NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SUN

“The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Is there anything whereof it may be said, See, this is news? It hath been already of old times which was before us. There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.” Ecc 1:9-11

A topic from study that may raise eyebrows because it is not what is typically being said about events related to the 70th week of Daniel is addressed here. It should not be discounted simply for that reason. Historical facts, as well as God's Word, should cause all Believers to examine and consider this, as with everything.

It seems the stage is being re-set for Israel. Events have and are taking place that will put them in the same predicament as they were in ancient times. Prior to the birth of The Messiah, ancient Israel was under bondage to the Romans. We know that Daniel speaks of a prince to come and his reference to this prince identifies him coming from the Roman Empire or of that origin. Many people speak of the Roman Empire as two parts: Western and Eastern. But, it is important to note that there is an hiearchy that rules over Rome now and has existed is various forms throughout history that is often referred to as the Holy Roman Empire. This “empire” is known today as The Vatican.

“And the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary...” Daniel 9:26 (b)

This refers to the time when the Roman Titus came in and sacked Jerusalem and, as was prophesied by Jesus, no stone was left unturned at the Temple. The “prince” is not the subject of the sentence, but instead people is the subject. However, this tells us that the prince that shall come will be of those same people responsible for destroying the Temple in 70 A.D. The prior reference in Daniel to the temple is regarding the rebuilding of Solomon's Temple. We have the temple mentioned twice in these scriptures. We have the Roman heiarchy mentioned as well.

There is a huge push now to build a Temple. This is the great desire of  many Jewish people in Israel and around the world.  Perhaps this will be used as bait to dangle before them in return for something else. Could that something else be the control of Jerusalem and of the Holy places there? It is not beyond the realm of reality. We must remember, however; that this desired temple is not the Temple of the Most High God. We are told numerous times in God's Word that He resides in a temple built by no man's hands.

“And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God and they shall be my people.” II Corinthians 6:16

The Pope's recent public statement that, “The time for all Christians to return to the 'Mother Church' has come because the Protestants are no longer protesting. It is time for them to come home” is foreboding. This falls in line with the obvious agenda of The Vatican down through the years to unite all religions to itself.  It is part of a plan to unite all religions because, as the current pope has said, God loves us all and all paths lead to heaven. There are nefarious reasons behind this plan but it is being sold in the interest of tolerance and love. Mainstream Christianity appears to be eating this up. It must be pointed out here that the Roman Church is not the mother church.
The church is the Ekklesia; those who follow Jesus Christ alone. He is the Cornerstone upon which His Church is built. The Pope uses the title Vicarius Christi, meaning the vicar of Christ.

According to Webster's New Twentieth Century Dictionary, the word vicar means to act in the place of another. The Pope claims to alone have authority from God. He is supposedly the representative of Jesus Christ on earth and therefore of God, here on earth. Nowhere is this concept to be found in God's Word. The point to be made is that this man claims to be Christ in that he has replaced Christ and acts on His behalf – supposedly.

In 2009, an agreement was signed between Israel and The Vatican. An article in the news from Israel Hayom on January 30, 2013 states, “A historical agreement has been signed between Israel and the Vatican, ending a 20 year dispute. Israel has granted the pope an official seat in the room where the Last Supper is believed to have taken place, on Mount Zion in Jerusalem. Israel did not give up its control over the room, as the Vatican had demanded, but Israel did decide to allow Vatican representatives a special modicum of control over the site.”

One day afterward, Jewish Israel went public with a January 2013 report entitled, “Pope to Get Seat Over the Tomb of King David.” Arutz 7 ran an exclusive by Italian Journalist, Guilio Meotti entitled, “A Seat for the Pope at King David's Tomb.” This “seat” over the Tomb of King David is the Cenacle, or what we refer to as The Upper Room. The titles of the referenced news pieces are chilling.

A question comes to this writer's mind, could the “agreement” be the covenant spoken of in Daniel 9? Most people are looking toward a peace treaty between Israel and the PA, but we shouldn't dismiss this possibility. The Holy See is a force to be reckoned with. The Vatican is Rome. Is it possible that this very agreement could put Israel under control of Rome once again? Pressure on the UN from The Vatican to have Jerusalem handed over to their control is well-known.  It is interesting that Shimon Perez was involved in negotiations and is still involved. It is also interesting that Peres was educated in a Jesuit school. It is telling that Shimon Perez met with the Pope on April 30th, 2009. The agreement was signed in May, 2009. No suggestion is being made that a seven year period has begun. According to Daniel, a covenant will be “confirmed.”  Perhaps this confirmation is tied to the building of a third temple. It is reported that Rome owns and/or controls many of the holy sites or surrounding land, despite the fact that the land was never to have been sold nor given away (as detailed in The Book of Numbers).

In May 2009, Ha’aretz ran headlines that Perz wanted to hand over Christian sites in Israel to The Vatican. The article stated that Perez was pressing the government to agree to the Vatican's request that Israel surrender control of six religious sites, among them the Cenacle [the Upper Room] on Mount Zion. President Shimon Perez was downright messianic when he declared: "The new pope will be welcomed in the Holy Land with love and appreciation by Jews, Muslims and Christians as one." Chilling, one. Unity. All religions worship the same god...sound familiar?

In 2014, Pope Francis was in Jerusalem during Pentecost and held services in the Cenacle. He also held services in the Tomb of King David itself. He was to have had them in the Cenacle only. He had them several times and a Muslim Imam was among the entourage. This ceremony, in one of the most holy and sacred places to the Jewish people by the pope and a muslim no less, was an affront to the entire Jewish community.

It is very troubling that all Jewish worshipers were turned away by a show of force by Israeli police. These included many Rabbis.  They were denied access to the holy sites.  Some might say, “What's wrong with that? The Catholics are good Christians and they are just trying to worship God.” It must be understood that the root of The Vatican is not Christian. It is a paganistic form of religion that is not similar to what Jesus Christ taught.

It is not the intent of this writer to distress nor offend any practicing Catholics. However, history is history. Let us not forget the millions upon millions of Hebrews and Christians murdered throughout history by the Roman Church. These were those who would not “convert.”

These developments and events are very intriguing in consideration of prophecy.  There is no doubt that we are so very close to events many of us have looked forward to our entire lives. These events were spoken of by the prophets. It is an exciting time. Surely our redemption draws near!


This commentary was originally published in 2013 for a publication outside of the U.S.A. I am sharing it here in light of recent events in the Middle East. Subsequent commentary will follow showing more events since the time this was originally published that directly fulfill prophecy.

Much of what is or has been taught about prophecy was taught by those who had their own agendas to further. Much of what people think is "the gospel" is only doctrines of men. These are traditions of men. The misteaching and picking and choosing of various scriptures to support theories that men wish to promote are usually related to replacement theology.  Israel NEVER was replaced. The "church" never replaced Israel. What is a "church age"? Where specifically is this found anywhere in Scripture? It isn't.  The Messiah was born Jewish, He lived a Jewish life, He died a Jewish death. His followers were Jewish.They didn't develop some new religion. This is the truth and if people would open their Bibles and READ, perhaps they would see this.