Well, I have to confess, it appears I made a mistake when I was writing The Spirit of Prophecy!

No, not a theological mistake, not even an interpretation error, but a formatting error. You see I was building a case, in chapter 8, and I put the most important passage at the end of the chapter. This was a mistake.

This last weekend I was talking with my mother, who has been reading The Spirit of Prophecy, and she confronted me over the subject of chapter 8. She claimed to have read the chapter, but as I questioned her it appeared that she had no idea of the significance of Isaiah 4, in relation to End Times prophecy. My only conclusion is that she became indignant with the rest of the chapter, and put it down before getting to the most important part!

I must take full responsibility for not starting with Isaiah 3-4, and then building my case based on that passage. The next time I update the manuscript I will be sure to modify the introduction to Chapter 8, to clearly point to this passage, because it is the key passage to understanding Daniel 11:37. It may take some time until I am able to do that, so here is a brief introduction to the subject of Chapter 8 based on Isaiah 3-4;

It is commonly said that the book of Revelation is a companion to the book of Daniel. This is true, but in fact, if you only study these two books, in relation to the End Times events, you will end up with more questions than answers. There are more than 500 Old Testament references in the book of Revelation and only some of them refer to Daniel. A complete study of that book must include many references to Isaiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Zechariah, Zephaniah, Joel, and others, as well as the Psalms, and even the Law of Moses!

Indeed, just as every book of the Old Testament has prophetic implications for the first coming of Christ, they all must be consulted in order to get a proper view of His second coming! This is not a subject for the faint of heart!

I’m going to narrow down this study to Isaiah 3-4 as well as the passages that are directly related to it.

Isaiah 3:1-23 is an indictment against ancient Israel. It is speaking about their sin and God’s judgment of it, leading to their captivity and exile. One thing that I have discovered (and not me alone) is that the sins that led to Israel’s exile, will still be continuing as they return to the land! Somewhere in this passage there is a shift in emphasis from the ancient times to the modern day Israel. The fulfilment of these verses is still future!

16 Moreover the LORD saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet: 17 Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will discover their secret parts. 18 In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon, 19 The chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers, 20 The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings, 21 The rings, and nose jewels, 22 The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins, 23 The glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the vails Isaiah 3:16-23

Sarit Hadad is one of my favorite artists.  She is extremely talented, but I find I usually can’t watch her live videos. There is too much sensuality displayed on stage, and it is not usually her, but the dancers she surrounds herself with. The following youtube video is a good example. (usually I convert her music to mp3s and listen as I drive)

or here

As I have noted elsewhere, there are two major defeats of Islam coming in the near future. These are the Psalm 83 war, and the Ezekiel 38-39 invasion of Israel.

Somewhere around 900 A.D. the exiled Israelite tribes living in Afghanistan and Pakistan, converted to Islam. I expect that there are others in other Muslim nations, though I can’t point to any particular group that fits this pattern. These people are actually a fulfilment of prophecy themselves:

Therefore will I cast you out of this land into a land that ye know not, neither ye nor your fathers; and there shall ye serve other gods day and night; where I will not shew you favour. Jeremiah 16:13

One man told me that he thought that these tribes were cut off from Israel, and no longer recipients of God’s promises. I disagree. These tribes will one day return to Israel and will throw off the yoke of Islam, that has kept them in a straight jacket for some 1,100 years. Once they return to Israel the world will see them go wild, and the videos of Sarit Hadad will appear tame in comparison.

The time I am referring to is the time Isaiah wrote about in Isaiah 3, but the story does not end in verse 23. This indictment results in judgment from God. The passage is full of cause-and-effect examples. Verses 24-26 describe the result of Israel’s sin; they will be involved in a huge war.

24 And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty. 25 Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war. 26 And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she being desolate shall sit upon the ground.

Was this an ancient war, or is it a coming war? Yes! While this passage had a partial fulfilment during the Assyrian, and Babylonian, captivities of Israel there is yet a future war that will bring a complete fulfilment of this passage. How do I know?

As I said there is a cause-and-effect-relationship displayed here. The sins displayed in Isaiah 3:1-23 will result in the Tribulation and Armageddon, mentioned here in verses 24-26. Note that the men of Israel are going to die in this war. When the Antichrist sets up the abomination of desolation in the rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem, there will be a variety of reactions in Israel.

The believers in Jesus Christ will heed his warnings, from Matthew 24, and flee to the wilderness. The unbelievers, those who trust in themselves and the force of arms, will pick up arms to fight the Antichrist. These people, mostly men, will die fighting the Antichrist. It is not possible for him to be defeated by the force of arms. While their motivation is to protect the Temple, God does not need them to fight for Him, He wants them to obey Him!

15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) 16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: 17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: 18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. 19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! 20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: 21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. Matthew 24:15-21

The survivors of this war are spoken of in Isaiah 4:1. This verse is the key to Daniel 11:37, and shows why professing Christians will support the Antichrist!

1 And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach

These women and men are the survivors of Armageddon. This event is a direct result of Armageddon and occurs after it is over, and Jesus is setting up His reign on the earth. Notice that they are not asking for illicit affairs, but for marriage. This is what it means when they say “only let us be called by thy name”. You take your husband’s name when you marry him.

The “reproach” they mention is the same reproach Rachel spoke of in Genesis 30:23, and by Elizabeth in Luke 1:25. In both cases the reproach is the inability to have children. These women of Isaiah 4:1 won’t have the ability to have children because with Jesus ruling the world, illicit affairs will be dealt with swiftly and harshly. Not only this but these women, and men, will be 100% believers, and will not want affairs, but will want the benefits of marriage.  The problem for them is there won’t be enough men to go around!

There is no way these holy women will approach men this way without having the permission of Jesus Christ first!

Before we move on, please note that while the passage is specifically speaking of Israel there are implications for the entire human race. Not only will the majority of the men of Israel die during Armageddon, the situation will be the same for the Gentile nations who send their armies to fight Jesus at His return. Every person who picks up arms to fight Jesus at his return will die, and since most armies are mainly male in gender, there will be a shortage of men throughout the whole world.

I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir. Isaiah 13:12

God does not primarily mean that men will be pure like gold, but rather He will make them rare, the way gold is rare in relation to iron.

So, how do I know that this passage is referring to the return of Christ? Look at the next verse;

2 In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.

Who is the “branch of the Lord”? This is none other than Jesus Christ. Furthermore this can’t refer to his first coming for the same author says of that time “he had no beauty that we should desire him”. (Isaiah 53:2) Yet Jesus has always been beautiful in Heaven. This can only refer to His return!

3 And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem: 4 When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.

These people will be called “holy”, yet today Jerusalem and Tel Aviv have their Gay pride marches.  It can’t refer to today or to any time from that day until the present.

This refers to everyone who escapes the wrath of God, at Armageddon. These daughters of Zion who have had their filth washed away, are the same women spoken of in verse 1. Some of them will be the same women spoken of in chapter 3, who were prancing around, and flaunting their sexuality. Something has happened to change their minds!

What has happened to them is the Tribulation period, the 144,000 witnesses, and Armageddon. These people are the ones who will repopulate the earth during the millennial reign of Jesus Christ. As I mentioned before, the Gentiles will find themselves in the same situation. Their men will die at Armageddon, and there will be many more female survivors than male.

Why would God do this? Why would he set up this generation to live in families of one man/seven women? For one thing, these people will have children in a 50/50 ratio of boys to girls. After this generation there will be no need for polygamy throughout the earth. These people will grow very old, and some of them, perhaps even the majority, will actually live throughout the entire millennial reign of Christ! (1,000 years!)

These people will be eye witnesses of the events of the Tribulation and Armageddon. They will be able to tell their descendants of the events they have seen for many generations. The fact that they are in families of such an unusual makeup, will cause their descendants to ask questions. They will have ample opportunity to witness to both the power of God and to his salvation. Thus, at the end of the millennium, when there is one final rebellion against the rule of Jesus Christ. The rebels will have no excuse for they will have heard the story of Armageddon from people who were there!

5 And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence. 6 And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain. Isaiah 4:5-6

Here in the closing verses of Isaiah 4 we see more references to events that are yet to happen, and will not happen until Jesus reigns on the earth. Again confirming that this chapter is totally related to the millennial reign.

So how does this passage relate to the person of the Antichrist? Daniel tells us;

36 And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done. 37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all. Daniel 11:36-37

The king here is the Antichrist. Notice that he does not regard, or care about, the God of his fathers. This is a monotheistic God, probably the Allah of the Qur’an. Notice the next phrase: “Neither shall he regard… the desire of women”. Some have said that this is “the god that women desire”. This is incorrect. What god is desired by women? This is a direct reference to the desire of women as articulated by the women in Isaiah 4:1, and is also related to the way women are treated by the followers of the God of his fathers.

Islam has always allowed polygamy. During the Iran/Iraq war of the 1980s there were a million men killed, and yet you don’t hear of large numbers of widows in those nations. Their religion allows them to double up on their men. There is a lot wrong with Islam, but the fact that it allows polygamy is not one of them. The subjugation of women is a problem, for the bible tells us that the soul of a woman is of equal value to God (Romans 10:12). God allows polygamy because of His love for women, and because he wants to fill the earth with people.

1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: 2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel: Ezekiel 39:1-2

The Antichrist will be an official over the nations destroyed after the Gog and Magog war. Those nations have always allowed polygamy, and when one of six soldiers returns after that war it will be natural for the survivors to expect one man to be allowed to marry several woman. This is when the Antichrist will prohibit polygamy. By doing so he will endear himself to western Christianity!  Christians will support the Antichrist because they have believed “Christian” tradition, rather than studying, and believing, the Word of God!

For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else. Isaiah 45:18

During the millennial reign, God will restore the Garden of Eden conditions on this planet, and its population will blossom like never before. The contrast between the reigns of Jesus Christ and the Antichrist is there in Scripture, but is hidden from those who refuse to believe!

Now that you know the biblical basis for Chapter 8 of The Spirit of Prophecy you can go and read it with a greater understanding. We go back to the Law of Moses and show that Jesus never contradicted anything in the Law. We study the life of David and discover that his view of morality was the same as Jesus’.  You will see that everything I have said here is found in the bible, and there is so much more evidence that these things are true.

David was indeed a “man after God’s own heart”.  God was telling us something very important by focusing so heavily on David.