Daniels Image a Fresh Look
most Bible students places us, historically speaking, beyond the point of the stone having smitten the image. Some believe it began to be smitten in 1914; while others believe it is yet to be smitten. In this article we would like to take a fresh look at this controversy
James Schucker
Nebuchadnezzars Image a Fresh Look
INTRODUCTION
Most Bible students understand Daniel’s image in Daniel 2 as placing us, historically, beyond the time when the stone struck the image. Some believe this smiting began in 1914, while others believe it is still future. In this article, we will revisit that controversy and seek a reasonable conclusion about where we stand in the stream of time, as illustrated by the prophecies of Daniel 2 and 7, along with several passages in Revelation. Daniel 2 and 7 provide a broad outline of mankind’s chronological history, leading into the Kingdom for which we pray. As we examine these visions, I will include my thoughts in [red script].
Daniel’s Image was a vision God gave to both Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel concerning the period in which the Gentiles would rule over Israel, fulfilling God’s promised punishment for Israel’s disobedience and failure to keep His Law, as stated in Leviticus 26:14-20. There the Lord warned that if Israel refused to obey His commandments, He would appoint terror over them, set His face against them, and allow their enemies to reign over them. He further declared that He would punish them “seven times” for their sins, break the pride of their power, make their heaven like iron and their earth like brass, and send wild beasts among them. [360 x 7 = 2520 years; 607 BCE to 1914 = WW1. The iron and brass prophetically point to the Greek and Roman portions of the Daniel 2 image, showing that the prophecy applies not only to the Jews but also to grafted-in Christians; the wild beasts allude to the four beasts of Daniel 7.] Jesus referred to this prophecy in Luke 21:24, saying that the Jewish people would fall by the sword, be led captive among all nations, and that Jerusalem would be trodden down by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles were fulfilled. This indicates that the “seven times” punishment was not merely the 70 years of desolation in Nebuchadnezzar’s day, but a designated prophetic period. Many Bible students understand it as 2,520 years, using the day-for-a-year principle shown in Ezekiel 4:6: “I have appointed you each day for a year.” Since a prophetic year contains 360 days, seven times equals 2,520 years, reaching from 607 BCE to 1914 CE. [One year must be added when crossing from BCE to CE because there is no year zero.] Using a 365-day year instead brings the calculation to 1948 (7 x 365 = 2,555 years, from 607 BCE to 1948 CE). These two dates are significant in relation to the Jewish return to Israel: the Balfour Declaration, issued in 1917 and connected with the beginning of the war period, and the establishment of Israel as a sovereign state in 1948. Daniel 7 also presents seven heads of government that ruled over Israel, suggesting that the “seven times” punishment may be viewed from more than one prophetic angle.
We will begin with a brief overview of the vision and the points on which most Bible students generally agree. Daniel 2:31-45 describes a great image representing Gentile rule over the land: a head of gold [Babylon], breast and arms of silver [Persia], belly and thighs of brass [Greece], legs of iron [Rome], and feet partly of iron [Papal Rome] and clay [Catholic Church]. The stone, cut out without hands [God’s Kingdom, not established by human power], strikes the image on its iron-and-clay feet [beginning in 1914 with WW1], breaking the image apart and beginning the collapse of Church-State relations. Daniel then explains that the kingdoms represented by gold, silver, brass, iron, and clay are broken together and carried away like chaff, while the stone becomes a great mountain and fills the whole earth [God’s Kingdom filling the earth, ultimately connected here with the United Nations moving to Jerusalem, Israel]. Daniel identifies Nebuchadnezzar as the head of gold, followed by Persia, Greece, and Rome. The divided feet and toes picture a partly strong and partly fragile kingdom, with iron and clay representing the uneasy mixture of Church and State. In the days of those kings, God sets up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, will not be left to the Gentiles, and will break, consume, and replace all these kingdoms forever. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.
As noted earlier, this vision appears to describe the period during which God punished Israel for its iniquities. It should now be clear that this period of punishment has ended. Israel—the Jewish people as they exist today—has returned to its land, and since 1967, Jerusalem is no longer “trodden down by the Gentiles” in fulfillment of Luke 21:24 andthe “times of the Gentiles.”
The Jewish Double
Within the 2,520-year “seven times” punishment, Scripture appears to identify another period of chastisement that ends before the seven times are complete. This is spoken of in Isaiah 40:1-2: “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, says your God. 2Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she has received of the LORD'S hand double for all her sins.” Here, “double” does not mean twice as much, but an equal or corresponding period. The prophecy points to a punishment equal in length to the time when Israel enjoyed God’s exclusive favor while the Gentiles were largely passed over. Because of Israel’s unfaithfulness, that same length of time became a period of chastisement for Israel while the Gentiles were brought into relationship with God. God is both a precise timekeeper and a God of perfect justice. This 1,845-year period began in AD 33, when Jesus rode into Jerusalem as King and declared in Matthew 23:38, “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate,” fulfilling Zechariah 9:9-10: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, your King comes to you: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. 10And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off [that is, He would stop fighting for Israel and leave Israel desolate]: and he shall speak peace unto the gentiles: [calling from among them a people for His name, as stated in Acts 15:14] 12Turn you to the strong hold, you prisoners of hope: even today do I declare that I will render double unto you.”
This “double” is a 1,845-year period of Jewish chastisement matched by a corresponding blessing to the Gentiles, extending from AD 33 to 1878, when the Jewish people were again permitted to buy land in Israel for the first time since the Bar Kokhba revolt against Rome in AD 132–135. The Berlin Congress of Nations, assembled in 1878, allowed Jews to purchase land in Israel again and marked the beginning of the harvest described in Hosea 6:11: “Also, O Judah, he has set a harvest for you, when I return the captivity of my people.” Jesus referred to this same development in Mark 13:28-29: “Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near: 29So you in like manner, when you shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors.” Our Pastor, the seventh messenger, taught that the Harvest began with the Lord’s return in 1874 and would culminate in a world cataclysm beginning forty years later, in 1914, when WW1 began. This parallels the forty years from Jesus’ first advent in AD 30 to AD 70, when Rome came against Israel and decimated it. Likewise, WW1 began in 1914 and shattered the Church-State systems of Europe. Since then, the world has changed dramatically: the clay, representing the church, has been broken away from the iron, representing the state; Church and State in Europe are no longer united. WW1 broke that union apart. Many today believe Russell was wrong; I do not. Although Russell did not see how long the remaining prophecies would take to unfold, he was correct, I believe, about when the battle of Armageddon would begin. In my view, Armageddon is closely connected with the stone striking the image in Daniel 2. I would now like to examine that connection and the parallels between the smiting of the image and the events associated with Armageddon.
Smiting the Image = Armageddon
Just as the smiting of the image is connected with the “seven times” of Leviticus and Daniel, culminating in 1914 and WW1, so Armageddon appears to be tied to that same date. Revelation 16:17 Says “Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air →[Charles Russell now having been caught up into the air himself, he now understands and gives the message to those who have seen him go and get a double portion of his spirit to write it down.]← and a loud voice came from the throne in the temple →[Where Russell went]← saying, “It is done!” →The times of the Gentiles are ‘done’ and Israel now needs to be reestablished← 18And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a great earthquake →[Describing World War 1 which resulted in the Balfour Declaration which stated that Palestine was to be considered the national homeland for the Jewish people…]← the likes of which had not occurred since men were upon the earth—so mighty was the great quake. →Hence the term ‘The Great War’ was given. It caused the takedown of the kings which had previously taken down the Harlot City of Rome and had eaten her flesh, by taking the Papal States away from her and burned her with fire. Rome itself was taken in 1870 by Victor Emmanuel, who was the King of Sardinia. Fulfilling Rev 17:16]←
19The great city →[Babylon i.e., the Roman Empire which at that time ruled 84% of the earth]← was split into three parts →[(1)–The West–Europe and its allies, (2)–The East–Russia and its allies, and (3)–The colonies still subject to the east and west empires. It is also the reason why people began to use the term third world countries.]← and the cities of the nations collapsed →As the financial systems ‘collapsed’ resulting in the great depression]← from 1929 - 1939. And God remembered Babylon the great and gave her the cup of the wine of the fury of His wrath. →[By sending hunters after the Jewish people to get them to go back home. Resulting in World War two.]← 20Then every island →[Colony]← fled →[With the help of [The United Nations and Decolonization]← and no mountain →[Empires with Colonies]← could be found. [And Israel was restored.]
21And great hailstones →Solid Biblical Truth← weighing a talent each rained down on them from above. →And those who had buried their talent Matthew 25:28 lost their talent and it was given to those who had 10 talents to help them understand. And he that buried his talent was cast into outer darkness← And →As a result← men cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because it was so horrendous. →Especially seeing what happened to the Jewish people during WW2. And unable to comprehend the events, many believed God was indifferent and stopped identifying themselves as Christian. Hence the burning of the tares. Many who called themselves Christian but retained the mark of the beast, fulfill the Song of Solomon 5:2 & 3 as they do have some redeeming value when they support the Jewish people's return to their homeland Israel. As stated in Song 5:8-16.
This same wrath is also described in Revelation 14:19-20: “And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 20And the winepress was trodden outside the city, [Rome, which had already fallen in 1870] and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of 1600 furlongs.” This symbolic language, like Samson’s riddle in Judges 14:12, appears designed to be understood only by diligent students after the events unfold. I understand the city to represent Rome and the wider Church-State systems of Christendom. That city became a harlot when Constantine accepted Christianity and, on August 1st, 314 CE, presided at the Council of Arles as head of the Church, despite being only a one-year-old so-called “Christian.” The Donatists opposed this Church-State union and were therefore treated as enemies of the state, leading Constantine to persecute and kill them. This recalls John the Baptist’s opposition to the unlawful union of Herod and Herodias, for which he was beheaded. The killing of Christian Donatists beginning in 314 marked the beginning of the blood guilt that eventually rose “to the horse bridles.” Those who opposed the Church-State union were hated by governments, and many later believers were burned at the stake for rejecting that union and doctrines such as transubstantiation. In this interpretation, the “horse” in “horse bridles” represents doctrine, as in riding a hobbyhorse—specifically the doctrine of Church-State. Blood reaching the bridle signifies the fullness of blood guilt, much like saying, “I have had it up to here,” while motioning to the neck. Thus the “city,” the so-called Christian Roman Empire, was allotted 1,600 years to rule and “convert” the world to Christianity. From August 1st, 314, 1,600 years reaches August 1st, 1914, when WW1 began. From beginning to end, these systems were guilty of shedding innocent blood, even though they also helped spread Christianity. Therefore, on August 1st, 1914, the winepress began to be trodden for the offenses committed by Church-State unions during their rule. It was trodden “outside” its appointed space and time—1,600 years to the day—and also outside Rome itself, since Rome had first fallen in 476 and then was revived only to fall again when Victor Emmanuel II took Rome in 1870. This recalls Jesus’ words in Luke 11:50-51, that the blood of all the prophets would be required of that generation. Just as that generation was trampled forty years later in AD 70, bringing the Jewish nation to an end, so the generation living during WW1 was trampled for the sins of so-called Christendom. After its 1,600 = (40X40) - year reign, Christendom began to be “trodden” for its offenses, resulting in the end of the Church-State systems of Christendom.
I find it more than coincidental that August 1, 1914, fell on the same Jewish calendar date associated with the destruction of both temples: the 9th of Av. Hebrew Date Converter - August 1, 1914 / 9th of Av, 5674 - Hebcal. To me, this date marks the destruction of Christendom. With the outbreak of WW1, the former so-called Christian nations largely stopped identifying themselves as Christian. In reality, they had never truly been Christian but had only borne the name. Because the Lord would not allow His name to remain associated with those systems, He destroyed them, just as He had twice allowed the Jewish political systems to be destroyed on that same date.
Another prophecy that emphasizes fulfillment “to the day” is found in Genesis 15:13: “Then the LORD said to Abram, ‘Know this for certain, that your offspring shall be aliens in a land that is not theirs, and shall be slaves there, and they shall be oppressed for four hundred years.’” This was fulfilled in Exodus 12:40-41: “Now the length of time the Israelite people lived in Egypt was 430 years. 41At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the LORD’s divisions left Egypt.” The apparent thirty-year difference is resolved when we recognize that the 430 years began when the Lord made the covenant with Abram, while Abram was still living in a land that was not his own—at that time, still Shem’s land. The 400 years of oppression began thirty years later, when Ishmael persecuted Isaac on Isaac’s fifth birthday, thereby fulfilling the promised 400 years of oppression for Abram’s Seed. As a side note, 400 years equal 144,000 days, suggesting that each of us has our own “day” in Egypt. The main point is that the Lord keeps time precisely, even to the very day. Notice also that Exodus identifies that day as the day Israel “left Egypt.” This recalls Luke 17:29: “but on the day that Lot left Sodom, God rained fire and brimstone from the sky and destroyed them all.” Lot represents the “great multitude” of Revelation 7:9, and I believe the Lord, through the preaching of Charles Russell, gave the great multitude forty years’ warning to come out of “Mystic Babylon the great” Revelation 17:5 before beginning its destruction on August 1st, 1914. Thus, God began to rain fire and brimstone on that system of government through WW1, bringing the Church-State governments of Europe to an end. England, the one Church-State government allowed to remain in some measure, gained authority over Palestine and, in the Balfour Declaration of November 2nd, 1917, declared that Palestine should be regarded as the national homeland of the Jewish people. As a result, I believe the Lord looked favorably upon England, which also ceased persecuting those who spoke against its own Church-State union.
Note how Wikipedia puts it: “The European colonial period was the era from the 15th century to 1914 when Spain, Portugal, Britain, Russia, France, the Netherlands, Germany and several smaller European countries established colonies outside Europe. It has been estimated that by 1914, Europeans "had gained control of 84% of the globe… The system practically ended 1945-1975 when nearly all colonies became independent.”
So why were the “mountains not found”? Because the empires “mountains” were built upon the colonial system, and when the colonies got their independence mostly after WW2 the mountains-empires melted away which should remind us of Isaiah 64:1-3, “Oh that you would rend the heavens, that you would come down [a plea for the Lord’s Return], that the mountains might flow down at your presence, 2As when the melting fire burns, the fire causing the waters to boil, [making the people boiling mad at their leaders] 3When you did terrible things which we looked not for, you came down [the Lord Returned], the mountains flowed down at your presence.” The islands fleeing away became independent, which is the same thing that Jesus talked about in Luke 21:29-31, “And he spoke to them a parable; Behold the fig tree [Israel], and all the trees; [Colonies which received new life independent of the European Empires] 30When they shoot forth, you see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. 31So likewise, when you see these things come to pass, know that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.” Presently the springtime storms of WW1 and WW2 have passed as we entered the summer after WW2. We are now in the fall and “winter” again is near. Matthew 24:20, “But pray that your flight is not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day…” probably referring to the 7th millennium which the latest biblical chronology studies reckon it to begin in 2043.
Daniel 2:44 states, “and the kingdom shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.” Notice that it is God’s Kingdom that “breaks in pieces” the image. This breaking corresponds to the “islands fleeing away” and to “all the trees” putting forth leaves in Luke 21:29. Though the imagery differs, the result is the same: a new world order begins to take control and divide the old empires. The United Nations played a major role in breaking colonial ties with the European empires. Once those ties were broken, the former colonies gained independence and became part of the United Nations. In that sense, they were “consumed” into it, and the UN “grew” until it had, in effect, “filled the whole earth.” Meanwhile, the former empires have diminished, becoming more like hills than mountains, as suggested by Daniel 2:35. We are no longer under Rome’s power. The Papal Roman Empire has already been destroyed through the establishment of God’s Kingdom, represented by the stone that struck the image. That stone signifies the work of Jesus and His glorified Church. As both Daniel 2 and Daniel 7 indicate, the destruction of Rome’s power is both caused by and followed by the Kingdom of God.
When the United Nations was established in 1945, replacing the League of Nations formed in 1920 after WW1, about 750 million people—nearly a third of the world’s population—lived in non-self-governing territories under colonial powers. Today, fewer than 2 million remain in such territories, showing that this work is nearing completion. This also helps explain the expression “third world countries,” since these nations are generally understood as former colonies. In this view, Revelation 16:19 refers to this same development when it says, “And the great city [Christian Empire] was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: [The Great Depression] and great Babylon [Christian Empire] came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.” I understand that wrath as finding expression in WW2.
The United Nations - Decolonization
The Charter of the United Nations established, in Chapter XI (Articles 73 and 74), the principles that continue to guide United Nations decolonization efforts, including respect for self-determination of all peoples.
The United Nations Charter also established the International Trusteeship System in Chapter XII (articles 75-85) in Chapter XIII (articles 86-91) to monitor certain Territories, known as Trust Territories. Those Territories, each subject to separate agreements with administering States, were formally administered under Mandates from the League of Nations or were separated from countries defeated in the Second World War or were voluntarily placed under the system by States responsible for their administration. Eleven Territories were placed under this system.
Since the creation of the United Nations more than 80 former colonies have gained their independence. Among them, all eleven Trust Territories have achieved self-determination through independence or free association with an independent State. There are 17 Non-Self-Governing Territories remaining today. The work is nearing completion.
The UN has 4 main purposes summarized:
· To keep peace throughout the world.
· To develop friendly relations among nations.
· To help nations work together to improve the lives of poor people, to conquer hunger, disease, and illiteracy, and to encourage respect for each other’s rights and freedoms.
· To be a center for harmonizing the actions of nations to achieve these goals.
UN: Article 1: The Purposes of the United Nations are:
1. To maintain international peace and security, and to that end: to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace, and to bring about by peaceful means, and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law, adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of the peace.
2. To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and to take other appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace.
3. To achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion; and
4. To be a center for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of these common ends.
Article 2: The Organization and its Members, in pursuit of the Purposes stated in Article 1, shall act in accordance with the following Principles.
1. The Organization is based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all its Members.
2. All Members, in order to ensure to all of them the rights and benefits resulting from membership, shall fulfill in good faith the obligations assumed by them in accordance with the present Charter.
3. All Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered.
4. All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.
5. All Members shall give the United Nations every assistance in any action it takes in accordance with the present Charter and shall refrain from giving assistance to any state against which the United Nations is taking preventive or enforcement action.
6. The Organization shall ensure that states which are not Members of the United Nations act in accordance with these Principles so far as may be necessary for the maintenance of international peace and security.
7. Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorize the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state or shall require the Members to submit such matters to settlement under the present Charter; but this principle shall not prejudice the application of enforcement measures under Chapter Vll.
Notice what Simon Peter says in Acts 15:14-18: “Simon has described to us how God has intervened to choose a people for his name from the Gentiles. 15The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written: 16‘After this [after He takes from the Gentiles a people for His name] I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tabernacle. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, 17that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things’— 18things known from long ago.” Peter is quoting Amos 9:11, which continues in verses 13-15: “Behold, the days come, says the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed [in WW1 and WW2, the world began to be plowed and trodden]; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine [as reflected in the UN Charter; wine = doctrine, Matthew 9:17, and wine is produced by treading grapes], and all the hills shall melt [the islands—colonialism—having fled away, and the mountains no longer found, Revelation 16:20; only hills remain]. 14And I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel [Israel was reborn in 1948], and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. 15And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, says the LORD your God.” Notice the sequence: the plowman begins and eventually overtakes the reaper, and the treader of grapes overtakes the one sowing seed. In this interpretation, WW1 and WW2 began the plowing and grape-treading. Afterward, the mountains began to drop sweet wine, as reflected in the principles of the United Nations Charter, and Israel’s captivity began to be reversed when the nation was established in 1948. Much of this, I believe, has already come to pass. Yet it has not been completed. The fulfillment will be complete only when Israel recognizes Jesus as the Messiah. This agrees with the wording of Luke 21:28: “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draws nigh.”
Let us now consider Daniel 7, where God’s Kingdom is pictured as taking authority over Rome. Daniel 7:7-14 says, “After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast [Rome], dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns [10 nations]. 8I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another little horn [Papacy], before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots [the Heruli, Ostrogoths, and Lombards]: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things [the Papacy as the Antichrist system]. 9I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit... 10A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands [the Church] ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him [the great company]: the judgment was set [against the Papacy in 1799], and the books were opened [Revelation 10:9; after the French Revolution, prophecy began to be understood, beginning with Daniel and Revelation 10]. 11I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spoke [the False Prophet of Revelation 16 and 19]: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body [the Roman Empire] destroyed, and given to the burning flame [WW2 and beyond]. 12As concerning the rest of the beasts [Persia and Greece], they had their dominion [over Israel] taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time. 13I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man [Jesus] came with the clouds of heaven [in 1799, connected with Revelation 11:15, and in 1874, connected with Revelation 14:14], and came to the Ancient of days [Jehovah], and they brought him near before him. 14And there was given him [Jesus] dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” This corresponds with Revelation 11:15: “Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and loud voices called out in heaven: ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.’”
Daniel 7:19-28 Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast [Rome], which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass [Iron=Rome, Brass=Greece as Greece still had a part to play]; which devoured, brake in pieces [the previous Empires as the kingdom does to it at the Lord’s return], and stamped the residue with his feet [again an illusion to the Image in chapter 2]; 20And of the ten horns [like the 10 toes -10 nations] that were in his head, and of the other which came up [after the 10, the rise of Papacy], and before whom three fell [Heruli, Ostrogoths, and Lombards]; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spoke very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows [the rise of Papal Rome note this is the 8th face Revelation 17:11]. 21I beheld, and the same horn [Papacy] made war with the saints [the true followers of Christ beginning in 539] and prevailed against them [had as many killed as it could] 22Until the Ancient of days came [the enlightenment beginning in 1799], and judgment was given for the saints [true followers of Christ] of the most High [in 1878]; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom [in 2043?].
23Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom [Empire] upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces [having some similarities to God’s Kingdom]. 24And the ten horns [Heruli, Ostrogoths, Lombards, Allemanni, Anglo Saxons, Franks, Burgundians, Visigoths, Suevi, and Vandals] out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise [in the fourth century]: and another shall rise after them [Papacy] and he shall be diverse from the first [a Church-State government], and he shall subdue three kings. [Heruli, Ostrogoths, and Lombards, became incorporated into the Rome-dominated Kingdom of Italy] 25And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints [true followers of Christ] of the most High, and think to change times and laws [changing Sabbath to Sunday; Passover to Easter…] and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.[for 1260 Years from 539-1799] 26But the judgment shall sit [against Papacy in 1799], and they shall take away his [Papal] dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end [completed in 1870 under Victor Immanuel]. 27And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High [beginning with resurrecting the Church in 1878] whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him [Jesus]. 28Hitherto is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel, my cogitations troubled me, and my countenance changed in me: but I kept the matter in my heart. Even now we do not fully understand all the details, but we all should keep the matter in our hearts.
Daniel 4:34-37 says, “And at the end of the days [representing mankind after the 7 × 360 = 2,520 years, from 607 BCE to 1914 CE] I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding [began to] returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honored him that lives forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation: 35And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he does according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What are you doing? 36At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honor and brightness returned unto me; and my counsellors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me. 37Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.” In this view, since 1914 mankind’s reasoning has begun to return, though still imperfectly. The antitypical Nebuchadnezzar—the leaders of this world, especially those connected with the UN—do not yet fully “extol and honor the King of heaven.” However, I believe they will soon learn, as Russia is brought against Israel to fulfill Ezekiel 38–39, repeating in antitype Nebuchadnezzar’s casting of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into the fiery furnace.
Let me state this plainly. How did the Lord deliver Israel from Egypt? He did so through Moses’ preaching and through the plagues He brought upon Egypt, especially the final plague. We should then ask: Has Israel been delivered from the lands into which they were scattered—the antitypical Egypt, or the Christian world? The answer is clearly yes. Therefore, I believe the plagues have already accomplished most of their intended purpose, especially the final plague of Revelation 16. Yet I also believe that this work is still ongoing, since a few Church-State systems remain, along with 17 Non-Self-Governing Territories. The Stone has not yet filled the whole earth, but that process is well underway and nearing completion. Israel, however, has not yet been converted.
About Democracy
An interesting point appears in the sixth plague of Revelation 16:12: “And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.” Most Bible students understand the “kings of the east” to represent the Church. The question, then, is what is meant by “the way of the kings of the east.” Recently, in a meeting of Bible Students, the leader remarked, “We are a democracy, you know.” I suggest that democracy is this “way of the kings of the east.” In this interpretation, Revelation 16:12 means that the Lord would dry up support for the kings of the earth and replace it with a desire for democracy, causing people to become angry with unelected rulers. This idea is also suggested in Isaiah 64:1-2: “Oh that you would rend the heavens, that you would come down, that the mountains might flow down at your presence, 2As when the melting fire burns, the fire causes the waters to boil [people become angry at their leaders’ misrule], to make your name known to your adversaries, that the nations may tremble at your presence!” When WW1 began and so many died needlessly in the trenches, the kings were blamed. As a result, the aftermath of WW1 and WW2 produced a strong desire to establish democracies and remove kings and dictators. This led first to the League of Nations and, after WW2, to the United Nations, both of which encouraged democratic forms of government among the nations.
The challenge with democracy, even among the brethren, is that it works well only when people are informed and possess the right spirit. Even with good intentions, mistakes are often made, especially because Satan works hard to disturb peace among those involved. Since he remains the “god of this world” outside Israel, he seeks to manipulate circumstances against what ought to be done. The Lord, however, may allow this when it serves His larger purpose: teaching people the “knowledge of good and evil.” Therefore, I believe the establishment of the United Nations was, in God’s providence, a good development, even though Satan exploits misinformation, ignorance, and humanity’s fallen condition for his own ends. And what is Satan’s aim? To destroy Israel. Yet if God used the United Nations in connection with Israel’s formation, how should we understand this tension? What is the proper perspective?
Think of it this way: the Lord brought the plagues upon Egypt to free the Jewish people from bondage. Likewise, He brought plagues upon Christendom to release both Christians and the Jewish people from bondage to the Gentile kingdoms. Yet after Israel left Egypt, Pharaoh changed his mind and pursued them. This parallels what happened in WW2, when Hitler sought to destroy the Jewish people. Since WW2, it is as though we have entered the Promised Land; and just as Israel still had many battles to fight after Jericho, so similar struggles continue today.
You may ask, then, whether I mean that the United Nations is the Kingdom of God. My answer is: only in a very limited sense. I believe the UN corresponds to what Nebuchadnezzar saw as the stone beginning to grow, and that it is one instrument the Lord is using to fulfill Haggai 2:7: “And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come.” I understand that desire to be democracy. Yet because of Satan’s influence and the limited knowledge and understanding of those who make up the UN, I believe the Lord will eventually use it to bring Russia against Israel, as stated in Ezekiel 38:4: “And I will turn you back, and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you forth, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armor, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords.” Ezekiel 38:16-17 continues, “And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud [as in planes and drones] to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring you against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in you, O Gog, before their eyes. [see also Ezekiel 28:26]17Thus says the Lord GOD; Are you he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring you against them?” From what I see, the scenario may unfold this way: the Arabs, along with others such as Iran and Turkey, may act out of hatred toward the Jews in a way that Israel views as requiring a preemptive strike for self-preservation. Israel’s opponents would then bring that strike before the UN, where “all the nations” would condemn it and call for Israel’s borders to be rolled back, perhaps even again to the middle of Jerusalem. This recalls Zechariah 14:2, where half the city went into captivity in 1948.
When the Lord had Israel take over Canaan, he told them to drive out the Canaanites. Exodus 23:27-30, “I will send my terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run. 28I will send the hornet ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way. 29But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you. 30Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land.” This is what has been going on in Israel today… and then the Lord says in Judges 3:1-2, “These are the nations the LORD left to test all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan 2he did this to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience.”
So why has the United Nations, which helped bring Israel into existence, often been unfavorable toward Israel? I believe the reason is this: the Lord is teaching Israel warfare. Notice the following scriptures concerning Israel’s regathering. Ezekiel 37:10 says,“So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet an exceeding great army.” Likewise,Jeremiah 51:19-21 says,“The portion of Jacob is not like them; for he is the former of all things: and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: the LORD of hosts is his name. 20You [Jacob, not yet converted to Israel] are my battle axe and weapons of war: for with you will I break in pieces the nations, and with you will I destroy kingdoms; 21And with you will I break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with you will I break in pieces the chariot and his rider…” The point should now be clear. Zechariah 12:8-9 adds,“On that day the LORD will shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the LORD going before them. 9On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem.”
Joseph in Egypt
Why, then, does the Lord allow this? Because God’s people, the natural Jews, remain in unbelief, thinking they have returned to their land through their own strength and determination. They still do not recognize Jesus as their Messiah or acknowledge that, since His return, He has been restoring them to their land. Therefore, the Lord must continue preparing them to receive Him, and that preparation requires humbling. Scripture shows that this is the way He will humble and convert them. Ezekiel 39:7 says, “So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name anymore: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.”
There are two parts to the application of Ezekiel 37:9-10: “Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus says the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. 10So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.” These four winds are the same winds that blew away Nebuchadnezzar’s image in Daniel 2:35 and are also seen in Daniel 7:2. They are likewise the winds of Revelation 6:13 through Revelation 7:1, where four angels hold back the winds so they will not blow on the earth, sea, or trees. I understand these as the winds of the French Revolution, restrained so Christianity could continue to spread until 1914. These restrained winds were later released in WW1 and WW2, and through them national life was breathed into Israel, which has since become a powerful nation. Yet these four winds are not the Spirit of God. That remains the subject of the rest of Ezekiel 37. Israel received life as a nation before the battle described in Ezekiel 38-39, but I believe it will receive the Spirit of God after that battle. This distinction is illustrated in 1 Kings 19:11: “And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains [WW1 and WW2], and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake [revolutions causing colonialism to flee]; but the LORD was not in the earthquake.” Thus, the Lord was not the direct cause of those wars and revolutions; they arose through human leaders and Satan’s influence. 1 Kings 19:12 continues, “After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.” In my view, we have now entered the fire stage of that vision, especially since Covid-19 began.
The second part appears in Ezekiel 37:12-14: “Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus says the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves [their national graves, beginning in 1878], and bring you into the land of Israel. 13And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, 14And shall put my spirit in you, [probably after 2043?] and you shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall you know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, says the LORD.” This then leads to the end of the Millennial age, as suggested in Revelation 20:7-8: “And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 8And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.” This is a secondary application of Gog and Magog at the close of the Millennial age. Looking back at Ezekiel 37, the four winds, including the events of Ezekiel 38-39, will then have completed their work in Israel’s conversion and will be seen as the means through which Israel received the Spirit of God. Today, the four winds—which are not themselves God’s Spirit—have given Israel national life. After the battle described in Ezekiel 38, I believe Israel will receive the Spirit of God.
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