r. Bill Deagle is a prophecy writer and speaker who burst upon the national prophecy scene last year with a series of high-profile speaking tours for the Prophecy Club_1. Deagle, who is also a medical doctor, has written a lengthy work entitled Clay and Iron - Answers To the Endtime Puzzle, in which he details his prophetic understanding. Additionally, he recently began publishing a newsletter under the banner of Clay and Iron Ministries.

From the very beginning of his book, it is clear that Deagle is not a professional writer. The work is confused, unstructured, and rambles from topic to topic with very little continuity. This makes the job of deciphering what Dr. Deagle really believes even more difficult. Then, to make matters worse, at various points in the book he frequently contradicts himself .

Under normal circumstances, this book would have simply faded into obscurity with little notice taken, except for two facts: First, Dr. Deagle has categorically stated that the angel Gabriel appears to him on a regular basis and much of the information in the book has come directly from the throne of glory. Second, during the time Deagle was touring with The Prophecy Club^®, Stan Johnson of the PC repeatedly stated, both publicly and privately, that Dr. Deagle was one of the two witnesses. These two facts have forced a biblical examination of the teachings of Dr. William Deagle.

The Prophetic System Of Dr. Bill Deagle

Although he does not teach a pre-tribulation rapture, Deagle's perspective appears to be largely dispensational. For instance, he specifically states that there is a period of time which he calls "the last seven years of this age," which he sees as yet to be fulfilled._2. This is the classic 7 year tribulation view of Daniel 9. Without a shred of scripture to support it, Deagle gives us familiar statements such as "the first half will be a false peace and prosperity."_3. As do virtually all dispensationalists, Deagle then sees the 7 year treaty broken after 3 years and the cessation of the then renewed Jewish sacrificial system on the temple mount occurring in the middle of the 70th week.

In other words, Dr. William Deagle is bringing us yet another variation on the "revived Roman Empire" fallacy that has become so deeply entrenched in American Christianity. Like virtually all rapture cult teachers, Deagle turns the famous 10 toes of the statue dream of Nebuchadnezzar into 10 kings - with no scriptural foundation whatsoever. Deagle writes "Daniel foretold that the feet and toes of this empire would be the last resurrection of the Roman Empire at the end of this age."_4. Thus we arrive at the signature statement of the work - which re-incorporates the very name of the book: "It is at the time of the Empire of Clay and Iron, therefore, that the events of the end of the age shall occur."_5.

This prophetic framework is then blended with another widely taught view. I'm referring to the well known 7th Day Adventist position that says that "America will enforce the worship and the resurrection of the unholy Roman Empire..."_6. This aspect requires America to be identified as the False Prophet, or the 2nd beast of Revelation 13. Thus America "causes" the world to worship the first beast, the European Community - the so-called "Revived Roman Empire."

At this point, Dr. Deagle adds another common prophetic theme - but once again, in the wrong place. He takes the Gog-Magog prophecies of Ezekiel 38, that describe a last days attack on Israel by a coalition of nations from the North, led by "Gog and Magog," and turns "Gog" into a Russian Antichrist! He says "The head of Russia will be the Beast Dictator or antichrist who for the last three and a half years of the seven-year period will rule the earth."_7. There is no doubt that Dr. Deagle sees Mikhail Gorbachev as the Antichrist, for he devotes an entire chapter to his speech at a major New World Order event. Furthermore, in another place where he has Gorbachev's credentials, he writes: "Mikhail Gorbachev [President of the Green Cross and the Gorbachev Foundation, Princeton Full Professor, Future Anti-Christ]."_8.

In his effort to connect Gorbachev with the Gog character in Ezekiel, he makes a crucial connection without any underlying support or documentation. Deagle writes "The name of the Gorbachev family in Russia was Gogbachev before 1914. It's nickname is 'Gog'!"_9. To the best of my knowledge, this information comes out of thin air. No other prophecy author has ever mentioned it, no mainstream media account refers to it, and there is not so much as a footnote in Deagle's book to support it.

The Scriptures Contradict Dr. Deagle's Prophetic System

The prophetic system of Dr. Bill Deagle is completely untenable, and demonstrates a considerable ignorance of certain prophetic and political fundamentals. Furthermore, in the process of attempting to make his case, Dr. Deagle misstates numerous historical facts, gets crucial Biblical identifications wrong, repeatedly contradicts his own scenario, and makes sweeping statements with no supporting documentation. In short, if the angel Gabriel delivered this prophetic system to Dr. Bill Deagle, I can only presume Gabriel has defected to the other side.

For starters, if the treaty of Daniel 9 that Dr. Deagle proposes is 7 years in length, then under Deagle's scenario, the Antichrist must be the author of the treaty, in order to break it in the midst of the week. How then, may we ask, does a Russian invader named "Gog" come to such a position of influence that he makes the famous fictional 7 year treaty with Israel that places him in such esteem that the Jews see him as their messiah? One only has to look at the current political landscape to realize that Russia has had no standing at all in any Middle Eastern peace initiatives in recent memory. Furthermore, before any candidate for the office of Antichrist (EC, Papal, Mohammedan, UN, Russian, etc) can make this theoretical 7 year treaty with the nation of Israel, America must somehow be sidelined.

This is because the United States has been, and continues to be, the center of all Arab-Israeli peace initiatives. America has been at the apex of every Israeli peace initiative, beginning with the Camp David accords in 1979. Because Deagle's version of the treaty has a future treaty based on a 7 year cycle in view, for any third party to step in now and negotiate that treaty would require that the United States be taken out of the way. We do believe that America will be removed from her position of influence, but the chronology won't work under Deagle's scenario.

Dr. Deagle also expects America to be destroyed, but he sees "Gog" (Mikhail Gorbachev in his version) nuking America 3 years after the treaty has been signed. This chronology is wrong. Deagle never explains how his version of Antichrist can produce the treaty, when he doesn't have America taken out of the process until 3 years after it is signed.

To clarify matters, I'd like to repeat a crucial point. In order for anyone to be considered a viable candidate for the role of the Antichrist, he must have some political standing in the Middle Eastern peace process. Deagle never explains how Gorby enters into the political peace process that has never included Russia.

This chronological inconsistency surfaces time and time again in Deagle's system. For example, in regards to this prophesied destruction of America, Deagle associates it with the 10 king coalition spoken of in Revelation. He writes that the 10 kings are "...global non-elected representatives [that] will give the authority to the Russian leader to attack America and Israel and set up the headquarters for the NWO in Jerusalem."_10.Yet in another section of the same book, he says that the 10 kings are associated with the European Community! If the "10 kings" represent the EC, they can't very well be "non-elected," for the EC members are all democracies.

The blatant contradictions just keep coming. On the one hand, Deagle tells us the Russians and her "Islamic allies" will attack America in the middle of the tribulation. Yet later he says "America will be attacked with nuclear weapons and burnt with fire"_11. by the ten horns - who he has already identified as the European Community! Which is it?

Chronological Inconsistencies Abound

In the process of weaving together this convoluted series of theories, Dr. Deagle regularly contradicts his own chronological statement. For example, he plainly subscribes to the standard dispensational drivel that says the first of the four horseman, the white horse, is the Antichrist. Yet he tells us "this starts on day 1260 of the seven year period."_12. This would be mid-trib, or halfway through the 7 years. The problem is, he has already told us the Antichrist comes to power at the beginning of his theoretical 7 year period, in order to make a treaty with the Jews. He says "The Antichrist will present himself as a man of peace as he enters the city of Jerusalem to set up his throne; the throne of the Holy Roman Empire."_13.

These two chronologies are clearly contradictory. If the Antichrist comes to power in Jerusalem at the beginning of a 7 year treaty, how does he then arrive again 3 years later at the first seal (white horse) judgement?

This confusion of chronology is not the exception, it's the rule in this book. As another example of the complete chaos of Deagle's approach, he takes the various seal, trumpet, and vial judgments and completely disregards every chronological indicator in the scriptures. For example, each of the these judgments (seals, trumpets, vials) has a stated sequential order. The first seal is followed by the second seal, then the third, and so on. It's very clear the early trumpets are more destructive than the early seals, and the early vials are more destructive than the early trumpets. There is an obvious consistent increase in severity and frequency in Revelation's descriptions of these judgments.

Yet Clay and Iron puts forth the preposterous proposition that "The first five seals, vials, and trumpets are all started on the Passover, at Day 1,260."_14. In simple language this would mean that all 3 sets of judgments all begin on the same day! I'd like to focus on this statement in greater detail, in order to show how logistically impossible this interpretation actually is.

The first seal is the white horse, which Deagle says is the arrival of the Antichrist. When he arrives, Deagle has him entering Jerusalem at the beginning of a 7 year period that he's already said is a time of great peace. Deagle says the Antichrist's treaty is responsible for "...the securing of world peace."_15. In fact, in the very same paragraph of Deagle's book, he repeatedly uses the word peace as he describes the arrival of the Antichrist. Dr. Deagle writes "The Antichrist will present himself as a man of peace . . . Thus he will call himself the messiah . . . to bring peace to the Islamic and Jewish homeland. With the Palestinian-Israeli Peace Treaty and the securing of world peace, the Antichrist will ride forth to conquer by peace."_16.

Yet he tells us this is synchronized with the arrival of the white horse. This is already contradictory, for the text says the white horse "...went forth conquering, and to conquer." There is no hint of peace in this passage._17. At the very least, someone that rides in to conquer and is armed with a bow (which is only used as an offensive weapon), certainly doesn't sound like a person that is bringing in a day of "great peace."

Deagle then says the first of seven trumpet judgments also begins on that very same day of "great peace." Of course, Revelation tells us when "The first angel sounded [blew the trumpet] . . . there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up."_18. So the grass has already been completely burned up, a huge portion of the trees are on fire, but the whole world is at peace!

As if that isn't enough, he also tells us the first of the seven vial judgments also hits on that same day. For the record, the first vial judgment reads as follows: "And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshiped his image."_19.

So the world is enjoying a time of "great peace," but most of the population is breaking out with loathsome and painful sores while the trees are all on fire?!! Yet that is precisely the chronology being put forth by Dr. Bill Deagle.

Also note, that by the time of the first vial judgment it is clear the mark of the beast has already been inaugurated. Yet the earliest text in the seal judgments where we find the persecution of the Christians is the 5th seal - most likely as a result of our refusal to receive the mark of the beast. So how could the punishment for receiving the mark of the beast be synchronized with the first trumpet/first vial/first seal if the "mark" isn't even introduced until the 4th or 5th seal?

Someone Hasn't Done Their Homework

Actually, there are errors all over this book. Important names and other words are misspelled, inaccurate dates are put forth, and scriptural ignorance surfaces time and time again. For instance, in one place he's discussing Russia and he mentions a former leader named Andropov, but he gets his first name wrong._20.

In another section of the book, that appears to have been written well before the publication date of 1999, he tells us Russia's economy will shortly boom due to the free market economy that was installed after the Soviet Union collapsed. In this regard, he predicts the European currency unit, the Euro, "will be made exchangeable with the ruble, Russia's currency."_21. Deagle goes on to say "The Russian people are the best savers in the world," so he predicts "this will bring tremendous wealth to [the] Soviet people...."_22. Of course anyone with a modicum of synaptic activity, who has read a newspaper in the last few years, knows Russia is dead broke. So much for the predictive ability of Dr. Deagle.

The political fantasies just continue to pile up. We continually read that the Antichrist will be "...the Russian king of the Unholy Roman Empire...."_23. Yet this Russian leader, who will supposedly be embraced by modern Europe, will have "Islamic allies" helping to invade Israel. Over a dozen times he refers to "the Russian and Islamic alliance."_24.

The reality is, in the Moslem republics of Chechnya and Dagestan, Russians are currently shooting and bombing Islamic women and children. Russia also recently bombed a village in neighboring Georgia. The war between Islam and Russia is so fierce that the Mufti (Islamic priest) of Dagestan recently declared a formal Islamic Jihad, or holy war, against Russia. The conflict is so widespread that a recent headline screamed "Islam's holy warriors join a crusade against Russian power in the Caucasus."_25.

As I write this essay 100,000 Soviet troops have 1,500 Chechnyan, Dagestani, and various Arabic fighters completely surrounded in Grozny, Chechnya's capital. In fact, this conflict stretches back over a hundred year period, when Russia fought Persia (now Iran), and later a protracted guerrilla war with an Islamic cleric name Shamyl the Avar, in the very same region. More recently, Russia was beaten by the Islamic Mujahadeen in Afghanistan.

How then do we constantly hear from Deagle and other dispensationalists like Hunt, Missler, and Jeffrey about how Russia and her "Islamic allies" will invade Israel? The fact is, the interpretations offered by Dr. Bill Deagle, and virtually every rapture cult teacher in the world, simply don't fit the political reality of Russia and militant Islam - Russia and Islam are bitter enemies, not allies. This is not the only example of Dr. Deagle's writings being completely out of step with political reality. I can't help but suspect he is simply ignorant on far too many subjects to be writing about them.

To further examine this ignorance, let's consider the following facts. On page 195 of Clay and Iron, Dr. Deagle tells us "East Germany is the thirteenth member of the E.C. and thus has subdued one of the former horns, West Germany."_26. This is almost surreal it's so far off the mark. West Germany was one of the earliest members of the European Common Market, later known as the EC, or European Community. Years later the dominant West German democracy assimilated poverty stricken East Germany. The former Warsaw Pact communist state was never a separate member, let alone the 13th member, of the EC! In the strange world of Bill Deagle, we need to wear hip-waders, because apparently he just makes it up as he goes.

On page 49 of Clay and Iron, we're treated to another bit of the good Doctor's wild imagination. Here he recounts events of the Gulf War of 1991 and tells us, with no underlying documentation whatsoever, that Israel was preparing to launch nuclear attacks after Iraq's Saddam Hussein struck Israel with Scud missiles.

Deagle writes, "Prime Minister Benny Begin ordered sixty Israeli jets to the air, and was transferring the unlocking codes for the nuclear warheads on the Israeli jets. The U.S. National Security Agency intercepted this intelligence, and George Bush intercepted the authorization for a nuclear attack on Damascus, Bagdad, as well as the plan for attack on Moscow."_27.

We can find no trace of any news gathering organization ever telling this story. There is no wire service account, no information bureau report, and no indication anywhere that any of this ever happened. We only have Dr. Deagle's story with zero documentation.

As any knowledgeable observer will tell you, Saddam Hussein is a mortal enemy of Hafez al'Assad, the head of Syria - where Damascus is located. Syria was not a combatant in the Gulf War. Why then, would Israel nuke Syria, when they were attacked by Iraq? Furthermore, since Russia condemned the Iraqi incursion into Kuwait that brought about the Gulf War, why would Israel then attack Moscow?

This fiction gets even more bizarre. In the previously quoted statement, Mr. Deagle says "Prime Minister Benny Begin ordered sixty Israeli jets to the air...." Benny Begin is the son of the late Prime Minister Menachem Begin who signed the Camp David Accords with Anwar Sadat in 1979.

While young Begin is an official in the Likud party, he has never been Prime Minister of the modern state of Israel! And he certainly wasn't PM during the Gulf War! This isn't ignorance, it's fraud, perpetrated by a man who doesn't know what he's talking about!

These gross inaccuracies present a solid indicator that something is dreadfully wrong with Bill Deagle's perceptions of the political and prophetic landscape.

Technology And The Iridium Debacle

Not only does Clay and Iron repeatedly speak of several 'mark of the beast' technologies, Dr. Deagle has a commercial video in release called - Iridium System - The Mark of the Beast? This Prophecy Club^®produced video tells us the commercial satellite phone system known as Iridium will be the technology that will administer the mark of the beast "around the globe."_28.

Much is made of the fact that Iridium features 66 satellites in strategic orbit to switch the telephone traffic around the world. While sixes do carry a prophetic significance, Dr. Deagle never mentions they lost one satellite shortly after the launch and the system has operated with 65 satellites from its earliest inception.

In this regard, Deagle again starts pouring on the manure by asserting that any Iridium subscriber's phone number is the equivalent of the mark of the beast! As proof, I'll provide another direct quote from this ridiculous false prophet. He says that Iridium subscribers' "world cellular Phone Number = Mark of the Beast."_29.

In another place, Deagle authoritatively tells us "My source at Martin-Lockheed identified that within 60 days a public offering to government and businesses in America would be made to completely shift their current communications and financial systems to Iridium. Businesses will be given an 'offer they can't refuse', convert or face financial chaos!"_30.

To set the record straight, not only did none of this happen, the Iridium system was so poorly conceived that the company recently filed for bankruptcy. One of the reasons the global telephone system was a commercial failure is the fact that there are several other competing systems that are technically superior and offer global telephone service at a more attractive price point. Another reason for the huge financial flop is more prophetically significant. It seems that in this age of tiny and sophisticated macroelectronics, the Iridium phones were considered too large, too heavy, and too bulky when they were compared with Iridium's global competitors.

If the system promoters (Motorola and others) couldn't produce a cost effective and small telephone for the system, how are they going to make it into a miniature micro-chip they then imbed in everyone's forehead? This kind of gross disinformation is par for the course when it comes to most of the exotic theories about 'mark of the beast' technologies. False teachers like Terry Cook have been propagating this garbage for years, so the truth never seems to stop people like Cook, Deagle, and others. Indeed, many prophetic charlatans seem to think if they couch their statements with enough techno-jargon, the gullible public will figure that 'surely the guy knows what he's talking about.'

Actually, on the subject of the supposed Irridium/mark of the beast connection, Deagle produces perhaps the single most incoherent statement in his entire book. Right in the middle of a scriptural citation we get the following unintelligible gibberish: "The Mark of the Beast Year/Month/Day: Mesh Bar Code-Sector --/Subsector--/and Local Subsector--: DNA Fingerprint------,6/6/6."_31. After hearing nonsensical statements like this, I can't help but think that while other's were drinking from the fountain of knowledge, Deagle only gargled.

The Lord Made Me Do It

As I stated in the beginning of this critique, this particular book would have been quickly dismissed as just so much poor writing had it not been for the backing of the Prophecy Club^® and Dr. Deagle's claim that Gabriel was regularly visiting him and giving him prophetic instruction. But Dr. Deagle's audacious claims don't end there. Not only does he tell us Gabriel regularly shows up with prophetic instruction, he actually blames the incredibly sloppy writing in Clay and Iron on the Lord.

Incredibly, in a 1999 newsletter, Dr Bill Deagle tells us this very book, Clay and Iron, was dictated to him by the Lord himself. Dr. Deagle writes, "Eleven years ago when the Lord dictated Clay and Iron and gave the keys of interpretation and unsealing of scripture, I received a Word from the Lord and a vision."_32.

During this supposed "vision," the Lord not only "dictated" this unscriptural gobbledy-goop Deagle calls a book, God also gave Dr. Deagle all sorts of information that is contrary to basic Bible. For instance, he has the Lord referring to "My Holy Nations" that He has chosen to deliver great wealth to in the end times. Ah yes, we thought some monetary component would show up soon! After all, isn't that the pattern? Whenever "God" or "Gabriel" starts visiting someone and giving them unscriptural instruction, eventually that instruction always seems to involve money! Perhaps that explains why Scam Johnson and The Postacy Club so quickly embraced the "ministry" of Dr. Bill Deagle.

Unfortunately, this spiritual dung doesn't stop there. It seems that during another of his visitations from the Lord, which Deagle dates at July 1999, God decided to give the physician turned prophet a new position. Deagle claims the Lord himself told him "I have chosen you out of all your brethren, to minister as a leader as I chose Moses."_33. This "calling" is a high one, for Deagle describes his role as helping "the hearts of the children [to] turn to the fathers and the fathers to the children for the Day of Decision is at hand."₃₄. This statement, written by Dr. Deagle, is obviously a paraphrase of the famous passage in Malachi alluding to the return of the prophet Elijah in the end times.

Because Elijah is widely perceived to be one of the two witnesses, it would seem Deagle is invoking this phrase in order to move closer to his claim of being one of the two witnesses. The problem is, of course, the Lord told him "I have chosen you" in the likeness of Moses - as opposed to Elijah. In his late 1999 newsletter, Dr. Deagle does, however, revert to his "Moses" character. In fact, he names an associate as the Elijah figure who is to accompany him on his great mission. Apparently, the other witness is an unknown individual named Pastor Ricardo Baeza, who just happens to be the co-author of a forthcoming book by Dr. Deagle. Deagle writes "I have received the mantel of Moses, and Ricardo the mantel of Elijah."_35.

Although this claim of being one of the two witnesses is a bit nebulous in his writings, Dr. Deagle has publicly represented himself in this role many times during his touring with The Prophecy Club^®. Furthermore, in a private telephone conversation, Stan Johnson himself pointedly told me he thought that Deagle was indeed one of the two witnesses. Johnson has repeatedly used the influence of his organization (The Prophecy Club^®) to represent Deagle as the genuine article_{. 36.}

More Chronological Contradictions With Scripture

This 'two witness' aspect of Dr. Deagle's "ministry" also is contradictory in chronological areas. If Bill Deagle and Ricardo Baeza are indeed the two witnesses, as Deagle claims, then where is Gorbachev and his supposed treaty with Israel? Perhaps "the two" are just warming up for their expanded role once the 7 years begins. Deagle seems to have a great expectation for this period, for he writes that "the light of Yeshua" will be seen in "the faces and words of the Two Witnesses" during the terrible times ahead._37.

While the book of Revelation does not specifically state that the 1,260 day ministry of the two witnesses precisely coincides with the 42 month term of the Antichrist, it is certainly implied._38. After all, their scriptural role seems to be to oppose the Beast and provide a heavenly as well as legal witness against him and the False Prophet. For them to oppose the Antichrist, they would have to be here at the same time. Yet Deagle states "The ending of the sacrifice, and thirty days later the violent enforcement of the Mark of the Beast on all citizens in America and around the world, will end the period of prophesying of these Two Witnesses. It will be for 1260 days."_39. This clearly shows his claim that the two witnesses show up in the first 3 1/2 years of his dispensational 7 year tribulation, whereas his version of Antichrist rules the world during the second half of the 7 year period.

While space limitations preclude a lengthy look at this aspect of prophecy, I'll simply say there is no scriptural authority for a 7 year tribulation at all. The only definitive period of time mentioned in the book of Revelation relative to the tribulation and the reign of Antichrist is 42 months. The 1,260 day period (which is 42 months) of the two witnesses is most likely concurrent with the reign of the Beast. In short, the tribulation is almost certainly just a bit longer than 3 1/2 years._40.

There are still more huge errors of a chronological nature made by Dr. Deagle. In Daniel chapter 8 we have the prophecy of the great ram and the he-goat. In this crucial prophecy, we see a ram that conquers until it is beaten by the he-goat. It is a prophecy of the Medo-Persian empire and the Grecian empire of Alexander the Great that succeeds it. The text itself says "The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and persia. And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king."_41.

The reader will remember the goat's horn is broken, then four other horns come up to divide his empire._42. These are widely seen as the four generals that succeeded Alexander at his premature death._43. The order of these kingdoms is also seen in the statue vision - Babylon (head of gold), followed by Medo-Persia (arms of silver), followed by the brass thighs (Greece), and finally the iron legs of Rome._44. This historical sequence of empires is undisputed in every secular historical account. It is taught in universities around the world, and may be found in any encyclopedia.

However, this doesn't fit Deagle's scenario, so he simply re-writes history and reverses the order of the two empires of Persia and Greece! Deagle writes "The Ram of Daniel 8:9 is the fourth part of the splintered kingdom of Alexander the Great, the Medo-Persian Empire."_45. This reversal is completely arbitrary. There is no historical basis for it found in any history book, and it plainly contradicts the scriptural account as well. Apparently, when it comes to promoting his version of Bible prophecy, Dr. Deagle is willing to even re-write the book of Daniel.

Who Is The Whore Of Babylon?

While Bill Deagle mis-identifies several of the key players in the political fulfillment of prophecy, he also fails to accurately identify the religious powers. One can search through the entire book of Clay and Iron without finding a single direct statement implicating the Papacy in the dragon's agenda. Instead, Deagle claims that the harlot religion of Babylon is actually Freemasonic in origin. He writes "Surely Masonism is the harlot religion which has prostituted itself for a financial gain."_46.

The very concept of prostitution implies a departure from a previous fidelity. Because Freemasonry has never held the truth at all, how can it then "prostitute" that truth? As a case in point, when the harlot religion is judged in Revelation 18, a mighty angel says "...the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee."_47. When was the voice of the bridegroom (Jesus) and the bride (the church) ever heard in Freemasonry? Clearly, the harlot religion once had a Christian worldview, but later "prostituted" that relationship and became the whore of Babylon.

This goes deeper into the basic scenario that Dr. Deagle holds for the two beasts of Revelation 13. He claims that the second beast, the False Prophet, is the United States and her president. In his newsletter, when he is quoting from Revelation 19, he comes to the passage where "the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet...."_48. In this passage, after the phrase the false prophet, he inserts "United States President."

Furthermore, because in the same passage referring to the Beast he brackets the phrase "Russian Leader," there is no identification at all concerning the Pope. This makes me wonder how a prophecy figure who was admittedly raised in a Catholic setting, can fail to even mention the role of the Pope in Bible prophecy. Is there another agenda that will eventually emerge in this regard?

Actually, in this mis-identification of Mystery Babylon, the harlot religion, we find yet another contradiction. In the previous passage he plainly stated "...Masonism is the harlot religion."_49. Then 29 pages later, he identifies the ten kings as "the ten world regional Masonic leaders!"_50. I would remind readers that Revelation tells us the 10 kings "shall hate the whore...and burn her with fire."_51. If the whore is Masonism, and the 10 kings that burn the whore are the controlling Masons, are they going to burn themselves?

Or did Dr. Bill forget he has already identified the 10 kings as "ten strong nations" that combine to form a "Russian-Eurasion Empire!"_52. Or perhaps he also forgot that even earlier he wrote that the ten kings "...are the ten regional directors of the world as per the Foreign Affairs circa 1970 article on the ten global regions."_53. While we subscribe to the "layered" prophetic approach that allows for more than one identification, Deagle seems to completely forget what he has already written and just keeps changing the scenario.

The Clay And The Iron

The ultimate indicator is found in Dr. Deagle's characterization of the title elements - the iron and the Clay. This lack of understanding completely betrays the false spiritual prognostications of Dr. Deagle. The allusion to the iron and the clay, of course, originates in Nebuchadnezzar's famous statue vision found in Daniel 2. The reader will recall the iron and the clay are associated with the toes of the 4th empire, which all agree is ancient Rome.

The fallacious "revived Roman empire" theory is based on inserting two thousand years after the "iron legs" of the Roman empire, and turning the ten toes seen in Daniel 2 into the ten kings seen in Revelation. Neither passage teaches a "revived Roman empire," but that never stopped dispensationalists like Bill Deagle. Incredibly, Deagle fails to see the obvious representations of iron and clay in scripture. Deagle writes "The military power of Russia and its allies will be considered the nations of Iron...."_54.

He then tells us "...the oil-producing resources of the Middle East [are] the nations of Clay."_55. These identifications come out of thin air, for there is no scriptural basis whatsoever to connect either political coalition with the symbols of iron or clay.

Both identifications depend upon inserting two millennia after the four ancient nations seen in the famous text. The head of gold (ancient Babylon), the silver arms (Persian Union), Brass thighs (Alexander's Greece), and iron legs (ancient Rome) terminate with the 10 toes that are mingled of iron and clay. There is not one word in the passage telling us there is a 'jump' to the last days. There is not one word stating the toes are kings, and there is certainly no scriptural type, inference, or even hint that the clay will be modern oil producing states.

Not only does Deagle (and apparently Gabriel too) thoroughly mis-identify the clay as a cluster of modern nations, he completely ignores numerous foundational scriptures that tell us the clay represents the people of the Lord. All the way back to the ancient book of Job, we see the famous sage saying "...thou has made me as the clay."_56. The great prophet Isaiah says to the Lord "Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? Or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?"_57.

This allusion runs throughout the entire word of God. Jeremiah quotes the Lord saying "O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter?...behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in Mine hand...."_58. Isaiah leaves no doubt at all as to the identity of the clay: "But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and Thou our potter; and we all are the work of Thy hand."_59.

It's worth noting that in the very passage dealing with the iron and the clay toes of the statue, when Daniel interprets the great prophecy, he adds a crucial component when he recites the actual dream. When he first describes the dream itself, he refers to the "feet that were of iron and clay."_60. Then when he interprets the dream he refers to "the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron."_61. Note how he has added the key word potter to the description. In short, whose clay is it? It's the potters' clay.

In the book of Romans, the Apostle Paul gives us a New Testament confirmation of this identification by citing Jeremiah with "Hath not the potter power over the clay...."_62. How then can the Christian church [the clay], which first appeared during the time of the Roman empire, be a cluster of Arab oil producers in the last days when the scriptures never say that?

The same mis-identification occurs with the iron. This "type" is seen throughout scripture as authority and government that is opposed to God. In Deuteronomy, God tells the believers if they turn from Him, he will send enemies that "shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck."_63. Jeremiah later uses a yoke of iron to describe the military might of ancient Babylon._64. Daniel's prophecy of the iron legs itself clearly speaks of the unparalleled authoritarian power of Rome.

Daniel's prophecy tells us the iron and the clay "shall not cleave one to another."_65. This clearly indicates that believers will be in conflict with every authoritative government in history. This prophecy is an enormously important truth, and cannot be forced into supporting Dr. Deagle's false interpretive system.

The Bible tells us to "earnestly contend for the faith...."_66. That word "contend" means to stand up and fight for the truth. Confronting gross scriptural error is not being contentious and argumentative - it is a Biblical imperative.

Considering the fact that the actual title of Bill Deagle's book is Clay and Iron, and he doesn't even know who the clay is, we are forced to resist him and his false doctrine at every opportunity. Furthermore, because the angel Gabriel never brings a false teaching, something is dangerously wrong in this man's ministry. And finally, because Dr. Deagle has categorically claimed that God himself "dictated" this book that is so filled with false doctrine, we can only conclude that the God of Bill Deagle is not the same Lord that we serve. Beware this man, and all that would follow him.

-- James Lloyd

FOOTNOTES:

1. The Prophecy Club^® (PC) has demanded that anyone that ever mentions their name in print use the registered trademark symbol because they are so commerically minded they want everyone to know they OWN this name. The PC is big on ownership. For a detailed look at Stan Johnson and the PC, please see the Christian Media Profile book entitled The Postacy Club A Critical Examination Of That Bunch In Topeka With The Registered Trademark.

2. Clay and Iron-Answers To The Endtime Puzzle, Dr. William Deagle, Central Plains Publishing Co, 1999, page 21

3. op. cit. page 188

4. op. cit. page 26

5. op. cit. page 27

6. op. cit. page 27

7. op. cit. page 198

8. op. cit. page 103

9. op. cit. page 73

10. op. cit. page 45

11. op. cit. page 45, 196

12. op. cit. page 78

13. op. cit. page 43

14. op. cit. page 47

15. op. cit. page 43

16. op. cit. page 43, emphasis mine

17. Revelation 6:2

18. Revelation 8:7

19. Revelation 16:1, 2

20. Clay and Iron, Page 217

21. op. cit. page 135

22. op. cit. page 135, 180

23. op. cit. page 78

24. op. cit. page 74

25. Financial Times, 8/26/99, page 6

26. Clay and Iron, page 195

27. op. cit. page 49

28. On liner note on the back of video tape

29. Clay and Iron, page 130

30. op. cit. page 132, incorrect grammar & improper punctuation in original

31. op. cit. page 230

32. At The Time Of The End Newsletter, V1 #1, D&V, emphasis mine.

33. op. cit. page 3

34. op. cit. page 4

35. op. cit. page 10

36. For more on this aspect of Deagle, see the information on the PC elsewhere in this issue.

37. At The Time Of The End, page 11

38. See Rev 11:4

39. At The Time Of The End, page 11

40. For more on this, see the author's 2 hour audio tape set on the 70 weeks of Daniel

41. Daniel 8:20, 21

42. Daniel 8:22

43. See the Prophetic Parallels video

44. Daniel 2:32, 33

45. Clay and Iron, page 252

46. op. cit. page 301

47. Revelation 18:23

48. Revelation 19:20

49. Clay and Iron, page 301

50. op. cit. page 330

51. Revelation 17:16

52. Clay and Iron, page 196

53. op. cit. page 45

54. op. cit. page 232

55. op. cit. page 232

56. Job 10:9

57. Isaiah 29:16

58. Jeremiah 18:6

59. Isaiah 64:8

60. Daniel 2:34

61. Daniel 2:41

62. Romans 9:21

63. Deuteronomy 28:48

64. Jeremiah 28:14

65. Daniel 2:43

66. Jude 1:3

Shortwave Wars I

Shortwave Wars II

Shortwave Wars III

Pastor Butch Paugh

Genesis Communications