A Confirmed Covenant?

Did the unthinkable happen right under our noses and with barely a mention of it from the international press? Perhaps. The more likely scenario is that we are seeing the final chess pieces being moved into position for what Satan thinks will be a spiritual checkmate.

In what could be the biggest prophetically relevant story to come out in recent days (amazing considering everything else that's going on in this world!), Discerning The Time ONLINE! is reporting that Italy held a Middle East peace conference in Venice from September 22-September 27!

That headline alone should set off bells and whistles in every student of prophecy given what God and the Bible has to say about the antichrist's rise to power, but check out some of the terminology being used in the news article and then compare that to what Scripture says - truly remarkable!

QUOTE: "'Let's make peace in the Middle East. Let's rebuild hope' is the slogan of the peace conference to be held in Venice."

BIBLE: "And in his place shall arise a vile person, to whom they will not give the honor of royalty; but he shall come in peaceably, and seize the kingdom by intrigue. With the force of a flood they shall be swept away from before him and be broken, and also the prince of the covenant. And after the league is made with him he shall act deceitfully, for he shall come up and become strong with a small number of people. He shall enter peaceably, even into the richest places of the province; and he shall do what his fathers have not done, nor his forefathers: he shall disperse among them the plunder, spoil, and riches; and he shall devise his plans against the strongholds, but only for a time." Daniel 11:21-24


Daniel prophesied of the Antichrist that there "shall arise a vile person, to whom they will not give the honor of royalty; but he shall come in peaceably, and seize the kingdom by intrigue" (Daniel 11:21). He is described here as a "vile person" because God knows he is, but it would seem that he is going to be quite a popular leader as far as the peoples of the world are concerned.

Exactly what it means about not giving him the honor of royalty remains to be seen, but in today's world royalty and monarchy grow increasingly unpopular. So perhaps it just means he is confirmed as a leader without giving him an appellation of royalty, such as king, but that he rules as an absolute ruler in the style of ancient kings. It appears he doesn't use violence to achieve his initial aims, and therefore would probably present himself as a promoter of international peace. But whatever his platform, he achieves his aims through intrigue.

The King James Version of the Bible uses the term "flatteries" in the place of "intrigue." This is also appropriate as it shows that he uses his considerable charm to flatter and weasel his way into power.

In the early stages of the Antichrist's regime, everything will appear to be going well. He'll be trying to make everybody happy, and will somehow manage to bring peace to many parts of the world. He will seem to be the smartest man who ever lived, with the greatest power and the greatest wisdom, able to solve intractable problems, stop all wars, and put everybody to work building peace.

"Peace and safety" will be a slogan of his government and the general populace. "Everything's going to be peaceful and safe now. No more wars. Everything's going to be secure. Everybody's going to have plenty"(1 Thessalonians 5:3). And despite some setbacks and troubles, initially it will seem to be true!

QUOTE: "The aim of the conference is to strengthen and extend the engagement of European authorities in promoting the success of the peace negotiations.

BIBLE: "And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate." Daniel 9:27

Oh yeah, it gets even more surreal than that! You know how the Bible talks about the "ten kings" of Revelation 17 in the end times? Well, a casual look into news about this conference online brought me to some rather fascinating information about the history of Venice itself, which leads me to consider that perhaps this location wasn't chosen by accident for this particular summit. In other words, as with all things, there's a spiritual connection. Please continue reading the next section and make your own final judgment.

The "Council of Ten" was a Venetian political organization in the 14th century. Alongside the Great Council and Senate stood the Council of Ten. In 1310 Baiamonte Tiepolo and other nobles had sought to seize power from the dominant faction in the Great Council. It was after the suppression of this conspiracy that the Great Council created the Council of Ten, armed with exceptional powers. To counter any attempts at sole personal rule, the Council of Ten was established to police the patrician order and defend the existing regime.

The Council of Ten, or simply the Ten, was, from 1310 to 1797, one of the major governing bodies of the Republic of Venice. Although its actions were often secretive, it was generally considered to be fair and effective by the citizens of the Republic. It was intended as a temporary response to the revolt led by Bajamonte Tiepolo against the Doge, and was given emergency powers to deal with the resulting unrest. Although originally established for a period of two months, its authority was continuously renewed, until it became a permanent body in 1334.

The Council was formally composed of ten members, elected for one-year terms by the Great Council. Members of the Council could not be elected for two successive terms, nor could two members from the same family be elected simultaneously. Leadership of the Council was vested in three Capi, who were elected from among the ten members for one-month terms, and the Council was formally tasked with maintaining the security of the Republic and preserving the government from overthrow or corruption, however, its small size and ability to rapidly make decisions led to more mundane business being referred to it, and by 1457 it was enjoying almost unlimited authority over all governmental affairs.

Did you catch that? Does anyone else find all of this history of the Council of Ten - specifically their structure, term limits, and power - interesting terminology and facts in relation to Christianity, the Bible, and prophecy?

Perhaps it's simply a case of me wanting to find a connection so I encourage you to make your own conclusions based on the evidence. Yet, we all know that Satan will try to mimic (as a form of mockery) anything to do with God and His plan for humanity, with specific attention given to the Holy Trinity and the Second Coming.

With that in mind, I am very intrigued by the fact that the "leadership of the Council was vested in three Capi" (a counterfeit Holy Trinity?), that they "were elected from among ten members" (a reference to the future Ten Kings of Revelation 17?) "for one-month terms" (which is eerily close to Scripture's description of "And he shall confirm the covenant with the many for one week" in Daniel), and "it was enjoying almost unlimited authority over all governmental affairs" (a reference to the revived Roman empire that will function as the one-world government in the last days?).

As if that weren't enough to get your heart racing on this subject consider the following coup de gras.

I also found out about something called the Venice Declaration from back in 1980. This was another worldwide diplomatic effort to generate peace in the Middle East. One of its stated goals included the following: "On the bases thus set out, the time has come to promote the recognition and implementation of the two principles universally accepted by the international community : the right to existence and to security of all states in the region, including Israel, and justice for all the peoples, which implies the recognition of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people."

Could this past week's peace conference be the one we've been watching for? Could it be the one which the future antichrist confirmed, since the existing framework for peace in the Middle East was already in place from a 1980 agreement? Did he confirm a covenant with the many!?!

Stay tuned, as I try to find some additional information on the outcome of this conference and report on the potential implications and ramifications for all of us Believers in Christ.

Look up!!!

Posted in: How Close Are We?,Israel And Middle East,Political Signs