (Gal. 2:1).”

A Covenant with the Many​

“This is what God the Lord says,

Who created the heavens and stretched them out,
Who spread out the earth and its offspring,
Who gives breath to the people on it
And spirit to those who walk in it:
‘I am the Lord, I have called You in righteousness,
I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You,
And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people,
As a light to the nations,
To open blind eyes,
To bring out prisoners from the dungeon
And those who dwell in darkness from the prison (Isa. 42:5–7).’”

A Light to the Gentiles​

“The next Sabbath nearly all the city assembled to hear the word of the Lord. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul, and were blaspheming. Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, ‘It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first. Since you repudiate it and consider yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us,

‘I have appointed You as a light to the Gentiles,
That You may bring salvation to the end of the earth (Acts 13:44–47).’”

It is not to anoint the most Holy place, but the Most Holy, the Lord Jesus.

 

[David Kent]

The Artaxerxes of Ezra is the same person as Darius.
Have you noticed that the book of Ezra jumps from the sixth year of Darius to the seventh year of Artaxexes.
EZRA 4 The temple was being constructed from the time of Cyrus till the first year of Artaxerxes (pseudo Smerdis amongst other names) till the 2nd year of Darius. It was completed in the 6th year of Darius, according to the decrees of Darius and Artaxerxes. This couldn't be the later Artaxerxes because he was decades later and couldn't be the earlier as his decree was to stop building.

So that Artaxerxes must have been a later name of Darius.

EZRA 6:12-15 So the elders of the Jews built, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they built and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the command of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia. Now the temple was finished on the third day of the month of Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.

Some older commentators say that should read Darius, even Artaxerxes.

 

[David Kent]

The First Trumpet​

“The first sounded, and there was hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled to the earth; and a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up (Rev. 8:7).”

The Second Trumpet​

“The second angel sounded, and something like a great mountain burning with fire was hurled into the sea; and a third of the sea became blood, and a third of the creatures which were in the sea and had life, died; and a third of the ships were destroyed (Rev. 8:8–9).”

The Third Trumpet​

“The third angel sounded, and a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of waters. The star is named Wormwood; and a third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the waters because they were made bitter (Rev. 8:10–11).”

The Fourth Trumpet​

“The fourth angel sounded, and a third of the sun, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars were struck, so that a third of them would be darkened and the day would not shine for a third of it, and the night in the same way (Rev. 8:12).”

The Fifth Trumpet​

“Then the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to the earth; and the key to the shaft of the abyss was given to him. He opened the shaft of the abyss, and smoke ascended out of the shaft like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened from the smoke of the shaft. Then out of the smoke came locusts upon the earth, and power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power. They were told not to hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. And they were not permitted to kill anyone, but to torment for five months; and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings a person. And in those days people will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, and death will flee from them (Rev. 9:1–6)!”

“Desert locusts can live for up to five months, depending on the weather and local conditions (DW).”

The Sixth Trumpet​

“Then the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, ‘Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.’ And the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released, so that they would kill a third of mankind. The number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them. And this is how I saw in my vision the horses and those who sat on them: the riders had breastplates the color of fire, of hyacinth, and of brimstone; and the heads of the horses are like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths came fire and smoke and brimstone. A third of mankind was killed by these three plagues, by the fire, the smoke, and the brimstone which came out of their mouths. For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents and have heads, and with them they do harm (Rev. 9:13–19).”

“The Second World War pitted two alliances against each other, the Axis powers and the Allied powers; the Soviet Union served 34 million men and women, Germany 18 million, the U.S 16 million, Japan 9 million, and Great Britain 6 million. It is estimated that in total, 127 million people were mobilized during the war (Wikipedia).”

The Two Witnesses​

“‘And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.’ These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. And if anyone wants to harm them, fire flows out of their mouth and devours their enemies; and so if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way. These have the power to shut up the sky, so that rain will not fall during the days of their prophesying; and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire (Rev. 11:3–6).”

“Then I said to him, ‘What are these two olive trees on the right of the lampstand and on its left?’ And I responded the second time and said to him, ‘What are the two olive branches which are beside the two golden pipes, which empty the golden oil from themselves?’ So he answered me, saying, ‘Do you not know what these are?’ And I said, ‘No, my lord.’ Then he said, ‘These are the two anointed ones, who are standing by the Lord of the whole earth (Zec. 4:11–14).’”

“As for the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches (Rev. 1:20).”

The Two Trees, Avraham Shaul and Sarah Letícia, have been prophesying in Jerusalem since February 26, 2022, clothed in sackcloth. On July 21, they prophesied that it would not rain in Jerusalem. It did not rain at all from July 21, 2022 until October 20, 2022. They again prophesied that it would not rain in Jerusalem on October 26. The winter of 2022-23 was Israel’s driest in almost 60 years as rainfall dropped significantly compared to the year before, according to data released by the Israel Meteorological Service.

The Yad Hanna stream, which leads to Israel’s Alexander River and, eventually the Mediterranean Sea, churned with blood, feathers and other chicken parts caused by “one or more Palestinian slaughterhouses in the northern West Bank city of Tulkarem” the week of May 10, 2020, according to the Times of Israel.

Globally, as of 10:16 a.m. ET, May 3, 2023, there have been 765,222,932 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 6,921,614 deaths, reported to WHO.

“When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them. And their dead bodies will lie on the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified (Rev. 11:7–8).”

“The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction. And those who live on the earth, whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will wonder when they see the beast, that he was, and is not, and will come (Rev. 17:8).”

“The beast which was, and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction (Rev. 17:11).”

Hi Michael, that doesn't fit into your day=year of your previous post . 1260 days = 1260 years
Just saying.

 

[honey badger]

love this picture

 

[David Kent]

Probably one of the few things preterists are right on.

Preterists and Historicists agree on some things which have we agree on. What we don't agree on is that revelation was completed or mostly completed before AD 70.
Historicists do not agree with futurists on practically everything.
Is dispensationalism a cult. I think that in many cases it is, when they say that if you dont believe their interpretation, then you are an heretic, as I have been called when disagreed with them at times,.

Even someone who was a friend preached at my former church. He said that when jesus comes as in acts 1:11 "Jesus was coming only to Jews as the angel was speaking to Jews." He was actually speaking to Christians. I asked him afterwards, "Where are Christians at that time?" He said "In heaven," then said "you don't believe the scriptures." He then turned on his heel and walked away as quickly as he could.

 

[Douggg]

Historicists do not agree with futurists on practically everything.

David, I agree.

Is dispensationalism a cult. I think that in many cases it is, when they say that if you dont believe their interpretation, then you are an heretic, as I have been called when disagreed with them at times,.

I am not a dipensationalist, myself.

Allow me to say something positive, we can both agree upon.... God keeps His Word.

 

[anetazo]

Amen if this is accurate?
Revelation, chapter 6, six seal, chapter 9, six trump, and chapter 16, six vial. The number 666 is antichrist. Satan as antichrist will come 6th trump to Jerusalem.
Revelation chapter 9, it's 5 month period.
Antichrist will stop holy communion to cease during tribulation. Many biblically illiterate Christians will think antichrist is messiah.
False brethren are doing much damage. Misleading Christian people.
Galatians chapter 5 warns us of false brethren. Many hirelings are withholding the truth from people.
Student's of the bible need to buy king James companion bible and STRONGS concordance.
Why ? The old testament is written in Hebrew. New testament in Greek. You have tools to go back to the original language.
I have king James companion bible and STRONGS concordance.
MATSTSAH in Hebrew means = Passover. Antichrist tribulation will cease holy communion.
HUPERECHO in Greek means = Excel, exceed. Student's should have spirtual growth, not stagnation.
PSEUDO CHRISTOS in Greek means = false christ.
YADA in Hebrew means = discern, knowledge, understanding. Without spirtual growth and knowledge of Gods word, majority will worship antichrist in ignorance.

 

[WhoIsLikeGod?]

Hi Michael, that doesn't fit into your day=year of your previous post . 1260 days = 1260 years
Just saying.

The first six trumpets occur somewhere between the seven seals and the rapture; there is no chronological timeframe for them. The six seals were centered around the crisis of the third century. The rapture is the seventh trumpet. I believe the sixth trumpet was WWII because almost 200 million troops were mobilized, and probably more were involved in that war than were recorded.

In 1941, Iraq was seated on the Tigris and Euphrates.

The 1941 Iraqi coup d'état, also called the Golden Square coup, was a nationalist coup d'état in Iraq on 1 April 1941 that overthrew the pro-British regime of Regent 'Abd al-Ilah and his Prime Minister Nuri al-Said and installed Rashid Ali al-Gaylani as Prime Minister.

The coup was led by four Iraqi nationalist army generals, known as "the Golden Square", who intended to use the war to press for full Iraqi independence following the limited independence granted in 1932. To that end, they worked with German intelligence and accepted military assistance from Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. The change in government led to the British invasion of Iraq and subsequent occupation until 1947.

The 1,260 years were from AD 688 and 1948. Since the trumpets have no timeframe, there is no contradiction.

 

[David Kent]

If you take the 200,000,000 literally, theln you will have to take the horsemen literally. If you take the horsemen as motorised then you have many more infantry. The traditional historical view is that of large nation known as horsemen, such as those on the Asian plains. Not that would be all at once, but representative.

The 200,000,000 were one army.

Revelation 9:16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.

 

[WhoIsLikeGod?]

The Artaxerxes of Ezra is the same person as Darius.
Have you noticed that the book of Ezra jumps from the sixth year of Darius to the seventh year of Artaxexes.
EZRA 4 The temple was being constructed from the time of Cyrus till the first year of Artaxerxes (pseudo Smerdis amongst other names) till the 2nd year of Darius. It was completed in the 6th year of Darius, according to the decrees of Darius and Artaxerxes. This couldn't be the later Artaxerxes because he was decades later and couldn't be the earlier as his decree was to stop building.

So that Artaxerxes must have been a later name of Darius.

EZRA 6:12-15 So the elders of the Jews built, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they built and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the command of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia. Now the temple was finished on the third day of the month of Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.

Some older commentators say that should read Darius, even Artaxerxes.

Using Ptolemy's Canon of Kings, we see that

Persian Kings, 539–332 BC​

• Cyrus: 539–530 BC
• Cambyses: 530–522 BC
• Darius I: 522–486 BC
• Xerxes I: 486–465 BC
• Artaxerxes I: 465–424 BC
• Darius II: 423–405 BC
• Artaxerxes II: 405–359 BC
• Artaxerxes III (Ochus): 359–338 BC
• Arses (Arogus): 338–336 BC
• Darius III: 336–330 BC

Thus Artaxerxes reigned from 465 to 424 BC and Darius reigned from 424 to 405 BC. The 7th year of Artaxerxes was 458 BC and the 6th year of Darius was 417 BC .

Ezra 1:1 says that construction began in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, which was after Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem the articles of the house of the Lord and put in the house of his gods (Ezr. 1:7), so it must have been 538 BC.

The "days of Artaxerxes" were 465–424 BC.

The temple was completed in the 6th year of Darius, 417 BC.

 

[WhoIsLikeGod?]

If you take the 200,000,000 literally, theln you will have to take the horsemen literally. If you take the horsemen as motorised then you have many more infantry. The traditional historical view is that of large nation known as horsemen, such as those on the Asian plains. Not that would be all at once, but representative.

The 200,000,000 were one army.

Revelation 9:16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.

I will not have to take the horsemen literally. Who says that if I take one aspect literally, I have have to take all aspects literally? Is that your rule?

My NASB version of Rev. 9:16 says "The number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them." Armies, not army. That is the most literal American translation of the Bible.

 

[WhoIsLikeGod?]

Amen if this is accurate?
Revelation, chapter 6, six seal, chapter 9, six trump, and chapter 16, six vial. The number 666 is antichrist. Satan as antichrist will come 6th trump to Jerusalem.
Revelation chapter 9, it's 5 month period.
Antichrist will stop holy communion to cease during tribulation. Many biblically illiterate Christians will think antichrist is messiah.
False brethren are doing much damage. Misleading Christian people.
Galatians chapter 5 warns us of false brethren. Many hirelings are withholding the truth from people.
Student's of the bible need to buy king James companion bible and STRONGS concordance.
Why ? The old testament is written in Hebrew. New testament in Greek. You have tools to go back to the original language.
I have king James companion bible and STRONGS concordance.
MATSTSAH in Hebrew means = Passover. Antichrist tribulation will cease holy communion.
HUPERECHO in Greek means = Excel, exceed. Student's should have spirtual growth, not stagnation.
PSEUDO CHRISTOS in Greek means = false christ.
YADA in Hebrew means = discern, knowledge, understanding. Without spirtual growth and knowledge of Gods word, majority will worship antichrist in ignorance.

anetazo,

666 is the number of the name of the beast from the Earth. According to Daniel 7:23, a beast is a kingdom. So it's the number of the name of a kingdom. That name is the World Wide Web, whose number is 666. The sixth letter of the Hebrew alphabet is "waw," and it has a numerical value of 6, like the Roman numeral v is a 5.

The 6th seal refers to the "kings of the Earth," being plural and referring to many kings all over the earth, not one specific kingdom. The 6th trumpet refers to the Tigris and Euphrates, today being occupied by the state of Iraq. The 6th vial refers to the Euphrates again, but, with no connection between the sixth seal and the other two, there is no connection between these catastrophes and a kingdom.

The number 666 is the number of a man. One man from London invented the World Wide Web in 1989. An antichrist is anyone who denies the Father and the Son (1 Jn. 2:22). The idea of Satan being manifested as a man on Earth before the millennial reign is new age and desperate to fit unrelated scriptures together.

The locusts in Rev. 9 have power to torment those who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads for 5 months. A desert locust's lifespan is 5 months.

The great tribulation (Mat. 24:21) is equivalent to the times of the Gentiles (Luk. 21:24). Both terms were used by Jesus for the same event in his Olivet Discourse.

The great tribulation is not a future event.

Compare Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21. These 3 versions of the same discourse are very similar. They each capture some elements of the whole:

Matthew 24 / Mark 13 / Luke 21
(v. 15) abomination of desolation / (v. 14) abomination of desolation / (v. 20) Jerusalem's desolation
(v. 16) flee to the mountains / (v. 14) flee to the mountains / (v. 21) flee to the mountains
(v. 17–18) don't go back / (v. 15–16) don't go back / (v. 22) days of punishment
(v. 19) woe to those women who are pregnant / (v. 17) woe to those women who are pregnant / (v. 23) woe to those women who are pregnant
(v. 20) pray / (v. 18) pray
(v. 21) great tribulation / (v. 19) great tribulation / (v. 24) times of the Gentiles
(v. 22) days will be cut short / (v. 20) He shortened the days
(v. 23–24) false christs and false prophets / (v. 21–22) false christs and false prophets
(v. 25) I have told you in advance / (v. 23) I have told you everything in advance
(v. 26) do not believe them
(v. 27) the coming of the Son of Man
(v. 28) vultures

Mat. 24:21, Mrk. 13:19, and Luk. 21:24 are all describing the same event. Revelation 11:2 provides the length of time of the times of the Gentiles:

"Leave out the courtyard which is outside the temple and do not measure it, because it has been given to the nations; and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months."

The Hebrew calendar uses a year of 12 months of 30 days each. Forty-two months x 30 days/month = 1,260 days.

Ezekiel 4:4–6 establishes the day-year principle. 1,260 days actually refers to 1,260 years. The nations (Gentiles) trampled Jerusalem underfoot for 1,260 years, from the construction of the Dome of the Rock (the abomination of desolation) in AD 688 until the Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948. These are known as the times of the Gentiles and the great tribulation. They cover the same period.

So to say that the great tribulation is a future event is wrong.

Also Jesus abolished the daily sacrifice, not some future antichrist figure. He did so by submitting his body to crucifixion and becoming that sacrifice for you and I. And holy communion isn't only taken during Passover.

 

[David Kent]

Using Ptolemy's Canon of Kings, we see that

Persian Kings, 539–332 BC​

• Cyrus: 539–530 BC
• Cambyses: 530–522 BC
• Darius I: 522–486 BC
• Xerxes I: 486–465 BC
• Artaxerxes I: 465–424 BC
• Darius II: 424–405 BC
• Artaxerxes II: 405–359 BC
• Artaxerxes III (Ochus): 359–338 BC
• Arses (Arogus): 338–336 BC
• Darius III: 336–330 BC

Thus Darius reigned from 522 to 486 BC and Artaxerxes reigned from 465 to 424 BC. The 6th year of Darius was 516 BC and the 7th year of Artaxerxes was 458 BC.

Ezra 1:1 says that construction began in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, which was after Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem the articles of the house of the Lord and put in the house of his gods (Ezr. 1:7), so it must have been 538 BC.

The temple was completed in the 6th year of Darius, 516 BC.

The days of Artaxerxes were some time later.

"And in the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his colleagues wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia (Ezr. 4:7)..."

This book, Ezra, was written in its earliest version around 440 BC. Quotations and narratives can be ordered differently than they appear in history when written decades after the events occurred.

Who is Artaxerxes in Ezra 4:7

Which Artaxerxes gave the command for the temple to be built, Ezra 6:14?

 

[WhoIsLikeGod?]

Who is Artaxerxes in Ezra 4:7

Which Artaxerxes gave the command for the temple to be built, Ezra 6:14?

The Artaxerxes in Ezra 4:7 was Artaxerxes I (r. 465–424 BC).

The Darius in Ezra 4:24 was Darius II (r. 423–405 BC). The sixth year of his reign was 417 BC (Ezr. 6:15), the year the temple was completed.

The Artaxerxes in Ezra 6:14 was Artaxerxes I (r. 465–424 BC). Surely you wound't say that both Artaxerxes and Darius were later names of Cyrus, would you? Here they are listed together with a logical "and" operator, not synonymous with each other.

 

[David Kent]

The Caesars claimed divinity from what I have read.

They did. So do the popes, the current emperors.

 

[David Kent]

The Artaxerxes in Ezra 4:7 was Artaxerxes I (r. 465–424 BC).

The Darius in Ezra 4:24 was Darius II (r. 423–405 BC). The sixth year of his reign was 417 BC (Ezr. 6:15), the year the temple was completed.

The Artaxerxes in Ezra 6:14 was Artaxerxes I (r. 465–424 BC). Surely you wound't say that both Artaxerxes and Darius were later names of Cyrus, would you? Here they are listed together with a logical "and" operator, not synonymous with each other.

I thought I had replied to this yesterday I couldn't have saved it.

Darius1 (The great ) overthrew the magi, It was in the reign of this Darius that the temple was completed in his 6th year according to his decree and that of Artaxerxes. Artaxerxes Longimanus did not command the temple to be built, it was built about 80 years before his day. From the going forth of God's decree by Cyrus, till the day the temple was built was about 49 years, during which it was built in troublous times, long before Artaxerxes 1

If Artaxerxes in Ezra 4 7 was Artaxerxes Longimanus 1, who was the king before him Ahasuerus?

You still haven't explained why Ezra 6 jumps about 80 years to Ezra 7. Or why it jumps from the 6th year of Darius to the 7th year of Artaxexes in just a few verses.
NB. Herodotus and others say Darius meant merchant, Xerxes meant warrior and Artaxerxes meant great warrior.

Martin Anstey in his The Romance of Bible Chronology 1913, that in his 6th year Darius made many conquests against the Greek islands and was given the title of Artaxerxes, which seems to be a Greek word.

 

[David Kent]

Martin Anstey The Romance of Bible Chronology 1913, available as pdf download from openlibrary.org but you can read it online .

there are two volumes, the second is charts.

 

[David Kent]

The Artaxerxes in Ezra 4:7 was Artaxerxes I (r. 465–424 BC).

The Darius in Ezra 4:24 was Darius II (r. 423–405 BC). The sixth year of his reign was 417 BC (Ezr. 6:15), the year the temple was completed.

The Artaxerxes in Ezra 6:14 was Artaxerxes I (r. 465–424 BC). Surely you wound't say that both Artaxerxes and Darius were later names of Cyrus, would you? Here they are listed together with a logical "and" operator, not synonymous with each other.

That doesn't make sense. Artaxerxes in Ezra 4 :7 ordered to building to stop and was not started again till 2nd year of Darius, but you say that this Artaxerxes ordered the temple to be built.

 

[WhoIsLikeGod?]

That doesn't make sense. Artaxerxes in Ezra 4 :7 ordered to building to stop and was not started again till 2nd year of Darius, but you say that this Artaxerxes ordered the temple to be built.

Artaxerxes wrote a decree to restore & rebuild Jerusalem in 458 BC. Sometime after that (Ezr. 4:21), he wrote a decree to stop work on the city. Yes. The same Artaxerxes ordered the city to be restored & rebuilt and for work on it to be stopped.

 

[David Kent]

But the first Artaxerxes stopped the work that Cyrus authorised until the 2nd year of Darius, then it was finished in the 6th year of Darius, then Artaxerxes authorised Nehemiah to repair the walls.

You didnt answer my other question: Who was Ahasuerus in Ezra 4:6?