Introduction These transcripts are from Kay Arthur's lectures on the old course on Daniel and not the new lecture series circa 2006. They are provided as a service to the body of Christ with the written permission of Precept Ministries International. This material is the property of Precept Ministries International and all rights are reserved.
The transcripts are for the most part verbatim with deletions identified by the characters (...). The utilization of italics, bolding, hyperlinks and pop up notes represent editorial additions. Any written additions are identified by the designation "Ed note". All references are the NASB unless otherwise indicated.
Please note that these lectures by Kay Arthur supplement the excellent Precept Upon Precept inductive Bible study on the Daniel. Click on the link below and note that you can download lesson 1 free of charge.
Below are links to the excellent Precept study of the Revelation. If you are planning on doing this four part study, I would strongly encourage you to first complete the Daniel study, as knowledge of the prophecies in Daniel is critical to a full understanding of the prophecies in the Revelation. Note that for each part, you may download a PDF of lesson one at no charge.
If you can find a local Precept class studying Revelation, I would strongly encourage you to join the class, as I know of no other study available anywhere in the world that will equip you so thoroughly to discern the signs of the times and cause you to live expectantly as you look for Christ's Return!
Related Resources:
- Daniel Resources from literal perspective
- Revelation Resources from a literal perspective
- Great Tribulation
- Day of the Lord
- Daniel's Seventieth Week - chart
- Daniel's Seventieth Week Charted Parallel with other Daniel prophecies
- Millennium 1 - Early Church drift from literal interpretation of Rev 20
- Millennium 2 - Context & events leading up to Millennium
- Millennium 3 - How OT describes Millennial Messianic Age
- Daniel 1 Commentary
- Daniel 2 Commentary -- Da 2:1-23
- Daniel 2 Commentary(2) -- Da 2:24-49
- Daniel 3 Commentary
- Daniel 4 Commentary
- Daniel 5 Commentary
- Daniel 6 Commentary
- Daniel 7 Commentary(1) -- Da 7:1-6
- Daniel 7 Commentary(2) -- Da 7:7-14
- Daniel 7 Commentary(3) -- Da 7:15-28
- Daniel 8 Commentary
- Daniel 9 Commentary(1)
- Daniel 9:24 Commentary
- Daniel 9:25 Commentary
- Daniel 9:26 Commentary
- Daniel 9:27 Commentary
- Daniel 10 Commentary
- Daniel 11 Commentary(1) -- Da 11:1-19
- Daniel 11 Commentary(2) -- Da 11:20-45
- Daniel 12 Commentary
Timeline of Jewish and Gentile History According to Daniel - Printable Pdf Chart - This chart summarizes Daniel 2, 7, 8, 9, 10-12 with Dates of the 4 World Empires, the time gap, the return of Jesus and the relationship to the Times of the Gentiles.
Click for Chart Summarizing Scriptures that parallel the last half of Daniel's 70th Week
A group of so called ''Biblical scholars'' known as the Jesus Seminar after assessing what they considered the teachings of the historical Jesus concluded that Jesus did not say He would return to earth and usher in a New Age. The Jesus Seminar members stated that...
''Predictions of a second coming were put on Jesus' lips later by followers and gospel writers''
DID JESUS SAY THE KINGDOM OF GOD HAD COME?
Yes, He did because of the miracles He was doing and because of the demons He was casting out. But was there another kingdom to come or a kingdom related to that kingdom or was there a different aspect of the kingdom to come? That's what we will look at today so that you can know how to live in the light of His coming. The Jesus Seminar ''scholars'' said that Jesus made contradictory statements...they said that Jesus can't say the Kingdom is here and is also to come in the future.
How important it is then that you and I in these LAST DAYS know our God.
Daniel 11:32b says that
"... the people who KNOW their God will display strength and take action.''
And from Daniel 2 we can know that "the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth". This prophecy parallels the Daniel 7:13 promise that "One like a Son of Man was coming". Daniel 2:44 states that "in the days of those kings (the 10 toe stage of Nebuchadnezzar's statue) the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed". The little horn that arises from the 10 horns (10 kingdoms) will have his "dominion... taken away, annihilated and destroyed forever" (Daniel 7:26).
"Then the sovereignty, the dominion, and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him" (Daniel 7:27)
When the woman (Israel) of Revelation 12:1-6 gave birth to a male child (Jesus the Messiah) the Roman Empire was ruling the world. Rome remained in power through the death of Jesus Christ. Scripture records that Roman soldiers put Him on the Cross, took Him off the Cross and guarded His tomb after death. After Jesus' death He appeared to many (500 brethren at one time 1Cor 15:6). Then Jesus appeared with His disciples on the Mount of Olives and they asked Him...
"when they had come together..."Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the Kingdom to Israel?" (Acts 1:6)
Although Jesus had begun his ministry with the proclamation ''Repent because the Kingdom of God is at hand'' (Mt 4:17), He did not come the first time to rule over the earth but to serve as the sacrificial Lamb of God Who would take away the sins of the world. Yes, the King had proclaimed the Kingdom of God. He had demonstrated the power of the Kingdom of God in casting out demons who were subject to Him. However He did not establish the Kingdom wherein He would literally rule as King of kings and Lord of lords. Instead Jesus, the Good Shepherd, came to call out His sheep who would believe on Him so that He would indwell them after the Spirit had come at Pentecost. The mystery of the Gospel is Christ in you the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27). He would indwell ever genuine believer. We would become His children and live with Him forever and ever. At this time prior to His ascension, Jesus answers His disciple's question about the timing of HIS KINGDOM as follows:
He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; (Jesus did not say that He would not send the Kingdom.) 8 but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth. " 9 And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was departing, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them; 11 and they also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? THIS JESUS, (THIS HISTORIC JESUS Who became the Son of Man) Who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven." (Acts 1:7-11)
How do He Ascend? (1) bodily (2) visibly (3) in a cloud. Thus He will come again.
DID THIS TAKE THE DISCIPLES BY SURPRISE?
It should not have been a surprise for in John 14 in the upper room, Jesus predicted to His disciples that He was going to be glorified and then He says
"Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I WILL COME AGAIN, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. (John 14:1-3)
So Jesus is telling the disciples that He must go away but that He will come again and that He will receive them to Himself so that they could be where He was. So the disciples were not surprised at what the angel said in Acts 1:11. But Jesus had told them much more...
Matthew 24:1-3 occurs just prior to Jesus' crucifixion. the disciples questioned Him, Matthew recording...
And Jesus came out from the temple and was going away when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. And He answered and said to them, "Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here shall be left upon another, which will not be torn down." And as He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"
Jesus "answered" by warning His disciples not to be misled (Matthew 24:4) and then after some preliminary signs, He explained to them the sign of the end explaining that...
15 when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place( let the reader understand)...21 for then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall.
So Rome was ruling when Jesus was born, crucified and ascended into heaven. And a future revived ROME will be ruling when there is a great persecution of the saints at a time when the LITTLE HORN will be ruling, and persecuting the saints for 3.5 years until the ANCIENT OF DAYS comes (John 10:30 ''I and the Father are one.''). So Jesus is God and is the Ancient of Days and God the Son will come and He will set up a KINGDOM if we one reads Daniel 2 and Daniel 7 literally. To re-iterate, Daniel teaches us that the persecution of the saints ends when a kingdom is set up and the saints of the Most High possess that kingdom.
Describes the beast with 7 heads, 10 horns and 10 diadems on the 10 horns. This beast is energized, empowered by Satan just as Rome had been energized by Satan (Herod trying to destroy Jesus at His birth).
Revelation 17:10 says that there
"are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while."
The "one is" is Rome, the one that is in existence at the time of the writing of Revelation, the "five...fallen" are Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persian, Greece and the "other...not yet come" is the revived Roman Empire. Out of the revived Roman Empire come 10 horns and then a LITTLE HORN who makes 11 horns who conquers 3 horns so he remains as the 8th horn, who eventually is defeated by the returning Messiah, fulfilling John's prophecy in...
Revelation 17:11 "And the beast (the little horn of Daniel 7) which was and is not, is himself also an eighth, and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction."
But before he goes to destruction Revelation 13: says that ...
"the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast"
Why? Because it is so incredible that the beast's fatal wound was healed - he once was and now is again
MEN'S ATTEMPTS TO REVIVE THE ROMAN EMPIRE
(Click related discussion)
Remember that the first Roman Empire ended around 476 A.D. but men have been trying to bring back the Roman Empire for centuries as shown by an overview of European history:
768-800 Charlemagne brought more of western Europe under his hand more so than had been under the hand of one man since 476AD, the end of the Roman Empire. On Dec 25, 800AD the Pope crowned Charlemagne emperor of the Romans and when he died in 814AD the empire fell apart.
962 Idea of the Roman Empire was revived by the Otto the Great, a German, started the Holy Roman Empire, but Napoleon brought it to an end in 1806AD. But even Napoleon had plans to unite Europe into the ''United States of Europe''.
1804 Napoleon crowned himself emperor with a Roman crown of gold leaves but was defeated in 1815 at Waterloo.
1900's = The Western Roman Empire was the dream of the German Chancellor Bismarck, the iron chancellor of Germany-and called the empire the SECOND REICH, bc they believed the HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE (962-1806 being the FIRST REICH). Between WWI and WWII, Count Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi began again the push for a "united states" of Europe.
1930 Winston Churchill published an article entitled the ''United States of Europe'' urging a federation of European nations.
1936 Mussolini wanted to revive the ancient glory of Rome and he proclaimed the re-appearance of the empire on the faded hills of Rome. Hitler declared the Roman Empire resurrected by Mussolini.
1940 Count Coudenhove-Kalergi came to New York to set up a seminar on the European Union, which even drew up a proposed constitution of the US of Europe.
1944 US Congress adopted the idea of unification of Western Europe as part of its war policy and Pres Truman endorsed the idea.
1944 In July of this year the national resistance movements in Europe issued a joint declaration stating that federal union alone could assure the preservation of liberty and civilization in the continent of Europe.
1946 After WWII Churchill strongly advocated European union, Sept 19, 1946, he discussed Europe's ills and suggested re-creating in essence a kind of US of Europe.
1948 In May of this year there was a meeting at Hague and established the Congress of Europe for the purpose of unifying Europe and became known as the ''European Movement'' --France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Italy, Luxembourg established the European Coal and Steel Community on April 18, 1951
1957 Statesmen from the 6 nations of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) met in Rome and established the European Economic Community and in 1957 they drew up the ''Treaty of Rome'' and expected within 12-15yrs to have all of Europe united but it didn't happen. German's Chancellor stated that the integration of Europe was the sole salvation for the Christian west. The necessity for economic, political, and military reasons is incontestable.
1985 European Common Market set about a plan to build the organizational structure and setting a deadline from fulfillment,
February 1992, the Heads of State or Government of the Member States of the European Community meeting in Maastricht in the Netherlands signed the Treaty of the European Union (EU) giving shape to this new structure. At the heart of this treaty lay the provisions on Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) which took effect on 1 January 1999. Monetary policy sovereignty was thereby transferred from the national central banks to the European Central Bank.
2000's European Union comes into full bloom. As of 2006 the EU had 25 Member States with a combined population of around 450 million citizens.
they (those who dwell upon the earth) worshiped the dragon, because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?" And there was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies; and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him.
The Beast was energized by Satan and given authority to act 42 months; speaking blasphemous names. This authority is world-wide and is for 3 1/2 years.
And I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spoke as a dragon.
The Second beast in Rev 13:11 is the spokesman for the Beast, the one who is analogous to Christ. The name "Anti-Christ" means against or instead of and as Christ had a prophet like John the Baptist, so too does the Anti-Christ. The second Beast makes the earth worship the first beast whose fatal wound was healed (Kay believes this signifies the Revived Roman Empire)
12 And he (the second beast, the false prophet) exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed.
13 And he performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men.
14 And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life.
15 And there was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast might even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed.
16 And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand, or on their forehead,
17 and he provides that no one should be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six (666).
The Second Beast performs great signs. Remember that in Matthew 24 Jesus had warned about many false prophets who would come and perform signs and wonders and miracles.
Matthew 24:24 false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.
This false prophet deceives the whole world He causes the earth to make an image to the beast and to worship it or die. All earth dwellers are commanded to receive the mark of the beast ("666") on their right hand or forehead in order to buy or sell. Bringing back Rome means also bringing an economic federation that needs a military establishment...Kay believes that just before the 3 1/2 years when the beast begins to make war with the saints, he says if you want to buy (eat) or sell, then take the MARK OF THE BEAST and worship the beast. But John describes the demise of the Antichrist in Revelation 19.
10 KINGS WHO RECEIVE
AUTHORITY FOR ONE HOUR
Rev 17:12 "And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings, who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour.
This passage describes a federation of 10 nations that give their power to the beast (the antichrist) and with him wage war against the Lamb. John records that...
Rev 17:14 "These (10 kings subordinated to the Antichrist) will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful." (beloved, this latter description is us, the saints who return with Messiah when He destroys the Antichrist).
The following passage gives details of the final destruction of the Antichrist and the kings of the earth...
11 And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it [is] called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and wages war. 12 And His eyes [are] a flame of fire, and upon His head [are] many diadems; and He has a name written [upon Him] which no one knows except Himself. 13 And [He is] clothed with a robe dipped in blood; and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies (this is us) which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white [and] clean, were following Him on white horses. 15 And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may smite the nations; and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. 16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS." 17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, "Come, assemble for the great supper of God; 18 in order that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great. " 19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies, assembled to make war against Him who sat upon the horse, and against His army.
Revelation 19-20, when read and interpreted literally, unfolds a logical sequence of events that follow the defeat of the Antichrist and culminate in the establishment of the Millennial Kingdom of the King of kings and Lord of lords. John records these glorious events...
Revelation 20:1 And I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3 and threw him into the abyss, and shut [it] and sealed [it] over him, so that he should not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time. 4 And I saw thrones, (does this sound like Daniel 7?) and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them. And I [saw] the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshipped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power (this phrase indicates that it is not just those saints who were martyred in the Great Tribulation who will reign with Christ but all who are not subject to the second death, which can only be a description of believers), but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.
Just as the lightning comes from the east to the west, so shall be the coming of the Son of Man. Irregardless of the false conclusions reached by the so called "experts" of the Jesus Seminar, Jesus will keep His word. He will return and establish His throne. Don't let anyone teach you otherwise.
Remember Jesus' promise in Revelation 22:12...
"Behold, I am coming quickly,
and My reward is with Me,
to render to every man
according to what he has done."
THE "REVIVED ROMAN EMPIRE"
Note: The Following is not from Lecture 12 but is
provided as background on the "revived Roman Empire"
Before the Second World War the most persistent advocate of European unification had been Count Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi, who, fittingly enough, was supremely internationalist in his own family background through Dutch, German, Greek, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, and Japanese ancestors. His childhood home was located directly on the German-Slav language border in Bohemia. The count's outlook, like that of many aristocratic families in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, stemmed back to the days before the national state had gained total allegiance among Europeans. A number of influential statesmen had also voiced hopes for some form of union.
Shortly before Europe began its grim descent to the Second World War, Aristide Briand, French foreign minister, rose in a session of the League of Nations to propose a United States of Europe.
In the desperate hours of French collapse in 1940, Prime Minister Churchill offered the French a Franco-British union. Three years later, in a radio speech to the continent, he talked about a postwar Council of Europe, and, after the war, at the University of Zurich suggested ''a kind of United States of Europe.''
Charles de Gaulle also expressed some thoughts about a closer association of the ''races'' of Europe.
Still another form of union proposed during the war and immediately thereafter was some sort of Atlantic community, also including the United States and Canada and possibly other countries.
Numerous associations for the furtherance of greater integration were at work after the war. Count Coudenhove-Kalergi's European Parliamentary Union held a conference at Gstaad, Switzerland in July, 1947, and followed it with others.
Churchill was affiliated with Britain's United Europe Movement, and similar societies existed in France, Germany, and the smaller states.
An international committee of these organized the Congress of Europe, which met at the Hague on May 7-10, 1948, and drew 750 delegates, among them some of Europe's leading statesmen, including Churchill, Paul-Henri Spaak, de Gasperi, Bidault, Schuman and Blum.
This Congress set the ambitious goal of nothing less than the political and economic unification of the continent.
The Council of Europe - The first fruits of the internationalist movement came with the establishment of the Council of Europe. After the Congress at The Hague, the five Brussels states joined in negotiations with five others, with the French holding the initiative in the absence of strong British leadership.
On May 5, 1949, the statute for the Council was signed, and the first meeting occurred at Strasbourg, which became its headquarters, in September.
The ten original signatories included France, the United Kingdom, Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Italy, Ireland, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. In later years they were joined by Greece, Turkey, Iceland, West Germany, Cyprus, Switzerland, and Malta.
The Council of Europe was thus doomed to an advisory role, debating issues without authority to act. Spaak, the first president of the Assembly, resigned in protest. In 1953 a committee of the Council produced a draft treaty for a European political community, but the proposal got no further. The Council has continued to serve as a sounding board for European opinion, but the main course of development in the following years would emerge in other channels.
The Schuman Plan - On May 5, 1950, Foreign Minister Robert Schuman of France announced to a press conference the so-called Schuman Plan for the creation of a free market in coal and steel under supranational authority. Though bearing Schuman's name, Jean Monnet had contributed more to the proposal; as head of French reconstruction plans, this ardent advocate of greater European unity was especially well placed for initiating the movement. Calling it ''a bold act--a constructive act,'' Schuman argued for the plan on the basis, particularly, that placing a portion of French and German industry directly involved in armaments under one common authority would make future war between the two impossible. It would also, he said, be a first step to a European federation. ("Federation" is defined as "the act of constituting a political unity out of a number of separate states or colonies or provinces so that each member retains the management of its internal affairs") In response to his invitation, the Benelux countries and Italy also entered the negotiations. Britain's governing Labor party, remaining hostile to any suggestion of infringement of national sovereignty, refused to participate. The draft for the Community was signed by representatives of the six countries on April 18, 1951, and ratified by the following summer.