Blog - Prophecies of Daniel

Throwing shade on Prophecy

Jul 6, 2017 · by Mark McMillion · In: Daniel videos and texts, Insights

I’m convinced that one of the objects Satan targets the most is prophecy. And it sadly seems that the wicked one has been largely successful in destroying the knowledge of Biblical prophecy in our world today. Bible prophecy is such an incredible, irrefutable and almost tangible proof of the existence of God. So of course Satan and his coworkers will attack the phenomenon of Bible prophecy with a vehemence worthy of its importance in the revelation of God and His Will.

The angel told John in Revelation 19:10, “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” After I was changed from a hardened skeptic and atheist to a surprised believer by the miraculous power of God, it was the existence of Bible prophecy that had one of the most shocking affects on me. Why had I never been told about this?

Why was I not told about this in public school or at least in university? But this only underlined the truth that our present world and most of the systems of this world as we know it now are not operating under the power and guidance of the God of Abraham. Rather, they are operating “according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience.” (Ephesians 2:2)

You talk about conspiracy theories. Try that one. What if I was to tell you that this world as we know it now is held under the power of a dark, imperial universe of hellish spiritual beings? But that the true heir and rightful Lord is in the process of retaking this very earth with plans to restore it to its original ways that He and His spiritual realm have ordained?

You’d say I’ve been reading too much Harry Potter or watching too much “Lord of the Rings” kinds of fantasies. And yet… and yet this is the picture that the Bible has been telling mankind for hundreds and even thousands of years. And fulfilled Bible prophecy has been one of the most sanguine, verifiable proofs of the validity of this that we can find. So of course “the prince of this world” (John 16:11), Satan will do all in his power to try to negate, pooh-pooh, mock and push aside the evidence of Bible prophecy and how it is the overriding narrative of the past and future state of our species and our very earth.

If any of this holds any interest to you, instead of getting into any specifics of individual Bible prophecies here, I offer you to view one or two of the short, illustrated videos I’ve done on the basics of what can be found in the prophecies of the prophets. Much of my life’s work in the last 10 to 15 years has been based around an effort to put into what hopefully are clear, concise videos the pith and essences of Bible prophecy. My aim has been towards those who are new to the subject.

It seems perhaps the second video I did may have turned out better than the first. It’s the one that presents the prophet Daniel’s strange encounter with the head of the super power of his day, Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. And Daniel was perhaps no more than 14 at the time of the event.

But Daniel’s chapter 2 is I believe the simplest entrance point into the world and sphere of prophetic revelation as presented by the God of Abraham. Here’s the link to the Daniel 2 video; I’ve put my heart into trying to make it as intelligible and understandable as possible to those to whom this is all new.

But the first video I did was an attempt to present the phenomenon of Bible prophecy against the backdrop of the history of ancient Israel. I learned a lot in doing this video. And while I believe the content is strong, the narrative is not as compelling as the actual chapters in the Bible that I began to do videos on after this first one. Still, it presents a lot of interesting prophetic Bible verses which have already been fulfilled in history and which might be a surprise to many. Here’s the link to that video.

But, let me tell you, just as sure as darkness fights the light, the powers of unbelief will fight you if you turn your attention towards the prophetic truths of God’s Word. Because those prophetic truths are so strong. They have such an ability to alter your very foundation of the understanding of the world we live in.

If there is a God who has put this whole world into motion and into being, and He has a course along which it is moving, preordained from the beginning by Him, then it so strongly behooves each of us to find out what that overall plan and future is which He has ahead of us all. This is the realm and world of Bible prophecy. Satan hates our having any knowledge of it. I do hope and pray you’ll let God’s Spirit draw you towards His truth which are found in the Words of His prophets. “Believe in the Lord your God, so shall you be established. Believe His prophets, so shall you prosper.” (II Chronicles 20:20)

“Is it not a little one?”

Jun 16, 2017 · by Mark McMillion · In: Angels, Miracles and the spirit world, Basic Christianity, Insights, My past

Jesus said that the very endtime would be like “the days of Lot” (Luke 17:28). So what can we learn from that? Lot had just been rescued and delivered from the fiery judgments of God which He had rained down on Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot, his wife and two daughters had to be led by the hand out of Sodom, being warned by the angels to not even look back. Famously, Lot’s wife did look back and was turned into a pillar of salt. That might be hard to believe but evidently Jesus Christ believed it. See Luke 17:32.

You might think all this would be an incredible shake-up for Lot. My gosh, that guy is going to walk the straight and narrow the rest of his life, no? Evidently not. And it’s a watershed moment in the history of sin when we read what happened next. Lot turned to the angels as they passed by another heathen town of wickedness and said to the angel, “Behold, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one. Oh, let me escape thither; is it not a little one? And my soul shall have rest.” (Genesis 19:20)

Folks, you can get the soul out of the worldly satanic system, whether it be Sodom of old or the satanic amalgam of metropolises that now dominate the earth. But just like with Lot, it’s not easy to get the satanic system out of the soul. God had “delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked.” (II Peter 2:7) But was Lot all contrite and trembling before the Lord? Did Lot make a bee line to his Godly uncle Abraham and his family up in the hills and highlands of God, begging to be taken back in like a prequel to the Prodigal son?

Nope, Lot immediately tried to cut a deal with the angels, “reasoning” with them that another little Babylon-like city not far from Sodom would do just fine and he’d really like to get back to some system preserving compromises and worldliness, even after God had just destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah literally right before their eyes.

“Ah,” you say, “this happened 4000 years ago and things are different today.” Really? If you think that, I’ve got some bad news for you. It’s like Jeremiah said, “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) As difficult as it was to go through, I’m thankful that God made about as plain to me as He could just how hopelessly sinful and lost I was long ago. My own ignorance, my own willful darkness very nearly took my life except for the totally undeserved, almost strange mercy of God who brought light to my soul when I was writhing in the agonies of the afterlife without God.

“Oh, Mark! Why did God do that to you?! Why did He treat you like that? Why does a God of love send us to hell?!!” Sister or brother, you got it wrong there. God doesn’t send us to hell. We send ourselves to hell through our willful, stubborn ignorance and choosing the wrong path, away from the presence of God to live in the presence of our choices which we made against His truth and light.

He didn’t have to plead with the angels to let him go to a new manifestation of the worldly system of his day. Lot could have asked to have a place at his uncle Abraham’s table and to learn more fully of the ways of God as evidently Lot did believe in the Lord. But it’s just like how it is for millions and billions of people: sin does have dominion over them. And except for the mercy of God, sin will and does have dominion over every one of us. Lot was like the Prodigal Son but who never “came to himself” (Luke 15:17). And sadly there are a lot of those it seems.

In the last book in the Bible, we are told of “Babylon the Great”, pictured as a wretched prostitute which sits upon many nations and rules over the kings of the earth. And God says, “Come out of her, My people, that you partake not of her sins or receive of her plagues.” (Revelation 18:4) But God in a sense has been saying that for thousands of years. He even had the angels take Lot and his family out of the Babylon of his day by the hand. And in the last days before the setting up of God’s kingdom on earth, He is going to destroy the final Babylon the Great, this final Sodom and Gomorrah that has now spread across the earth. Whether or not any of His people will get the message and “come out of her” remains to be seen.

We need to acknowledge our sinful nature and ways every single day and pray desperately and sincerely that God will “withhold you from sinning against Me.” (Genesis 20:6) Because as sure as your garden will start turning up weeds if you don’t diligent tend it, your own human heart and nature will rise up against your Christian convictions and character if you don’t daily “keep your heart with all diligence.” (Proverbs 4:23)

“Oh Mark, I’m not going to read your blog posts anymore! I’m going back to Joel Osteen and his lovely wife. They’re so sweet and positive, always encouraging and uplifting, not like you!” Friends, I’m all for being loving, positive and uplifting. But I’m just telling you from extremely hard experience that none of us had better ever get to the place where we forget how much we need the Lord , how much we should be able to say with the Apostle Paul, “Oh wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?!” (Romans 7:24)

Don’t be like Lot. If the Lord has delivered you from your Sodom and Gomorrah, don’t beg the angels to let you off at the next hellish place just down the road so you can continue in the compromised worldliness that is anathema to God’s highest and best in your life. Instead, be like Moses who “forsook Egypt” (Hebrews 11:27) because “he had respect unto the recompense of the reward.” (Hebrews 11:26) What Egypt, Sodom or Babylon is God calling you out of?

The Rapture

Apr 8, 2017 · by Mark McMillion · In: Basic Christianity, The Future and Endtime

One of the most principle beliefs of Christians for 2000 years is that Jesus of Nazareth will return to this world to rule it as the Son of God and God-ordained King of Heaven. This is a clear and essential belief of Bible-based Christianity. In fact, Jesus spoke repeatedly about this and at least two whole chapters, Matthew 24 and Mark 13, are Jesus’ words to His disciples to describe this occasion of His coming and events immediately prior to that.

And the Bible even gets down to some fine details of His return, one of the most famous events being what’s been called “the rapture”. That word is not found in the Bible but it is described in detail by the Apostle Paul, perhaps most clearly in I Thessalonians 4, verses 16 and 17. Speaking of Christ’s return to this world, Paul says, “For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God. And the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with Him in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”

For those who study this subject, a world of questions immediately arise when the Rapture is talked about. “When, where, who, how”? And on and on. But it’s good to pause to remember and establish that, if you’re a believer in the Word of God, at least we shouldn’t be asking “if” this is true or going to happen. It is. Jesus said in John 14, “I go to prepare a place for you… (and)…I will come again…” John 14:1-3.

But with all the huge controversy and even confusion on this subject, it seems wise to try to proceed rather slowly and to find a path on it all by following the Scriptures. As Isaiah said, doctrine must be “line upon line, precept upon precept” (Isaiah 28:10). For me, some of the most certain verses that we can be sure of as accompanying these ones about the Rapture in I Thessalonians are what Paul spoke of in I Corinthians 15.

The Corinthian church evidently had a question about what kind of body we will have in heaven. Here’s what Paul told them about this, very closely echoing what he told the Thessalonians, except in this case focusing more on what kind of body the believers will have in the hereafter. Paul told them, “Behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep [die] but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in a twinkling of the eye, at the last trump. For the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible. And we shall be changed.” (I Corinthians 15:51 & 52)

These verses are talking about the same event as the ones in I Thessalonians, only looking at a different aspect of that climatic event. You’ll note that in Thessalonians Paul spoke of the Lord’s return “with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God”. Here in I Corinthians he says, “In a moment, in a twinkling of the eye, at the last trump.” It’s curious and noteworthy that this seminal event in the history of mankind is almost invariable linked to something called “the sound of a trumpet”.

And when Jesus Himself spoke of this future moment, He too referred to a trumpet being sounded at the final moment of His return. This event is most clearly spoken of by Jesus in Matthew 24:29-31. In Matthew 24:31 Jesus spoke of Himself, “And He shall send forth His angels with a great sound of a trumpet. And He shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”

There should be no doubt, from looking to Scripture, that the future event of the return of Jesus is spoken of with certainty and a surprising degree of detail. We do ourselves no service to, in any way, doubt or dispute that this will happen, if we truly look to God’s Word for our lives and the future to come.

But of course there are many, many questions about this future event. Can Jesus return at any moment? Are there any events prophesied in the Word which immediately precede His return? Some even wonder if there is any way this has already happened. Perhaps these questions could be looked at in another post.

But hopefully those of us who believe in Him and in God’s Word can at least agree on this: He said He would return to this earth and the Bible has a number of clear and unambiguous verses which state this and give us understanding of what is to come. Let us at least be of the same mind in agreement on these fundamentals of the subject of Christ’s second coming.

Four months abroad

Feb 25, 2017 · by Mark McMillion · In: My past

I’ve just gotten back to my base in Texas from an amazing 4 month mission trip abroad, in Africa and Europe. I left the US in October, mainly to do a series of recordings in languages around Europe of the “Prophecies of Daniel” video series that I’ve had in English for the last few years. This video series on the prophet Daniel has been an effort to make known to as many people as possible the incredible prophetic truths to be found in God’s Word. I’d been planning these foreign language recordings but they were delayed when my mom suddenly passed away back in April and I had to return to the States.

Well, I’ll try to be careful with throwing out too many superlative adjectives here but it is tempting. I’ve already used “amazing” and many other similar words come to mind. What I’ll do here is to try to give a little synopsis of what happened on the trip. In some ways it was, and is, a little humbling as the Lord blessed it so much and everything I had in mind to do on the trip worked out. Amazing grace.

I started out by going to South Africa. I was able to meet two dear friends from my previously years in Europe, both of whom are pouring out their lives and hearts to that needy and precious country and people. Here are two articles I wrote about my time in South Africa, “Working in an HIV Seminar in South Africa” and “They that will not work…”

Next, after a brief visit to Norway for the birthday of one of my kids, I traveled to Budapest, Hungary to begin the recordings of the prophecies of Daniel videos. Three were recorded there and I was able to meet again some precious friends from my time in the 90’s when I lived in Hungary for 4 years. While there I wrote a blog about some of my friends and their family’s experiences during World War II called “Budapest Stories”.

Next was a trip to France to record three videos in French. I stayed with missionary friends in Normandy and it was a visit rich in experiences, not to mention the audio recordings that were done. I wrote two articles there, one about a day trip to the nearby coast where I ended up having a very moving experience after viewing a film of the terrible events that happened there during World War II. It’s called “Normandy Landing”. I also was able to interview the 92 year old father of my friend there who was a teenaged French commando leader in World War II. That article is “The French Resistance”.

Then it was Christmas and I returned to Scandinavia, first to Gothenburg, Sweden where two of my sons live with their mates. After a week there we drove to Norway to have Christmas with my other two kids. My former wife and her husband were there as well and it was a wonderful time to be together with the ones up there, as well as to see my two grandsons.

In January I went to Romania to continue the recordings. It turned out in some ways to be the most difficult leg of my travels but the Lord really came through. For one, the temperature stayed between 22 (-5 Centigrade) and 0 (-18 Centigrade) for nearly the whole 12 days I was there. Also there were 6 trips to the dentist to get two root canals done. But the Lord worked a little miracle and it ended up that 4 videos were recorded in Romanian when it looked like at one point that none would be done.

The last recording work, in Italian, was done in Croatia where some dear friends have an amazing work they’ve been doing for years, ministering in the aftermath of the Bosnian war, as well as doing programs for schools and generally lifting the spirits of people in that part of the world. Three videos were done in Italian there. And, an example of how the Lord was leading and protecting, the next morning after the last video was recorded (the 14^th video on the trip) my hard drive crashed. What a blessing of the Lord’s protection to keep it till after the recordings were done.

The last place I visited in Europe was Istanbul, Turkey for a few days. That in some ways was the most blessed part of my time abroad. Meeting friends there and also some new people for the first time made it so that some things were started which have a very fruitful potential for the near future. Also during my travels in Europe it was possible to record one of the prophecies of Daniel videos in Turkish which I’m really looking forward to see finalized and up on YouTube.

Well, there’s more, much more, but it’ll have to wait for now. Next for me is several months’ work to finalize the 14 videos recorded on the trip and to get them available for viewing. Like I was saying earlier, I’ve at times been at a loss for words to describe all that happened on the trip, and all that is ahead this year for me, Lord willing and blessing. I do thank the many of you who upheld me in prayer during this time; the Lord has done “exceeding abundantly, above all we can ask or think.” (Ephesians 3:20)

“With what body do they come?”

Jan 12, 2017 · by Mark McMillion · In: Angels, Miracles and the spirit world, Basic Christianity, Insights

A friend wrote me to ask, “Why is a resurrection necessary if those who died in Christ have already gone to be with the Lord?” So I wrote back, “The best answer I know of is that God’s plan is that we have new bodies like the Lord had after His resurrection. That’s what I Corinthians 15 is about.”

That may raise some big questions for some people. “New bodies?” “Jesus’ body after His resurrection?” Well, it’s all in the Bible. Many people have heard of “doubting Thomas.” What was he doubting? He was doubting the resurrection of Jesus and that the other apostles had seen Jesus literally, up close and personal, after He’d been crucified and buried.

But then what happened? The Bible says a few days later Jesus again appeared to His disciples, this time when Thomas was there. So Jesus told Thomas to “Reach here your hand and thrust it into my side [the wound He’d received from the soldier while He was on the cross] and be not faithless but believing.” (John 20:27)

On another occasion around the same time after Jesus’ resurrection, He told His disciples when He was visiting them. “Touch me and see for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see Me have.” (Luke 24:39) I know this can severely strain the brains of unbelievers and even those who are weak in faith. But this is what the Bible says so it might be good to look a little more at what all this means and signifies.

For one, the Bible clearly teaches that we, the saved believers, will have a body like Jesus at His coming. In I Corinthians 15:51 and 52, Paul said, “Behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep [meaning die here] but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of the eye, at the last trumpet.” This is the 7^th trumpet, spoken of in other places as the sign or signal of the return of Jesus bodily to this earth. The verse goes on to say, “For the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”

This is one of the best verses that touches on this subject of the eternal bodies we’ll receive at the return of Jesus, at the end of this age and the beginning of the Millennium. Just to throw in one more verse on this, Paul wrote to the Philippians about Jesus who would “change our vile body that it may be fashioned like to His glorious body…” (Philippians 3:21).

But what kind of bodies will they be? Here’s what John wrote in his old age to the church at that time. “Beloved, now are we the sons of God and it does not yet appear what we shall be. But we know that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” (I John 3:2) We shall be like Him; we’ll have a similar-like physical existence to that which Jesus now has.

And what did Jesus say about His body? “A spirit has not flesh and bones as you see me have.” So it sounds pretty much like the body we have now. We have flesh and bones. But what does it seem Jesus didn’t have? Blood. Because “the life of the flesh is in the blood” (Leviticus 17:11). And also sin is in the blood.

So Jesus was able “to eat and drink, after that He rose from the dead.” (Acts 10:41) He asked His disciples as He was with them after His resurrection, “Have you any meat? And they gave Him a piece of broiled fish and a honeycomb. And He took it and did eat before them.” (Luke 24:41-43) So it’s pretty clear that He wasn’t like some ethereal ghost or spirit but was a tangible living man, the Son of God, in His new body, like the one we will ultimately have.

But it must be that it will in some way really be sustained in a new way, utterly by the Spirit since it seems that blood may no longer be involved. He could appear and disappear, evidently pass through walls and finally ascend up into heaven. But He said of Himself that He still had flesh and bones and He could and did eat with them, even in this utterly new physical condition.

This is fascinating for me. This is our ultimate destiny and destination, to still retain many of the attributes of the life we have now, but in a new, eternal, upgraded condition. We’ll be utterly changed but it won’t be all so different that we can’t understand it or work within it. The Corinthians had asked Paul about the resurrection and about “with what body do they come?” (I Corinthians 15:35), referring to the eternalized saints. I Corinthians 15 is a whole chapter on that subject. It’s just natural that we all are curious about some of these things and that we need and want some answers for it all to make sense. Wonderfully, it does. We’ve got a lot to look forward to.