Table Of ContentThe Change of the Times and its
Implications for Seventh-day
Adventist Apocalyptic Interpretation
Roseville, CA
Copyright © 2009 by Stephen P. Bohr
All rights reserved.
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version.
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Cover Design by Haley Trimmer
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ISBN 978-1-58019-295-8
Contents
Foreword
1. Changing of the Times
2. Protestantism’s Prophetic Principles
3. Protestantism’s Prophetic Apostasy
4. Protestants Are No More
5. Historicism’s Last Stand
Conclusion
Appendix: Ellen White’s Testimony to John Bell about the Dangers of
Futurism
Endnotes
A Selected Bibliography
Foreword
B
y means of a secret rapture, millions of Christians will suddenly
vanish. Snatched up to heaven to meet Christ in the clouds, they will not
have to face the trials that are to come upon the earth. This disappearing
act ushers in the seven-year tribulation. For the first three-and-one-half
years human conditions gradually deteriorate. Meanwhile, political and
military power shifts to a European confederacy led by the Antichrist.
This strong man miraculously survives a head wound and gains
unprecedented power. At a point of crisis he orchestrates a seven-year
peace treaty in the Middle East. However, the Antichrist, who bears
Satan’s mark—666—then demonstrates his true nature. About midway
through the tribulation he and his assistant, the false prophet, terrorize
the world and compel everyone to bear the mark 666 on their hands or
forehead.
At this point the Antichrist moves to Jerusalem from Rome, where he
has been ruling. In the rebuilt temple of Jerusalem he blasphemes God,
breaks the peace pact, and persecutes Israel. All chaos breaks out—
looting, arson, famines, pollution, plagues, drug abuse, occultism,
demon possession, economic dislocations, and lawlessness are rampant.
Natural disasters abound: earthquakes destroy the land, the weather
becomes bizarre, and stars fall from the sky.
Then, as history draws to a close, a great battle takes place. Armies from
the North, the Far East, and Arab nations meet on the mountain of
Megiddo in Israel. The bloody battle of Armageddon rages for about a
year, killing millions of people. Jesus Christ now appears, destroying
what is left of the armies and throwing the Antichrist and the false
prophet into the lake of fire. The long-awaited millennium—the
thousand-year utopia—now begins. From Jerusalem, Jesus and His
saints will rule the world.
But this is not the end. After the thousand years of peace, Satan is
released from the bottomless pit. Organizing an army for the final battle,
he challenges God for one last time. Fire comes down from heaven,
destroying these satanic forces, and the devil is cast into the lake of fire.
The dead are now resurrected for the last judgment. The individuals
whose names are not found in the book of life are cast into hell forever.
God now creates a new heaven and a new earth. Peace and joy will now
reign forever.1
This scenario, as described by Richard Kyle, does not come from some
fictional novel. It is the fundamental prophetic belief system of millions of
Christians who claim to believe in Bible inerrancy. Though it appears bizarre, it
is proclaimed as gospel truth by thousands of Protestant ministers and Bible
teachers around the world.
Where does this sensational prophetic scenario come from? Is it firmly based
on the testimony of the holy Scriptures? Has it always been believed by the
Christian church? Is this really what the final conflict will look like or is
Protestantism setting itself up for an overmastering delusion?
Keep reading—because what you don’t know can hurt you!
Chapter 1
D
Changing of the Times aniel 7 contains one of
the most remarkable prophecies in the Bible.2 It
gives a one hundred percent accurate and
trustworthy portrayal of the history of the world
from the days of Daniel till the end of time. This
history, however, is not given in straightforward
language but rather in symbols that must be
decoded.
Virtually all conservative students of Bible prophecy agree that the four
beasts in this chapter represent four successive world empires beginning with
Babylon and continuing with the Medes and Persians, Greece, and Rome. But
here the agreement ends. Whereas historicist expositors have taught that the
chapter presents a continuous flow of historical events without any gaps or
interruptions, futurist expositors see a gap of more than fifteen centuries between
the period of the dragon and the period of the ten horns and the little horn.
The following chart will illustrate the difference between the two schools:
Historicist Perspective
Futurist Perspective
Lion = Babylon = 605–539 b.c. Lion = Babylon = 605–539 b.c.
Bear = Medes and Persians = 539–331
Bear = Medes & Persians = 539–331 b.c.
b.c.
Leopard = Greece = 331–168 b.c. Leopard = Greece = 331–168 b.c.
Dragon = Rome = 168 B.C.–476 a.d. Dragon = Rome = 168 b.c.–476 a.d.
Ten horns = Divided Rome = 476–538
GAP OF OVER 1500 years
a.d.
Little horn = Papal Rome = 538–1798 Ten horns (ten-nation federation, not yet
a.d. fulfilled)
Little horn (Antichrist, not yet fulfilled)
As can be seen in the chart, historicists have interpreted the ten horns as a
symbolic portrayal of the fragmentation of the ancient Roman Empire into ten
kingdoms in consequence of the barbarian invasions. They have also interpreted
the little horn as the Roman Catholic papacy that arose after and in the midst of
those ten kingdoms.
Futurists generally agree with historicists that the dragon beast represents the
ancient Roman Empire that passed away in the fifth century. But contrary to
historicists, futurists believe that the Roman Empire will be revived at the time
of the rapture and that a ten-nation federation will rise from it to be followed
shortly thereafter by the Antichrist. Thus futurists see a gap of over fifteen
hundred years between the rule of the fourth beast and the rule of the ten horns
and the little horn. It is obvious that in the futurist scenario, the long career of the
Roman Catholic papacy has nothing to do with the fulfillment of the prophecy of
Daniel 7.
Changing Times and the Law The central verse that will concern us in this
study is Daniel 7:25 where the work of the little horn (the Antichrist) is
described: “He [the little horn] shall speak pompous words against the Most
High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, And shall intend to
change times [Aramaic: zeman] and law: Then the saints shall be given into
his hand For a time [Aramaic: iddan] and times [iddan] and half a time
[iddan]”3 (Emphasis supplied).
The central thesis of this book is that Daniel 7:25 contains a prediction,
given over 2500 years ago, of the rise of the particular futuristic hermeneutic4
with which we began this book and which is illustrated in the chart above. Our
study will focus particularly on two malefic acts of the little horn, namely the
change in the times and in the law.
Seventh-day Adventists have dedicated a great deal of space to the little
horn’s attempted change in the law but the same amount of space has not been
dedicated to explain what is meant by the attempted change in the times. Those
Seventh-day Adventists who have taken the time to discuss the change in the
times have generally concluded that Daniel 7:25 is simply referring to a change
of the times in the law, and of course, the only commandment in the law that has
to do with time is the Sabbath, thus the change in the Sabbath.5
But this interpretation has its problems. First, there is no reputable Bible
translation that I know of which renders the text in this fashion. We must be
careful not to amend the text in order to make it fit our theological views. The
Aramaic text clearly states that the horn would attempt to change the times and
the law, not the times in the law and all Bible translations reflect this fact.6
Furthermore, although it is true that the Sabbath is a time set apart for a holy use,
the Aramaic and Hebrew words “time” and “times” that we will study in this
book are never clearly linked with the Sabbath commandment.7
In this book we will explore a different way of looking at the change in the
“times” of Daniel 7:25. We will discuss how unwarranted changes in God’s
prophetic calendar have led dispensationalists to wrongly divide the word of
truth and to offer private interpretations that hide the great events that are
predicted in the sure word of prophecy.8
Objectives of This Study • Provide an extensive biblical analysis of the
words “time” and “times” as they are employed in prophetic contexts of
Scripture • Examine the prophetic hermeneutic that was used by the
Protestant reformers from the twelfth till the middle of the eighteenth
centuries • Point out how the Roman Catholic Counter-Reformation shifted
Description:"By means of a secret rapture, millions of Christians will suddenly vanish. Snatched up to heaven to meet Christ in the clouds, they will not have to face the trials that are to come upon the earth. This disappearing act ushers in the seven-year tribulation. For the first three-and-one-half years, h
