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Since Jesus recommends the book of Daniel to believers as well as the students of Bible prophecy, would it not be wise of us to investigate this book in these last days? Had "all" the people of 70ad done as Jesus suggested we would not have seen as many killed in the terrible siege of Titus when he came against Jerusalem EXACTLY as Jesus prophecies would happen 40 years prior. Like the nonbelievers in Jerusalem in 70ad, most people today refuse to research the prophetic FACTS of the Word of God. Those in Jerusalem ignored the trumpet blast made so clear by Jesus in Matthew 24. However, the true Christians that were in Jerusalem at that time understood plainly what Jesus was warning them of when they saw the "abomination of desolation" (Rome) standing there. They did EXACTLY as Jesus suggested they should do. They fled! However, history records, those that ignored the prophetic facts stayed behind in the city. What happened to them?
Over 1 MILLION men, women, and children died unnecessarily! They could have escaped death easily in advance if they just believed in what Jesus prophecied 40 years before! Think of all the prophetic fulfilments we have seen in our day. Think of all the prophecies we have seen in just the last 10 years! So many prophecies have been fulfilled that even the scoffer must be feeling a bit uneasy. Never before in the history of mankind have we seen so many graphic movements of the hand of God in prophecy as we see today. Babes in Christ that just started to study prophecy today know far more 'first hand' than some scholars of just a few years back! Isaiah 46:9-10, "Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:" The four prophecies of Daniel that we will look into have a common point shared between them: they all cover an extensively long period of history, from the time of Daniel, all the way up to the end of the world. So, without any further a do, let's begin with the first of these prophecies, that is, the one found in the book of Daniel, chapter 2. Daniel 2:1, "And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him." First of all, let's grasp the context of the time and place we are looking into...
One night, the king had a very upsetting dream. When he awoke he was unable to remember the content of that dream. However, it still remained in his heart that it was a very upsetting thing he had dreamed. So he desired greatly to know what it was. Daniel 2:2, "Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to shew the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king." Nebuchadnezzar, like many kings of old, was accustomed to consulting astrologers and magicians, especially for the interpretation of dreams. However, this time, his demand was extremely unusual because of the fact that he was asking more than the simple interpretation of the dream: the king wanted to know everything about the dream including all that he saw in it even though he totally forgot the dream and its contents. Of course this troubled the magicians and astrologers greatly because they felt that it was completely impossible to tell the king what he had dreamed as well as the interpretation of it without knowing at least the dream itself. Daniel 2:4, "Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriack, O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation." No different than today with all the psychics and magicians, the magicians and astrologers of Daniel's day were also fakes. These magicians and astrologers were in it for the money. It seems nothing really changes eh? These so called magicians and astrologers had no special power to see into the future or understand dreams, they merely 'acted a part" so as to make many believe they had this ability so as to fill their pockets. Like today, it was a piece of cake to tell people what the dreams meant by merely giving bogus meanings that "appeared" to make sense to the hearer. And no doubt, like today, demons were very beneficial in making some of the magicians and astrologers appear to be authentic by mixing truth with lies. Problem was however, what the king was asking this time was totally different. He not only wanted the understanding of the dream. He wanted to know WHAT he dreamed as well! With that request, the king literally discovered he had employed nothing but a pack of liars and fakes as magicians and astrologers. Daniel 2:9, "But if ye will not make known unto me the dream, there is but one decree for you: for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, till the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can shew me the interpretation thereof." As we can see, the king's suspicions are confirmed when they could not comply with his request. Seeing how the magicians and astrologers could not guess his dream, he looked upon that as proof that they were nothing but fakes without any power whatsoever! Being caught red handed, they tried to pull the onus off of themselves by trying to tell the king that his demand was unreasonable, but it only made him even the more angered. So angry in fact that he decided they should breath their last for lying to him for all those years.
Problem with this decree is, Daniel was also considered one of the wise men because of his graphic faith in the one True God. A God that did know secrets and was no faker by any means. So this death decree fell upon his head as well. So Daniel quickly appeared before the king begging mercy so as to have time to do as he requested regarding the dream. Daniel wanted to ask the True Creator God to reveal to him the kings dream. And seeing how the king knew of Daniel and his honest ways, he accepted his offer. So, Daniel went immediately to the Lord on this. And as usual, the Lord always moves in the life of His faithful servants. Faith in a Creator such as this has it's wonderful blessings! Daniel 2:19, "Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven." Daniel was blessed with the exact same dream the king had that night while sleeping. The Almighty Creator that knows secrets as well as all dreams of mankind as well as any thought of the hearts was merciful and blessed the faith of this prophet. So the very next day he rushed to the king to let him know what he knew.
The Lord blessed Daniel in a mighty way that day. And as the true prophet of God always does, Daniel did not seek glory for himself. He made sure it was known the secrets were revealed by the Creator God Himself so as to bless the king with knowledge of those things that troubled his heart as well as glorify the Lord. Had the magicians or astrologers known of this dream they would have sought glory for themselves so as to ensure further employment and "blessings" from the riches of the king.
Daniel
2:31-35, "Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great
Daniel is not only blessed by the Creator with the exact same dream the king had so as to prove to the king there is a God that knows all secrets. Daniel is also blessed with the interpretation of this dream so as to further glorify the Lord as well as please the king at the same time. Such wisdom has this God we worship!
As we can see, each part of this statue the king saw in his dream represents an actual kingdom. The first one, the head of gold, is in fact his kingdom of Babylon which was in power from 606 B.C. to 539 B.C. Jeremiah 51:7, "Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD'S hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad." Revelation 17:4-5, "And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH." It is very interesting to note here that elsewhere in the Scriptures, the name of Babylon is associated with gold. This kingdom was one of the wonders of the ancient world. Today it is referred to as on of the "7 wonders of the world", because of its splendid constructions and immense beautiful gardens. Specifically the "hanging gardens" of Babylon. Babylon deserved to be represented by gold the 'king of metals' because of it beauty and power. Notice this... Daniel 2:39, "And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee.
By the way. Notice how, as the metals decrease in value on the statue, they actually increase in physical strength as well from this point forward.
Historic record confirms that in 331 B.C. the Greek armies destroyed the last Persian king during the famous Battle of Arbela. The Greeks saw victory by the powerful and young king Alexander the Great. The Greek Empire was then established. It's rule actually covered far more territories than the two previous kingdoms. The reign of the Greek Empire of Alexander lasted 163 years, from 331 B.C. to 168 B.C.
In 168 B.C., it was the Roman Empire's turn to enact its supreme rule upon the region. Prophetically speaking, iron perfectly symbolizes this kingdom: its military strength and discipline, its domination over many conquered nations, its laws imposed on all people far and wide. Every aspect of this nation was like the strength and endurance of iron. This kingdom reigned until A.D.476. In fact the fall of this kingdom is VERY important to Bible Prophecy. It sets up what we see today in fact.
Did you notice? The dream that Daniel interpreted did not foretell a fifth global / universal kingdom to follow after the fourth, but rather the division of the fourth kingdom was prophecied instead. The kingdom of Rome weakened and was attacked by barbarian nations that finally resulted in the defeat of Rome. Each nation took a "piece" of what was left of the Roman Empire in fact. Just like the toes of the statue, these nations were ten in number. Seven of them originated European nations, but the other three disappeared completely thanks to the "little horn" of Daniel 7:8. Prophecy does in fact declare "how" they disappeared as well. But that as well as the little horn itself is an entirely new Bible study.
Daniel 2:43, "And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay." The dream
Daniel interpreted foretold that in spite of the efforts of these European
nations that sprung up from the fall of Rome, they would not succeed in
unifying to form a fifth global empire. Although many have tried, it will not
come to be! Charlemagne, Charles the Fifth, Louis XIV, Napoleon, William II, and
Hitler have tried in turn to place In some ways we can see that the Pope of Rome was able to get the majority of the European nations under one ruler. It is called the European Union today. (EU) However, the nations of the world have spread much farther than they were in days past. Now those ten toes depict a much larger geographical area. This is why the "Club of Rome" was formed in 1968. As prophecy declares, they need to gather as one under one ruler so as to enforce the mark of the beast. Adaptive Model of the Global World System "The Club's findings and recommendations are published from
time to time in special, highly confidential reports, which are sent to the
power-elite to be implemented. On As clay
cannot mix with iron, these leaders will not "cleave one to another." It may
look as if it's working for the most part today, but when this finally goes
global, as students of prophecy we will know this is the sign for the end as we
know it. All eyes in the Universe are about to see this event take place! For
it will result in the literal END OF THE WORLD,
and all governing nations of mankind will cease to exist after that day
forever. Only the Summarizing the dream, we see 5 points right off.
Daniel 2:44, "And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever." The Almighty did not give us prophecy simply to give us something to fill our curiosity with in historical studies or to fill the humdrum hours of the day. We need to study prophecy that especially lines up directly with historic events. It not only confirms His Truth, it also glorifies Him like no other way. It also makes us very aware of just how much He loves us. He actually tells us in advance what to expect all the way to the end of the world when the Lord returns and puts an end to all of mankind's evil kingdoms. If we don't study, our fate we be that of the non-believers in 70A.D. that saw death in a very graphic manner! They could have easily escaped all harm by simply studying prophecy! Daniel 2:45, "Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure."
When Jesus Christ returns, all eyes will see with graphic reality the fulfillment of this prophetic dream right before their very eyes. ALL nations on earth will crumble to dust at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. For it is plainly written.
There is an organization on earth NOW that has separated the planet into TEN KINGDOMS as Daniel predicts and Revelation 17:12 confirms... Adaptive Model of
the Global World System "The Club's findings and recommendations are published from time to time in special, highly confidential reports, which are sent to the power-elite to be implemented. On 17 September 1973 the Club released one such report, entitled Regionalized and Adaptive Model of the Global World System... The document reveals that the Club has divided the world into ten political/ economic regions, which it refers to as 'kingdoms.'" Prophecy DID SAY.
When the club of Rome is "officially" setup, Jesus will return "in the days of these kings."
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