Corporate and Personal Intercession Ends
You may wonder how the Antichrist can take away the daily intercession from Jesus during the appointed time of the end. The termination of the daily happens
twice because daily services in Heaven’s temple involves atonement at two altars. The corporate altar is called the Altar of Incense and its services will be concluded first. (
Daniel 12:11;
Revelation 8:2-5) The individual altar is called the Altar of Burnt Offering and its services will be terminated at the seventh trumpet. (
Daniel 8:11-13;
Revelation 11:15-19). The corporate daily ends when the
majority of the world stands in rebellion against the authority of God. As it was in the days of Noah; God’s patience will come to an end. We know His patience can come to an end
with a city of people (e.g., Sodom and Gomorrah)
or with the whole world as it did in Noah’s day. When this happens, He sends a series of judgments to destroy those who have exhausted His grace. (Genesis 6;
Revelation 7:1-4 and
8:2-13) On the individual level, the termination of the daily is similar: When the devil leads a person to finally commit the unpardonable sin (persistently rejecting the demands of the Holy Spirit) God’s patience with that person comes to an end and God turns that person over to be subject to the devil. (
Matthew 12:31,
32;
Hebrews 10:26) When a person, a nation, or the whole world refuses to surrender to the clearest evidences of God’s will, Jesus will no longer offer intercession for them. Why should He? For this reason, Jesus’ corporate intercession for Babylon, Medo-Persia, Grecia, and Rome ended and the kingdoms fell. (See Daniel 5.)
We see a parallel on the individual level as well. During the Great Tribulation, God will empower His servants, the 144,000, to proclaim the terms and conditions of salvation to every nation, kindred, tongue and people. The Antichrist will lead the wicked of Earth into committing the unpardonable sin. He will lead them to rebel against the authority of God and despise the generous offer of salvation from Jesus. (
2 Thessalonians 2:11,
12;
Romans 1:18-32;
Hebrews 10:29) Thus, the daily intercession of Jesus on behalf of the world and individuals will be taken away.
Some people will not voluntarily go along with the devil’s schemes. God knows this and He empowers the Antichrist to bring an end to Christ’s intercession by forcing people to make a hard choice. There will be no middle ground. The devil will require worship (obedience) and all who refuse to submit to his assumed authority are to be killed. (
Revelation 13:15) The "salvation" which the Antichrist offers will be the temporal privilege of obtaining the necessities of life during the final days of the Great Tribulation. In other words, if a person chooses to join forces with the devil and receive the mark of the beast, that person will be able to buy and sell so that he can survive. If a person refuses the mark of the beast, that person will be shut off from all earthly means of survival to starve or be killed. When every decision for or against salvation has been made, the daily intercession of Jesus ends.
Gabriel also said, ". . . and the place of his [Jesus’] sanctuary was brought low." The exalted ministry of man’s Savior in Heaven’s temple will become a matter of mockery (brought low through contempt). During the Great Tribulation, a majority of people will be convinced the devil is God! (2 Thessalonians 2) In other words, the unseen ministry and temple of Jesus in Heaven will not be able to compete with the dazzling show of miracles which the Antichrist conducts. However, the heavenly temple will be physically displayed to everyone living on Earth after the daily has ended. (
Revelation 11:19)
Rebellion Will Overtake the World
Consider this next verse: "Because of rebellion, the host of the saints and the daily sacrifice were given over to it [the Antichrist]. It prospered in everything it did, and truth was thrown to the ground." (
Daniel 8:12) This verse aligns with many details in Revelation. The following is a short scenario of this verse:
When the Great Tribulation begins, the Holy Spirit will be poured out on all nations and people. The purpose of the Spirit’s influence is to pry open every heart to receive the gospel message that God’s servants, the 144,000, will present. Jesus will send the Holy Spirit for one purpose, to save as many people as possible. Sadly, billions of people will refuse to submit to the demands of the Holy Spirit, and they will choose rebellion (lawlessness) against God. When the advance of the gospel stalls, God allows "the stern-face king," the destroyer, to physically appear. The mission of the Antichrist is to deceive and destroy. As the devil’s popularity grows (it starts out small), the wicked people of Earth will be divided into two camps. One camp will be the "religious wicked" and the other camp will consist of wicked people who want nothing to do with the devil. They just want him to go away and leave them alone. The "religious wicked" will be people like the Pharisees in Christ’s day who stubbornly hang on to false religion. These people would rather believe that Lucifer is God than to submit to the authority of Jesus Christ. These people appear to be religious, but they do not love truth. They do not even love God. These are people who chase miraculous signs instead of searching for truth. The other camp, the "non-religious wicked," consists of people like Hitler and Stalin who have no use for God and they detest Lucifer’s heavy handed ways. They will not accept the authority and dominion of the Antichrist. The "non-religious wicked" are represented in
Daniel 11:36-12:3 as the kingdom of the South. In other words, the kingdom of the South is poles apart from the kingdom of the North. The Antichrist will use their rebellion against his authority to justify their destruction. Of course, the devil will destroy many saints for the same reason. The war described in the sixth trumpet (Revelation 9) is conducted to establish Lucifer’s undisputed dominion over Earth. (
Revelation 9:13-21) Revelation says the devil and his angels will kill one-third of mankind (the non-religious wicked). When he has gained control of Earth, the devil will divide up the spoils of Earth and he will appoint ten kings to rule over ten sectors. His puppet kings will control Earth. The surviving saints will run for their lives and hide in the desolate places of Earth. God will feed and sustain them just as He did Elijah. (
1 Kings 17:6) With this setting in mind, consider Daniel’s words again. I have inserted phrases that complete the ideas already presented: "[At the time of the end] It [the horn power, the Antichrist will] set itself up to be as great as the Prince of the host [Jesus]; it took away the [need for the] daily sacrifice from him, and the [exalted purpose or] place of his [intercession for sinners in Heaven’s] sanctuary was brought low [ridiculed]. Because of [extensive] rebellion, the host of the saints [*were defeated] and the daily sacrifice were given over to it [brought to an end]. It [the Antichrist] prospered in everything it did, and truth was thrown to the ground [because truth was despised]." (
Daniel 8:11,
12, insertions mine.)
Arrogance and Blasphemy
"He [the Antichrist] will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior [above the gods of all religions]. When they [his followers] feel secure [in his lies], he will destroy many [the non-religious-wicked] and take his stand against the Prince of princes [Jesus]. Yet he will be destroyed [by the sword that comes out of the mouth of Jesus], but not by human power." (
Daniel 8:25, insertions mine ) The following specification about the horn power cannot be overlooked: "The king [of the North] will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of things against the God of gods. He will be successful until
the time of wrath is completed, for what has been [pre-]determined must take place. . . . He [the Antichrist] will pitch his royal tents between the seas at the beautiful holy mountain. Yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him." (
Daniel 11:36,
45)
Four elements stand out in these verses.
- Jesus Himself destroys the horn power in Daniel 8. (Daniel 8:25; 2 Thessalonians 2:8)
- The horn power of Daniel 8 will lead the whole world into a great deception. (Daniel 8:25; Revelation 13:14)
- The horn power of Daniel 8 will exalt himself above all of the gods that people worship. (Daniel 8:25, 11:36; 2 Thessalonians 2:4)
- The Antichrist will pitch his royal tents "between the seas at the beautiful holy mountain."
Daniel indicates the devil will establish a throne in Jerusalem. What better way to stop the controversies between Christians, Arabs and Jews? The term "holy mountain" is used several times in the Old Testament as a reference to Jerusalem (the city of God, Mount Zion, Mount Moriah, etc.). It is well known that Jews, Muslims and Christians have roots in this ancient city. Perhaps the best reason for interpreting this specification just as it reads is that at the end, two kings will take their stand against each other. The stern-faced king of Daniel 8 establishes his kingdom and rules from ancient Jerusalem. The King of kings, however, will rule from His city, New Jerusalem. This is good news! The stern-faced king will come to his end and no one among the wicked will be left to help him!
Gabriel’s Final Words
"The vision of the evenings and mornings that has been given you is true, but seal up the vision, for it concerns the distant future." (
Daniel 8:26) With these words, Gabriel left Daniel. It is interesting that Gabriel gave this vision a title. While the prophetic sequence concerns a ram, a goat, the appointed time of the end and a stern-faced king, Gabriel called it "The vision of the [2,300] evenings and mornings." Evidently, Gabriel used this title to highlight the critical element within this vision. The most important element in Daniel 8 is the daily services in Heaven’s temple. The daily intercession of Jesus is the
only thing that protects mankind from God’s wrath and the wrath of the destroyer! Even the words, 2,300 evenings and mornings reflects the time of day when
daily temple services were conducted. The date for cleansing Heaven’s temple was given in temple language! The bottom line in Daniel 8 is that a time is coming when the stern-faced king (the Antichrist) will cause Jesus’ daily intercession to cease. This is the worst possible thing that can happen to Earth’s inhabitants, because when Jesus terminates His intercession on behalf of sinners, the seven bowls of God’s wrath will be poured out without mercy. (Revelation 15 and 16)
Daniel was deeply distressed and very disturbed after seeing this vision. He did not understand what he had seen, but he did recognize enough to know the world would continue to spiral downward until Lucifer himself would be released upon humanity. The thought of this must have made him sick. Daniel writes, " I, Daniel, was exhausted and lay ill for several days. Then I got up and went about the king’s business. I was appalled by the vision; it was beyond understanding." (
Daniel 8:27)
Source: L. Wilson, study on Daniel eight.