Ever heard of prophecies before? I'm sure some of you have a couple that come to mind. And what about Bible prophecies? You know, one of the reasons I have faith that the Bible is supernatural, is prophecy. My husband used to be agnostic and when he studied about the prophecies in the Bible, his whole worldview changed. As we get to know more about the prophecies of the Bible, my hope and prayer is that yours will as well.
Introduction
So the first prophecy I'd like to go over is the one found in one of the books of the Old Testament called the Book of Daniel. Daniel was a young Israelite captured by the Babylonians in 605BC and lived in Babylon as a wise man. Daniel stands out as a faithful Hebrew. Unlike many biblical characters, Daniel is faithful to God under all circumstances (at least those mentioned in the Bible). He loves God and only follows Him. The Book of Daniel is full of examples of faithfulness to God but is also rich in prophetic information. Daniel receives many dreams from God that point to things that are to come in the future. Today, we will go over the first prophecy from the book of Daniel which is found in chapter 2.
I recommend reading the whole chapter before reading this blog post. Here's the link.
Nebuchadnezzar has a dream
In the second chapter of the book of Daniel, we're told that the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, has a dream. However, the king doesn't understand the dream. So, he decides to give the command to call all the 'smart' people of the kingdom to come and tell him the interpretation. He gives the command to call the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dream.
Once the people are in front of the king they ask him the dream that they may give him the interpretation. The king, surprisingly to some, isn't dumb. He asks them to tell him what the dream was before interpreting. Knowing the dream without being told in advance would be supernatural. If they can do that, then he can trust that they can interpret it as well. Otherwise, they can just be inventing. So, what was their response?
The Chaldeans answered the king, and said, “There is not a man on earth who can tell the king’s matter; therefore no king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such things of any magician, astrologer, or Chaldean. It is a difficult thing that the king requests, and there is no other who can tell it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”
Death decree
Do you think the king was happy? Noooope. "Kill them all!" was the command given by the king. He was so angry that these supposed wise people didn't have the answer. After all, don't they claim to have higher wisdom? He was so angry he commanded that not only they would be killed but all the wise men of Babylon.
Daniel, a young Hebrew boy captured by the Babylonians, was part of the wise men of Babylon. And so were his three friends: Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. When Daniel heard of the decree, he asked the king for more time so that he can give him the interpretation. He went back home, informed his friends about the situation and started to pray.
Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel 2:19
Yay! Daniel is so happy, he goes to speak to God. I love what he says:
“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, For wisdom and might are His. And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, And light dwells with Him.
“I thank You and praise You, O God of my fathers; You have given me wisdom and might, And have now made known to me what we asked of You, For You have made known to us the king’s demand.”
Daniel goes to see the king
Without waiting any longer (I'm assuming), Daniel asks to be taken to the king. Something I love about Daniel is his humility. He's just been given a vision from God of the exact dream Nebuchadnezzar had. Nobody else in the whole country could tell the king his dream. Do you know what that means? Daniel could have just taken all the credit for himself. But before even telling the king his dream, he tells him:
27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, “The secret which the king has demanded, the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, and the soothsayers cannot declare to the king.
28 But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed, were these:
29 As for you, O king, thoughts came to your mind while on your bed, about what would come to pass after this; and He who reveals secrets has made known to you what will be.
30 But as for me, this secret has not been revealed to me because I have more wisdom than anyone living, but for our sakes who make known the interpretation to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your heart.
Unlike popular belief that the Bible was written by men who wanted praise and power to themselves, here we have an example of a servant of God who takes no honour to himself but gives all the glory to God. I think that's awesome.
Ok the good stuff is coming.....
Nebuchadnezzar's dream
Ok, so what was the dream?? Let's let the Bible speak for itself!
Illustration of King Nebuchadnezzar's dream in Daniel 2 (Image: screenshot YouTube)
31 “You, O king, were watching; and behold, a great image! This great image, whose splendor was excellent, stood before you; and its form was awesome. 32 This image’s head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. 34 You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
Interpretation of the Dream
36 “This is the dream. Now we will tell the interpretation of it before the king. 37 You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory; 38 and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all—you are this head of gold.
I bet the king loved hearing this! I'm also sure he wasn't surprised. Nebuchadnezzar, also referred to as Nebuchadnezzar II in history, was typically regarded as the empire's greatest king. History tells us that at the time of his death, Nebuchadnezzar was among the most powerful rulers in the world (source). This is also why Babylon is represented by the head of gold. Of all earthly kingdoms, it was the greatest just as gold is greater than all the other precious metals. The Bible also tells us itself that "Babylon hath been a golden cup in the Lord's hand" Jeremiah 51:7 .
Image: http://guide.discoveronline.org/discover/guide07/7sec2a.htm
39 But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours;
Nebuchadnezzar's smile probably dropped really quickly! Like, what? How can Babylon ever fall?! Not just fall, but it would fall into the hands of a kingdom inferior to the Babylonian empire. Ouch! Does history confirm this?
In 539 B.C., less than a century after its founding,
the legendary Persian king Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon. The fall of Babylon was complete when the empire came under Persian control*. source The Medes eventually took control of the kingdom alongside the Persians.
Jeremiah prophesied this too:
"Prepare against her the nations,
With the kings of the Medes,
Its governors and all its rulers,
All the land of his dominion.
And the land will tremble and sorrow;
For every purpose of the Lord shall be performed against Babylon,
To make the land of Babylon a desolation without inhabitant."
Isaiah also prophesied about the Medes taking over: "Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them".
then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth.
Histories tells us that the next kingdom to rule was Greece and was ruled by the well known Alexander The Great.
He was one of the world's greatest military generals, he created a vast empire (considered like the then known world) that stretched from Macedonia to Egypt and from Greece to part of India**.
40 And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others.
Can anyone take a guess at the next kingdom? History tells us that the Greek kingdom lasted from the death of Alexander in 323 B.C. until 31 B.C., when Roman troops conquered the last of the territories that the Macedonian king had once ruled***.
Rome was the next kingdom! Are we surprised to find that this kingdom is compared to iron that crushes? Nero, one of the Roman empires of the time, is considered one of the most evil men history has seen. He killed all members of his family and tortured thousands of people. Especially Christians. People were stabbed, burned, boiled, crucified and impaled****. This is just a small example of the evil that came out from Rome.
41 Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay.
So on point! The roman empire was eventually divided over the years into 10 parts, like the 10 toes.
The kingdoms that came out from it were the: Alemanni (now known as Germany), Visigoths (now known as Spain), Franks (now known as France), Anglo-Saxons (now known as England), Burgundians (now known as Switzerland), Ostrogoths (Exterminated), Suevi (now known as Portugal), Lombards (now known as Italy), Vandals (Exterminated) and the Heruli (Exterminated).
42 And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. 43 As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay. 44 And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.
I love the commentary from the Amazing Discoveries organisation on these verses, I feel like they explain it so well so I am going to copy it below:
"The nations of Europe represented by the “iron mixed with miry clay,” have attempted many times to “mingle themselves” into a single alloy. But the prophecy says, “they shall not cleave [join] one to another.” The military might of these nations has failed to reunite them as an empire, as have treaties, alliances and diplomacy.
The royal families of Europe had intermarried their children so frequently that as the time of World War 1 they were all related to one another. Many have tried to put these nations together again; Charlemagne (AD 800), Napoleon Bonaparte (1800), Kaiser Wilhelm 1 (1914-1918), and Adolf Hitler (1939-1945). All have failed. This prophecy shows that the next great event in world history is the coming of the kingdom of God, which will destroy all earthly powers, and will continue forever." (AD, Daniel 2 Commentary)
45 Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold—the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.”
"The validity of this prophecy has been borne out of history. Babylon was overthrown by Medo-Persia, which was in turn conquered by Greece, which was then overcome by Rome. Rome, rather than suffering defeat from another world power, slowly dissolved into the nations of Europe.
There is only one part of this prophecy that remains to be fulfilled. God will “set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed.” He will restore this world to the original beauty and perfection of Eden, and His people to a life of health and happiness. See Revelation 21 and 22.
We can have confidence that all these things will come to pass because God Himself has promised. For “the dream is certain and the interpretation thereof sure.”" (AD, Daniel 2 Commentary)
This is so exciting! We are getting closer and closer to the next kingdom in line: God's kingdom. Do you want to be a part of it?
The Kings reaction
Finally, the chapter ends with the kings reaction: "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 couldest reveal this secret."
Even Nebuchadnezzar, a pagan king who worshipped all sorts of gods, had to acknowledge that only the God of gods, the One true God, can reveal such things. And, imagine, Nebuchadnezzar was impressed because Daniel told him exactly what his dream was. How much more impressed should we be knowing that everything that was foretold came to pass!
And you?
What about you? Are you impressed at all? If you are now, you will keep being impressed as you learn more and more about the prophecies from the Bible as well as so many other aspects of the Bible. And if you're not impressed, if you're doubtful, please keep reading. Keep learning about the Bible because I promise you that if its not this that you find impressing, it will be something else. My request is that you would give God a chance to prove Himself to you. You can even ask Him yourself to lead you to things in His word that will impress you, He will be faithful to answer I am sure.
Conclusion
The truth is that we are getting closer and closer to the last kingdom that is to rule: God's kingdom. The difference with this kingdom and all others is that it won't force itself on us. We have a choice to make. Either we are with God and part of His kingdom. Or we choose to follow our own desires which lead to nothing good. But more on that in other posts.
I hope what you learned from this post was insightful and also helped you to trust in the Bible as an inspired source of writing. As you begin to trust the Bible, you will see your life will change for the better. I know mine did and I am forever grateful.
Prayer to God: Dear God, thank You for revealing to us things that are to come. It strengthens our faith in You and also allows us to have a better understanding of things to come. Guide us on our journey through studying Scripture. Grant us Your Holy Spirit to better understand what we read and help us have faith in Your word. Help our unbelief. In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.
Thanks so much for taking the time to read and comment below for other topics you'd like me to cover!
God bless you all on your prophecy learning journey.
Much love and smiles,
Nahisha :)
References
*History.com Editors. “Babylonia.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2 Feb. 2018, https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-middle-east/babylonia.
**“Alexander the Great.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alexander-the-Great.
***History.com Editors. “Hellenistic Greece.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 4 Feb. 2010, https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/hellenistic-greece.
****Mehrotra, Akarsh. “15 Of the Most Evil Men the World Has Ever Seen.” 15 Most Evil People In History | 15 Most Notorious Men In History, ScoopWhoop, 19 June 2020, https://www.scoopwhoop.com/world/most-evil-people/.
コメント