Are you wise?
Study your Father's Word with open
eyes and ears
and He promises to make you wise!
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"!
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.
We are going to closely examine
this image in our study and even discover how top heavy this thing
is.
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.
This is an important verse
in setting the timeframe for the meaning of this awesome
image.
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"
We
are studying the great book of Daniel,
which
is the Apocalypse of the Old Testament
and
a sister book to Apocalypse of the New Testament,
the
book of Revelation.
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 earlier,
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 of) 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.
"The Four Hidden Dynasties of the New World Order"
Live
Link to-Take Heed of the New World Order
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.
At
that time, Satan as the Instead-of-Jesus (anti-christos) shall have the
same worldwide power structure (Rev. 13:1) that he had in the first earth
age (Rev. 12:3), the age which Peter calls "the world that then was" (2
Pet. 3:6), the age when Satan used the Four Hidden Dynasties of politics,
education, economics and religion to bring about a New World Order in defiance
of the truth and justice that flowed from the mercy seat of God.
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. Satan would certainly
like you to think he is here now 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,
These
are certainly interesting
and exciting times in which we live, aren't they?
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" (5 month period of time) that is coming, that hour of temptation
spoken
of in Rev. 3:10 when the "tempter", Satan, is here defacto, that hour when the
"ten kings" (his fallen angels) 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"! Yes, God will use Satan, who will come at the 6th trump to test us all, to see if he can get us to worship him, as God; Not waiting on the real Christ's return at the 7th trump. (The Hour of Temptation!)
Question; Do you know how to tell the difference between "What is holy" (Jesus) and :"What is profane" (Satan)?
You better learn!
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 a few years back, then, 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.
This is the LORD speaking and
He asks the question, "To whom then will ye liken me?"
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.
The nations and peoples of
the world better lift up their eyes on high and WAKE UP to what is happening!
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?
"Why sayest thou... My way
is hid from the LORD?"
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.
Satan and his angels don't
stand a prayer of a chance against "Who is like God?" and His angels!
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.
This is the primary reason
we came here, which is to document that it is not just Satan, but his
angels also are cast out with him to this earth?
[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.
God's elect are a bunch of bruisers
and are even called such in this book of Daniel.
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,
What were they doing before
the flood?
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 8 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.
That is what will be happening
when Yahshua returns at the sound of the 7th Trump. But, spiritually this time; Not physically!
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!
Make sure you "Endure til the End". Don't let Christ return to find you nursing Satan's "Spiritual Baby"
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.
Check out the word "trouble"
used in this verse and you will see this is talking about the same time
of great spiritual tribulation Jesus Christ told us about in Mark 13, Luke
21, and Matthew 24.
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.
There has NEVER been anything
like
what the world is about to see when both Satan and his angels are
cast to this earth!
[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.
Are you beginning to get the
picture of how spectacular this will be?
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,
The deception will overtake
and consume the world like a great flood!
[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.
This dude heals the deadly
wound to the one world system and brings peace and prosperity to the world...and
people will just love him to death... literally!
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
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.
Mountains are symbolic of
governments and nations and so it is that the kingdom of God and His
righteousness shall fill the earth when the King of kings and Lord of lords
returns to rule with a rod of iron. 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.
Daniel has just finished
describing in detail the dream that troubled and woke up
Nebuchadnezzar. 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.
Notice how it is that
Nebuchadnezzar got his kingdom and 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, i.e. Satan "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.
Again, historically He used his servant
Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon to chastise his people... as a type, an
ensample, to show us
how He will use the king of Babylon (Satan) at the time of the end
to do the same spiritually (1 Cor. 10:11).
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.
So, we learn that the king of
Babylon is the head of gold, ruler over them all, the prince and power of the
air. 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.
Historically speaking we had
different types of kingdoms follow the world ruling Babylonian empire. 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.
The world kingdom of the end time
shall be divided and will be extremely unstable and wobbly in that it is
top-heavy and stands upon feet of iron mixed with miry (muddy or wet) 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.
And so it is partly strong and
partly broken, or fragile, and so it shall continue to be until it is
destroyed by the stone cut out with out hands.
[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.
Yes, its going to be just like it
was in the days of Noah before the flood when the fallen angels came to this
earth and mingled with flesh man.
Next we 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 (5 months)!
What an exciting 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)!
Earlier 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 (5 , which is that final hour (5 months) 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 of 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 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" (5 months).
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.
So that there is no guesswork and
speculation as to what the subject of this "mystery" is, let's skip
ahead to read verse 18 where the angel tells us who the woman is.
Rev. 17:18
And
the woman which thou sawest is that
great city, which reigneth over the kings of the
earth.
The world ruling government of Satan and his angels when they
come, will be established in the holy city of Jerusalem which is where Christ said the
abomination of desolation would stand. 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!
Editor's note: Most commentaries say Jerusalem is the place. I am not at all sure of that. Paul in 2
Thes. 2:4 says, Satan will sit in the temple of God showing himself that he is God. I believe most commentators have a little bit of that "earth eyes disease", I call it! They have a hard time separating what is spiritual from what is physical. Where is the temple of God? Is it not in your heart? Not Jerusalem, not any longer. Even Matthew 24:15-16 doesn's say Jerusalem, it says, "the holy place."
The point is... the mystery that the angel is about to reveal to the
wise has to do 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.
This beast identified here is none other than Satan, the son of perdition, who was last
on this earth defacto (in person) when he tempted Christ in the wilderness, but
is not here now! 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.
Do you have a "mind which has wisdom"? 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.
The book of Daniel was written for
the time of the end, these last days, even to let us know what would happen
during the great tribulation, that one hour which is to come upon the earth to
try men's souls (Rev. 3:13)... which is even spoken of in the next verse.
[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.
The wicked shall have no clue as what is happening. 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! 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.
The last king who comes to reign in the
land of Judea is when Satan and his angels are cast to this earth for
"a short space" which is the five months spoken of in Revelation
chapter nine, the time allotted for Apollyon (the desolator) and his
locust army (his angelic hosts, i.e. his kings
and priests) to spiritually destroy all those who do not have the seal of God in their
foreheads
(Rev. 9:4), which is the Word of God written and etched in their
minds. 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.
[11]
And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the
eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into
perdition.
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).
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! 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
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!
This happened
on May 15, 1948, when the United Nations gave sanction to the state of Israel.
(Read "The Parable of the Fig Tree" if you do not understand this.) So they are
the 6th kingdom to occupy the land of Judea. Hey, their standard even bears a "star"
with 6 points on it! How about that?
That leaves one crown yet to 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.
These ten kings are the "nephilim", the fallen angels we
identified earlier and spoke of in the opening paragraph.
[13]
These have one mind, and shall give their power and
strength unto the beast.
These all have one (evil) mind and they 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.
Prepare for war my friends... spiritual warfare that is! 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!
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.
Other people shall not possess the
crowns. 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.
This happens at the sound of the 7th Trump at the end of
the "short space" 5 months allotted for the reign of Satan and his angelic kings and priests!
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.
This is yet future when the saints of
the most high shall take the kingdom and shall possess the kingdom as per Daniel
7:18!
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.
The New World Order is going to come
crashing down HARD and be broken to smithereens! 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.
[46] Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his
face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an
oblation and sweet odours unto him.
Looks like our Father through his
servant Daniel got ol' Neb's attention all right! Of course
Nebuchadnezzar's worshipping Daniel was wrong, but that's the way idolatrous people
think and act. The fact is, the worshipping of any man, or angel, or image (as we'll find
out in the next chapter) is wrong for it is idolatry which is symbolized
throughout the Word of God as adultery. Remain a virgin and true to His Word and
get to know your heavenly Father for He
alone is worthy of our worship and praise.
[47] The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of
a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and
a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldst reveal this
secret.
People recognize when you humbly speak
with the wisdom God has given unto you and you are careful to give Him all the
credit, taking none for yourself. That was how God was made known by
Daniel to Nebuchadnezzar. You "see", teaching and declaring the visions
contained in law and the prophets after the same manner of "thus saith the Lord
God" results in others giving glory and honor to Him.
[48] Then the king made Daniel a great man, and
gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of
Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of
Babylon.
I'll bet the "wise men" really loved
the fact that Daniel was now their new boss! Not! Perhaps they were somewhat
grateful at first that he saved their necks though they were probably just
relieved. Nevertheless, it was not Daniel who saved them... it was
Almighty God. We also see in this verse that those who give witness and declare God's power and might shall
be given rulership in the kingdom. Remember, this is about God's judgment and
the rulership of the kingdom of God, which is why we are told that Daniel and
his companions are of the kingship line of Judah. Then too, God also promotes
and blesses His servants even while they are here laboring in the
vineyard.
[49] Then Daniel requested of the king, and he
set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, over the affairs of the province of
Babylon: but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.
Daniel considered himself part of the
brotherhood and was always thoughtful of his companions and was more than
willing to share his blessings with them. Remember too as spokesman, he was able
(through God's intervention) to bring the pulse and water for all to eat and revealed to them what God had
given him when they collectively as a body took their request to the
Father. And by the way, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego also were given
government jobs. You know, it all works out when you exercise faith and trust in
God.
Romans
8:28
And we know that all
things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the
called according to his
purpose.
Are you one of His called, and chosen,
and faithful? If so, it will all work out for you too, even though there are good days and there
are not so good days. As in the case of these young lads, one day they were about to be executed by the king of Babylon
and the next day they were on "easy street". Trust God, enjoy the day.
In our next study we will move to 475 BC, Daniel's 38th year, which
would be about 20 years after Nebuchadnezzar's dream. We will find that as the years went by ol'
Neb began to remember less and less about the God of heaven and focus more and
more on that which was most important to him, HIMSELF, and exalting himself.
Surely he remembered well that he, the great and powerful Neb, was that
head of gold. So we are about to see our Father give him another lesson in theology.
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Link to- The Book of
Daniel Table of Contents
