the shattering of the power of the holy people: another red flag - the isolated interpretation of Jacob Prasch Moriel Ministries

Essentially the Intra-Seal theory, devised and peddled by Jacob Prasch, is a systematic denial of the gospel and the ministry of the Holy Spirit for the entirety of the 70th week of Daniel! As such, it should be viewed as a very serious false teaching.

I shall quote JP verbatim in order to avoid the possibility of being accused of quoting him out of context:

"Pentecost is reversed... the same as Jesus went and sent the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit goes and sends Jesus. In that interim period you have a powerless church that cannot fulfil its mission any more. 'work while you have the light; night comes - no man can work.' Does this mean the Holy Spirit is taken from us as individuals? No! What happened in John 20 is forever 'I will never leave you or forsake you.' .....but what happened at Pentecost is over. There is no longer conviction of sin, no more grace, now he is getting ready to be the God of wrath again. Pentecost is reversed..... That period of powerless in the interim is 'the shattering of the power of the Holy people.'"{1} 

"There will be a very difficult period called 'the shattering of the power of the holy people'. The church will have become so worldly and so corrupted, persecution becomes a necessary evil to sort out the faithful bride from the harlot church..... this will be the last chance for the bride to get ready... Don't confuse 'why are we here' with 'why is the church here'; the church will be finished, it will face disolution; the church will not be here, just the faithful people who are in it will be here waiting to be rescued. God will leave them here for purposes of preparing them for the coming of Jesus"{2}  

As far as I am aware, all other commentators believe "the shattering the power of the holy people" refers not to the church, but to the Jewish people. The only exception is Chris White, who believes that the 3.5 years is based on the exhausting of the power of the Antichrist, not the power of the people he “shatters" (see below). Here we have yet another isolated interpretation from JP which finds no biblical support and no agreement either historically or with modern scholarship!

I heard the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, as he raised his right hand and his left toward heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time; and as soon as they finish shattering the power of the holy people, all these events will be completed. (Daniel 12:7) 

Daniel 12:7 corresponds to Revelation 10:5-7 below. As well as alluding to the persecution of Antiochus and the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD, the shattering of the power of the holy people concerns the time of Jacob's trouble. Daniel 12:1 confirms this and also identifies Michael as contending against Satan: At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. (Daniel 12:1).

And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven and swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, that there would be no more delay, but that in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God would be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the prophets. (Revelation 10:5-7)

And I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream; he raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven and swore by him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time, and that when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end all these things would be finished. (Daniel 12:7)

The problem lies in identifying "the holy people". In context, this phrase refers to Daniel's people i.e. Israel, the Jewish people: "your people" (Daniel 12:1) "your people and your holy city." (Daniel 9:24). Daniel 12:1 marks the beginning of the "time of Jacob's trouble" with the abomination of desolation. (Matthew 24:15-22; Jeremiah 30:4-7). Unbelieving Israel will be shattered by the Antichrist and his anti-Semitic forces during the great tribulation. (Matthew 24:21 cf. Daniel 11:31). The question is, can we apply this verse to the faithful church? In the second part of the prophecy contained in the Olivet discourse. (Matthew 24:15-22), Jesus refers to Daniel and confines himself almost entirely to the fate of Jerusalem. The coming prince who will destroy Jerusalem and the Temple—the one who will make the Jewish nation desolate. (Daniel 9:26-27). The last half of Daniel’s seventieth week ends with the shattering of the Jewish nation (cf. Daniel 12:7). Certainly the church will experience terrible persecution during the great tribulation and the horn (Antichrist) will prevail over it. (Daniel 7:21, 25; Revelation 13:7). However, Israel does have to be distinguished from the church since it seems the purpose of their "shattering" is for their ultimate salvation (Jeremiah 30:7), whereas the faithful church will be persecuted, not to bring them to faith, but due to their already existing faith. If "the shattering" refers to the church, persecution is never linked to diminished activity of the Holy Spirit in the scriptures, rather persecution is the result of the activity of the Holy Spirit and the preaching of the gospel. (2 Timothy 1:8; 2:9). 

Below are some commentary notes from Stephen R. Miller which shows the traditional view i.e. that Daniel 12:7 refers to the Jews:

“During these three and one-half years,“the power of the holy people” will be “finally [probably better, “completely”] broken [or “shattered”].” The “holy people” in this context is a specific reference to Israel; therefore their “power” being “broken” signifies that the nation will be utterly defeated by their enemies. That the Jewish state will be attacked by many nations and crushed by them is taught elsewhere in Scripture (e.g., Zech 12–14). A breakdown in Israel's resistance to God (and his Messiah) may also be implied here. When in desperate straits, the Jewish people will cry out to God for help, repent of their sins, and receive Jesus as their Messiah (cf. Zech 12:10–14). At that time the Lord will return to rule the earth, and the tribulation will end (“all these things will be completed”). Zechariah describes Israel's deliverance (cf. 14:3–11).”{3}

Chris White's commentary on the Book of Daniel:

"When the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished. Many Bible versions give the impression that the finishing of all these things is contingent on the power of the holy people being completely shattered, but this conclusion would be wrong. The NET Bible renders the phrase this way: 'It is for a time, times, and half a time. Then, when the power of the one who shatters the holy people has been exhausted, all these things will be finished.'

This seems to reverse the meaning. It is saying that the 3.5 years is based on the exhausting of the power of the Antichrist, not the power of the people he 'shatters.' While the NET makes this case based on a linguistic argument,[54] it also enjoys some scriptural support. And he [Antichrist] was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority [power] to continue for forty-two months. - Rev 13: 5 Here we are told that the Antichrist is given “authority” for 42 months or 3.5 years. We can see that the 3.5 years will come to a conclusion, not because of anything that the people or the Antichrist do, but rather because that is the time allotted to him by God. When that authority is exhausted, God will finish him. So that is the meaning of the phrase 'when the power of the one who shatters the holy people has been exhausted, all these things will be finished.'"{4} 

David C. Grabbe: 

If the church's power—Jesus Christ, living in us by His Spirit—were ever "completely shattered," the gates of the grave would prevail against the church, and God's purpose would fail! But we know that cannot be so. Even though it is prophesied that the "holy"—set-apart—peoples of Israel will fall, and even though the church of God may not always have an open door to preach the gospel powerfully to the world—depending on what God is doing at any point in time—we can have every confidence that the power of the New Covenant church will never be shattered—for that power is God Himself!

In general, the book of Daniel contains prophecies of world-ruling empires that are mentioned only as they encounter Israel. The "holy people" of Daniel 12:7 could just as easily represent the nations of Israel, and the fact that their "power" can be shattered strongly implies that God's power is not under discussion. Defining the power of God's church as "shatterable" reveals a humanist bent, as it assigns importance based on corruptible human action rather than the will and outworking of the unassailable Head of the church. In fact, such an inclination on our part may have been part of the cause of the church's scattering in the first place! {5} 

Here we have yet another red flag going up concerning Jacob Prasch's skewed eschatological interpretations. I wonder how many more red flags we need in order to disregard JP as a valid voice on this subject? As I have said before, it is vital that the church has an accurate view about the 70th week of Daniel and is not deceived. We need to reject these unhinged ramblings based on human interpretation. (Matthew 15:9). 

I have now published my full Intra-Seal refutation on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/INTRA-SEAL-RAPTURE-DECEPTION-EXPOSED-devised-ebook/dp/B06X6N2JJT/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1489130468&sr=8-1&keywords=treena+gisborn


{1} https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8BousC77kU
{2} https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBXcQMtEdf4
{3} Miller, Stephen B.. The New American Commentary Volume 18 - Daniel (p. 323). B&H Publishing. Kindle Edition. 
{4} White, Chris. Daniel - A Commentary (p. 315). CWM Publishing. Kindle Edition.
{5} http://www.cgg.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Library.CGGWeekly/ID/282/Power-of-Holy-People.htm