Presents
Pamphlet #4392
Presents
Pamphlet #4392
My
Hi-lite:Nebuchadnezzar's dream; the great
image Daniel
2:31 Thou, O king, sawest, and behold
a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood
before thee; and the form thereof was terrible.
32
This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver,
his belly and his thighs of brass,
33
His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.
34
Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the
image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.
35
Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken
to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors;
and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the
stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole
earth.
The
interpretation; first world empire: Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar
36
This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the
king.
37
Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath
given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.
38
And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and
the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee
ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.
Second
and third world empires: Medo-Persia and Greece
39
And after thee shall arise another kingdom
inferior to thee, and another
third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule
over all the earth.
Fourth
world empire: Rome
40
And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as
iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces
and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it
break in pieces and bruise.
41
And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part
of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the
strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry
clay.
42
And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the
kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.
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.
Christ's
kingdom to be established on earth See
The
Stone Kingdom
4
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.
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.
Daniel 2:31 Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible.
Note: Some might also find interesting the definition for the Chaldean word translated "image".
image, tselem, tseh'-lem, Hebrew 6755; (Chaldee); or tselem, tsel-em'; (Chaldee); corresponding to Hebrew 6754 (tselem); an idolatrous figure :- form, image.tselem, tseh'-lem, Hebrew 6754; from an unused root meaning to shade; a phantom, i.e. (figurtive) illusion, resemblance; hence a representative figure, especially an idol :- image, vain shew.
A parable is like an image. It is a picture, a similitude, a likeness, a symbolic portrayal of one thing but which refers to the meaning of something else.
The point is that for a person to
understand an image or a parable,
both of which are symbolic portrayals
of something else,
one must understand the meaning
of the symbols that are used.
In other words, if you know what the symbology means you will have a clear picture in your mind of what is being spoken of.
On the other hand, if you do not know what the symbols are, the meaning becomes obscure and actually hidden from your view.
That is precisely why Jesus Christ spoke to the multitudes in this manner.
Let's listen to Christ's own explanation of why He spoke in parables as He responds to His disciples' question.
Matthew 13:10-12
And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
The disciples on the other hand
always came to Him privately afterwards
and diligently inquired of Him
as to the in-depth meaning of what He said.
That is why wisdom and knowledge was given unto them and not to the multitudes!
You see, it was no different back then than it is today!
[11] He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
He explains why in the next verse.
[12] For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
Whosoever has the desire to seek
wisdom and understanding by going to the Word of God
and inquiring of Him.
The majority of Christians rarely
if ever crack the book open,
so they are not given wisdom and
knowledge and understanding.
[13] Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
You "see", they do not really want
to know else they would hunger and thirst
and go to Him and seek the meaning
thereof.
The same applies to their hearing.
[14] And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
Here's the definition of the word "gross" used in the next verse:
gross, pachuno, pakh-oo'-no, Greek 3975; from a derivative of Greek 4078 (pegnumi) (meaning thick); to thicken, i.e. (by implication) to fatten (figurative stupefy or render callous) :- wax gross.[15] For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
Then open the book and hear His voice!
[16] But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.[17] For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
And many of our forefathers down
through the ages did not
and could not understand the things
pertaining to the last days,
the time of end.
But as it is written in Acts 2,
the sons and daughters of the last days,
the final generation would "see
visions",
i.e. understand the visions of
the prophets,
and they would teach those visions
to their brothers and sisters.
In fact, it is written that the
words of Daniel were closed up
and sealed till the time of the
end,
when the unsealing of his words
would take place by the Lamb of God to His people,
the wise, those who seek after
Him with open eyes and ears.
Daniel 12:9-10
And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.[10] Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.
Study your Father's Word with open
eyes and ears
and He promises to make you wise!
Let's return to Daniel who is now going to begin explaining to Nebuchadnezzar what he saw.
Then he will explain what the symbology means!
Daniel 2:32
This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly
nd his thighs of brass,
[33] His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.
But one thing we can readily see in our mind's eye and that is that this figure does not have a very solid foundation upon which to stand, does it?
That's because his feet are made up part of iron and part of clay!
[34] Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.
Nebuchadnezzar saw this thing standing right up until the sound of the 7th Trump when our Rock, Jesus Christ, the stone cut out without hands, comes and smashes the feet of this image and it all comes crashing down!
So never let anyone tell you that what we are about to read is purely history!
Learn to read and understand what the Word of God says... which is that this is for the "latter days", the "time of the end"!
The events that take place in Daniel concern "the latter days", the time of the end, especially that time when the entity known as the abomination of desolation (spoken of by Daniel the prophet), who is the king of Babylon of the last days, makes his appearance at the sound of the 6th Trump.
Thus we have in this book of Daniel a handbook and guide as to what God's elect, the sons and daughters of the churches of Smyrna [Rev. 2:9] and Philadelphia [Rev. 3:9], will be doing during that time.
Daniel has just given to the king of Babylon, who again is a type of the king of Babylon to come in the last days (i.e. antichrist), a detailed description of the image which he saw standing before him in his dream!
The image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, his legs of iron, and his feet part of iron and part of clay.
Let's consider the elements used to compose this great and terrible image.
They begin on top, at the head,
with the most precious metal (gold)
and they decrease in value down
to his feet.
They also begin with the heaviest
element (also gold)
and decrease in specific gravity
all the way down to clay.
Specific gravity of Gold = 19.3
Specific gravity of Silver
r = 10.51
Specific gravity of Brass = 8.5
Specific gravity of Iron = 7.6
Specific gravity of Clay = 1.9
So this image is not only standing
on a very weak foundation with feet part of iron and part of clay,
but it is extremely top heavy.
That will certainly make for a great fall, won't it?
Now, we must understand and keep in mind, as it is written in verse 28 which we covered in our last study, that the vision of this image was for the latter days.
The reason this is so important
is because there will definitely be a succession of kingdoms down through
the ages until the final generation when "nation shall rise against (along
side) nation and kingdom along side kingdom in the One World System of
Rev. 13:1
that rises from the sea (the sea
of people) and grows ever stronger until one of its heads receives a deadly
wound.
Then Satan and his angels
shall be cast out of heaven to this earth,
the deadly wound (Re. 13:3) to
the political system will be healed,
and the false messiah will take
over world domination, the dominion,
and spread his spiritual desolation
for his shortened season (Mat. 24:22),
the five month season of the locust
spoken of in Revelation chapter nine.
So before we continue in Daniel it would serve us well to establish a foundation from scripture concerning the appearance of Satan and his angels which occurs at the sound of the 6th Trump.
Let's begin with Rev. 12:7-9 and talk about the gulf war in heaven.
You are familiar with the gulf in heaven aren't you? It is where Satan and his angels are being kept at this time, where the son of perdition is being restrained by Michael (2 Thes. 2:6-11).
Oh, "but I thought Satan was already here", some will exclaim!
Well, think again. He would certainly like you to think he is here because then when he comes with his angelic host you will believe he is Jesus, because that is who he will claim to be.
No, Jesus Christ sent him back (behind Him) after the temptation in the wilderness.
Satan's evil spirit is here, just
as the Holy Spirit is here,
but he is not here defacto... not
yet...
but will soon be (i.e. he was,
and is not,
and shall soon ascend out of the
bottomless pit,
Rev. 17:8)! Here is the account
of the gulf war in heaven.
Rev. 12:7-11
And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
As watchman we cannot help but consider that perhaps there is a type about to take place here on earth as the prince of our people stands up and casts out that evil dictator in the land of Babylon.
We'll talk more about this in the latter chapters of Daniel!
But for now let's see what takes
place in the heavenly realm
where we just read the history
of the future that is soon to take place!
Who do you think won that war, Michael and his angels or the dragon and his angels?
We will find out in the next verse but first, "Do you know what the name Michael means?"
It means "Who is like Yah?" And the answer is "NO ONE"!
He is supreme and He has all power in both heaven and earth and His plan for the end of this age shall come to pass exactly as He has foretold us, exactly as it is written.
To that end, we will be reading and learning about "the hour" that is coming, that hour of temptation spoken of in Rev. 3:10 when the "tempter" is here defacto, that hour when the "ten kings" will be given power one hour to reign with the beast (Rev. 17:12).
That hour is soon coming upon the earth to "try them which dwell upon the earth"!
In fact, the majority of prophecy concerns the final generation which dwells upon the earth at that time!
That generation began on May 15, 1948.
Again, the point is that hour is coming... and perhaps sooner than some might think!
Do you think for one minute God isn't watching the fiasco of the nations at this time...
We are instructed to be watchmen, so at times we should pause and reflect on the things that are happening.
For example, when the seven astronauts fell from the sky resently, President Bush stood up and quoted from Isa. 40, the chapter which is called the second book of Isaiah because it is the chapter that introduces Messiah.
He quoted verse 26 but let's go there and quote the verse before that and the verse after that.
Isaiah 40:25-27
To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.
In other words, "Who is like God?"
That is exactly what the name "Michael" means, remember?
Next verse: (This is the one quoted from the Bush, President Bush that is.)
[26] Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: He calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that He is strong in power; not one faileth.
Make no mistake about it! Our Father is in complete control.
And He is JUDGE of ALL! DAN-I-EL, God is Judge!
[27] Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God?
Do you think for one minute He isn't watching the fiasco of the nations at this time... and at the same time keeping track of the very hairs on your head?
He certainly is!
We just read concerning the heavenly bodies... "He calls them all by names by the greatness of His might!"
And why sayest thou "my judgment is passed over from my God?"
Do people think there is no consequence to pay for forsaking the Lord God?
Boy, they really are in big trouble if they think that's the case.
Now notice that His judgment is brought into this!
The word "judgment" used in this verse is "shaphat" in Hebrew and you may recall that we talked about the Valley of Jehoshaphat in Joel chapter 3. Jeho-shaphat means Yahveh Judges!
So you better look up, lift up your eyes on high, all ye peoples and languages and nations and BEHOLD who is the Creator God... for His judgment doth soon come upon the world!
Where will you stand at that time... on His right or on His left (Mat. 25:32)?
Now let's return to Revelation 12 where the war in heaven is taking place and "see" who has the victory!
Rev. 12:8
And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
In other words, the king of Babylon is nothing compared to the power and might of Almighty God.
Therefore he is going to get the boot and be ousted when the Supreme Commander in Chief gives the command!
[9] And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
[10] And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.[11] And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
And they will stand up against the king of Babylon when they are delivered up before him (by the power of the first beast) and they will NOT bow a knee to him.
We are going to see a great ensample of this by Shadrach and company real soon.
But for now we are focusing on the fact that both Satan and his angels are cast to the earth following war in heaven.
Of course, one must be familiar with who Satan's angels are in order to understand the magnitude of what is about to happen.
These are the none other than the fallen angels, the sons of God called the "nephilim" in Genesis chapter 6 ("nephilim" comes from the word "naphal" meaning fallen) who came to this earth without being born of woman and took to wife the daughters of Adam in an attempt to destroy the seed line through which Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World, the One who would bruise Satan's head, would be born.
Well, get ready, because they are coming again!
How do we know that?
Jesus Christ told us. Remember, He has foretold us all things.
Matthew 24:38-39
For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
They were marrying and giving in marriage, as in "mixing with the seed of men".
You will find that documentation in Genesis 6!
Noah and his family were the only Adamic souls left who had not intermixed, mingled, with these fallen angels.
[39] And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
In other words, we shall have the supernatural, these fallen sons of God who are angelic beings, mixing with flesh man, just as it was in the days of Noah.
Keep in mind that the type we saw in the days of Noah is meant to show us for the most part what will be happening spiritually when they come to this earth. It is the spiritual seduction, the spiritual mixing, that will cause the majority of Christians to worship the false messiah and attend the wrong wedding feast, the great gathering together in Jerusalem!
Of course we know that Satan and his angelic host will have at most five months... according to the time of the locust in Rev. 9.
Finally, before we return to the awesome image in chapter two of Daniel, let's also document the magnitude of the sound of 6th Trump when Satan and his angels are cast to this earth as per the scriptures we covered in Rev. 12:7-9.
This should help in seeing why it is that the image of the one world system Nebuchadnezzar saw was so great and dreadful.
You "see", the image involved the supernatural!
Here is what Daniel wrote concerning the magnitude of the event "at that time" when Michael stands up and casts Satan and his angels to this earth and they mingle with flesh man.
Daniel 12:1
And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
Here are Christ's own words concerning the time He spoke of when the abomination of desolation (spoken of by Daniel the prophet) comes and stands in the holy place:
Matthew 24:21-22
For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
[22] And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
You see, this generation shall face the supernatural and because they are not mentally nor spiritually prepared with the strength which only comes from the Word of God, they shall be deceived by the miraculous things they will see!
Here are a few more scriptures for emphasis and another witness concerning the awesome time when Satan appears on the earth:
Rev. 13:13-14
And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
[14] And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
Ok, with that background in mind, let's return to the book of Daniel and pick it up in chapter 2 vs. 35 after Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar that he saw a stone cut out without hands smite the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and break them to pieces. That stone is Jesus Christ, the Rock of our salvation, the Stone of Israel as He is called in Gen. 49:24.
He is the stone which the builders rejected and He shall now be the head stone of the corner over all the earth (Ps. 118:22)! Jesus Christ is the Rock, the only true foundation upon which you can stand.
Don't put your trust in the beast and his system because the image that Nebuchadnezzar saw had a very weak foundation of iron mixed with clay and it's coming DOWN!
Stand firmly upon the Rock and put your trust in Him.
It is important to remember that these kingdoms were types and that this dream of Nebuchadnezzar concerns the end time when all the kingdoms of the earth and all the powers of their types are brought together in the New World Order. Daniel 2:35
Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
There will be no place found for "red" nations that are communistic, or oppressive dictators, or socialist idealists!
God's elect who rule with Christ for the 1000 years called the Millennium will see to it!
[36] This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.
And you can bet your booty that Daniel now has his full attention!
You can also be sure Nebuchadnezzar will not question the validity of the interpretation he's about to receive from this one named "God is Judge".
Here is the interpretation.
[37] Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.
God gave it to him because God has a purpose in using the king of Babylon to bring about the chastisement of His children whereby at the sound of the 7th Trump they will be so devastated and ashamed for having been spiritual whores and jumping in bed with the false messiah, that they will turn their hearts to Him and desire to have His laws and statutes now etched in their hearts and minds.
In fact, in Jeremiah 27 God calls the king of Babylon "my servant"!
Jeremiah 27:6
And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him.
Daniel 2:38
And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.
He'd gladly rule over us if we'd let him.
[39] And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.[40] And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.
There was the Medo-Persian empire, the Grecian empire under Alexander the Great, and the Roman empire.
While it is true that there is an exact overlay of history, it is important to remember that these kingdoms were types and that this dream of Nebuchadnezzar concerns the end time when all the kingdoms of the earth and all the powers of their types are brought together in the New World Order.
[41] And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.
You see, there's a big problem in that iron and clay don't mix.
Neither do the kingdoms (royal nations), the nations of the true house of Israel, i.e. the Christians nations of the world, mix ideologically with many nations (ethnos) who are communist red, etc.
For that reason the New World Order never quite gets it all together and in fact receives a deadly wound!
[42] And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.
[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.
In our next study will learn that those fallen angels who are cast out with Satan are the ten toes who are the kings who wear the crowns (like gold) of Satan's power structure at the end of this flesh age and rule with the beast for that final hour!
What an exciting time to live, especially for those who seek the wisdom and knowledge from our Father's Word and are thus blessed with eyes to see and ears to hear to understand precisely what He foretold us would be happening!
And you know what?
Many of the things Jesus Christ told us would transpire during the final generation of the fig tree have already come to pass!
And that which is yet to come is really going to be something... a time such as has never been since ever their was a nation!
So prepare now and put on the whole gospel armor of God and get ready to take a stand (Eph. 6)!
It cannot be emphasized enough that the image which Nebuchadnezzar saw was for these latter days.
In our last study we documented that the beast system of the final generation culminates in an incredibly awesome power structure combining all the characteristic powers of history's world dominating empires*, because at the sound of the 6th Trump the "nephilim", those same fallen angels of Genesis chapter six, are coming with power (horns) to rule (crowns) and preach (breastplates, Rev. 9:9) and "mingle with the seed of men".
And we know from Rev. 17:12 that they shall reign with the beast for one hour, which is that final hour of temptation (Rev. 3:10) that shall come upon the earth to try them that dwell on the earth (not kill their flesh).
Jesus Christ Himself said in Mat. 24:21 that it will be a time tribulation, great spiritual tribulation, such as this world has never seen nor ever shall see again... for it will be a great battle for the soul's of men.
Again, this all happens before Jesus Christ comes to this earth with His saints, whom He has made kings and priests to rule Him when He ushers in the kingdom of God.
But you must see and understand that Satan is the great imitator and imposter and as it is written (2 Thes. 2) he shall appear first as the spurious messiah claiming to be God and his angels shall appear with him claiming to be the kings and priests of the most high and they shall reign with him... for that one hour.
* Note: See Dr. Bullinger's marginal notes in the Companion Bible on page 1183 concerning the different characteristic powers of the kingdoms.
Now, it cannot be emphasized enough that the image which Nebuchadnezzar saw was for the latter days and as we will read in Dan. 2:44, it will be during the days (of the reign) of these kings that the God of heaven shall set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed.
To that end, as we stated in earlier, we are going to go to the 17th chapter of Revelation, the sister book to the book of Daniel, and gain some insight into Satan's final kingdom when he comes with his kings and priests to reign on earth for a "short space of time".
We will begin in verse 7 where the angel is speaking to John and is now going to tell him the "mystery of the woman" for it ties directly into the image we are studying in Daniel chapter two.
Rev. 17:7
And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
Rev. 17:18
And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.
He also told His disciples in Luke 21:6 concerning that location that not one stone shall be left atop another when He returns.
Why not?
Because He is going to pulverize them, smash them all to smithereens!
The point is... the mystery that the angel is about to reveal to the wise has to do with Jerusalem, the land of Judea, the place where Jesus Christ told us to leave and get away from when we see the desolator come and stand (in the holy place) claiming to be God (see 2 Thes. 2:4).
Let's review Matthew 24:15-16, "When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) [16] Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:"
Here is the understanding of the mystery concerning the woman!
Rev. 17:8-15
The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
In other words, right now he is the prince and power of the air, which means that his evil spirit is here and prevails upon the earth at this time....BUT, he shall soon ascend out of the bottomless pit when Michael casts him and his angels to this earth as per Rev. 12:7-9 and he shall reign in person for a short season claiming to be the true bridegroom.
[9] And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
Wisdom comes from God and you are given that wisdom and revelation of the mysteries of God (Dan. 2:47) by studying and absorbing the true bread of life and drinking from His living water of life while at the same time abstaining from eating the king of Babylon's meat and drinking his spiritually intoxicating wine.
This you should have learned so far from the book of Daniel.
You "see", it is written concerning these last days, as God's judgment draws nigh, that the words of the prophet Daniel would be unsealed, unveiled, to the wise.
To unveil or uncover is what the word revelation means.
The wise are those who study God's Word and take heed to the instructions of Jesus Christ such as in Matthew 24 and Mark 13 where He tells us if we desire understanding then go read the words spoken of by Daniel prophet which pertain to the "time of the end" when the abomination of desolation, Satan as antichrist, is cast out of heaven with his angels (the instead-of-kings-and-priests) and comes standing in the holy place and takes over world dominion.
Daniel 12:9-10
And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.
[10] Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.
They shall think that Jesus Christ has returned to the earth.
But those who read their Father's Word and the great book of Daniel seeking His wisdom SHALL understand...because they are wise and faithfully do as Christ instructs them to!
"Who is in charge of the land of
Judea today?"
The answer is the
"good and the bad figs" of Jeremiah 24.
Now let's return to Rev. 17 and complete the understanding of the seven kingdoms which have reigned in the land of Judea since the time of Nebuchadnezzar's vision, which is the "hereafter" spoken of in Dan. 2:29.
Rev. 17:10
And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.
In fact we read in Mark 13"20 concerning the "short space" that the Lord did in fact shorten the period of antichrist's reign.
Mark 13:20 "And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect's sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days.
After the short space, the shorten time given to Satan to reign defacto upon the earth, Michael takes hold of that sucker and casts him back into the pit for the duration of the Millennium (Rev. 20:1-3), after which he will be released for another short space and then be cast into the lake of fire where he will perish for ever and ever, i.e. he will be no more (Ezek. 28:19).[11] And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
Now, let us see historically from the time of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon's dream until today what crowns have occupied Jerusalem in the land of Judea.
First, there are five which have
fallen, which means they are now history!
[see Rev. 17:10 ...five
are
fallen,...]
They are as follows:
1. Gold = Babylonian Empire
2. Silver = Medo-Persian Empire
3. Brass = Grecian Empire
4. Iron = The Roman Empire
5. Iron and Clay = Mohammedan Power from 636 AD until 1948 AD.
That's five which are past history, which leaves us with the question "Who is in charge of the land of Judea today?"
The answer is the "good and the bad figs" of Jeremiah 24 which were set out in the land of Judea, though it is politically controlled by the bad figs! [See #1969]
This happened on May 15, 1948, when the United Nations gave sanction to the state of Israel.
(Read "The Parable of the Fig Tree" [Pamphlet 1031} if you do not understand this.)
So they are the 6th kingdom to occupy the land of Judea. [see Rev. 17:10 ..., and one is, ...]
Hey, their standard even bears a "star" with 6 points on it!
How about that?
That leaves one crown yet to come! [see Rev. 17:10 ...and the other is not yet come;...]
My friends, that leaves the ten horns, which are the ten kings, the ten toes of the image Daniel described to Nebuchadnezzar, which have not come to power yet, but will reign with the beast, that one who ascends from the bottomless pit, i.e. Satan!
Revelation chapter nine will make it real clear to you who comes out of the bottomless pit and who their head is, even Apollyon, the desolator.
Nevertheless, understand from the next verse that the 10 horns John saw are the ten kings who are yet to come and reign with the beast!
Rev. 17:12
And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
[13]These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
Don't misunderstand, they do not submit their power to the beast, they give their supernatural power and strength to it, as in add their power to the beast making it an awesome thing!
And as it is written, those who do not have the seal of God in their foreheads and lack the wisdom to know what is happening, will surely WONDER (be astonished, marvel) after the beast... remember?
Rev. 17:8 "The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is."
Those who are alive at the time of the end shall all see the image Nebuchadnezzar saw, only in reality, the real thing, i.e. not in symbolic form!
The "these" in the next verse are the 10 supernatural kings, the fallen angels, who come and reign with antichrist.
[14] These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
Are you called, and chosen, and faithful?
Do you have the "gospel armor" on and in place whereby you are ready to take a stand against the fiery darts of the wicked one (Eph. 6)?
Some of God's elect are going to be delivered up before Satan (whose name is "death", Heb. 2:14) and shall give witness and testimony as the Holy Spirit speaks through them with such wisdom and clarity that even the gainsayers will be convinced!
But have no fear and as per Christ's instructions, do not worry (be anxious) and do not premeditate what you shall say when you are delivered up.
Your Father is in complete control!
In fact, we will soon witness an ensample of that delivering up in this book of Daniel and see His power and control... for Satan cannot harm one hair on your head!
You "see", we ALREADY have the victory!
The New World Order is going to come crashing down HARD and be broken to smithereens!
So after learning who the 10 kings are, let us now return to the book of Daniel and pick it up in chapter two verse forty-four and see how these 10 kings make out in their war against the called, the chosen, and the faithful.
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.
In other words, all peoples, nations, and languages shall bow to Christ's authority, His name, and rulership shall not be left in the hands of red, socialistic, communistic rulers of oppression.
As it is written, the nations shall be ruled with a rod of iron under the authority of Jesus Christ, the King of kings and the Lords of lords, and the saints of the most high who shall come and TAKE the kingdom and possess the kingdom and reign with Christ for a thousand years.
The kingdom therefore shall NOT be left to other people!
Don't take my word for it!
It is written, and so shall it be.
Daniel 7:18
But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.
Rev. 11:15
And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever.Rev. 20:6
Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
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.
And the fact that the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold, are all broken to pieces at the same time, the time when "the stone cut out of the mountain (of God) without hands", i.e. Jesus Christ our Rock, smashes the image and breaks them all to pieces, further shows that they are present at the sound of the 7th Trump when Yahshua Messiah returns.
And by the way, don't read over the categorical statement that the "dream is certain" and the "the interpretation thereof sure", because Nebuchadnezzar's dream shall come to pass in reality.
In fact, much of it has already has, if you have the wisdom to understand.
Also, notice that the order of the smashing is from the bottom up where Jesus Christ obliterates the 10 toes, the fallen angels (the deeper student will note Rev. 11:13).
The bottom line is that at the 7th Trump our Rock, that Stone cut out without hands, will smash this beast and his image and usher in the Kingdom of God.
It is certain and it will happen exactly as it is written.
This is really a very simple picture and there is no reason to try and make it complicated.
To study the Bible is the noblest of all pursuits;
to understand it, the highest of all goals.
We pray that with the guidance of the Holy
Spirit, you accomplish both.
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