"ON EAGLES’ WINGS MINISTRIES"
“Will the saints rule as Daniel foretold?” July 2013. Part 3. Page 1.
The legitimacy of any prophet in any time period is based upon his or her credentials that add authenticity to the words they speak. Here is a sample of the credentials we are talking about.
“Knowing this first that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” 2nd Peter 1: 20, 21.
With that thought in mind, we join Daniel as a youngster standing before the king in Babylon. It was in the third year of the reign of Je-hoi’a-kim king of Judah [B.C. 606] that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against Jerusalem and Daniel, being about 14 or 15 years old was taken captive. With him were Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: all were taken from Jewish nobility, and it is believed that Daniel was of royal descent.
Soon after their arrival in Babylon, these four youngsters were selected to serve at the royal palace. All four had their Hebrew names changed to Babylonian names. Daniel was named Belteshazzar, [meaning the prince of Bel] and we are familiar with the most popular names of all, heralded and preached about from countless numbers of pulpits. They are Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, the three Hebrew boys, cast in the fire and did not get burned. This kind of sermon usually gets people to their feet rejoicing.
I like to explain that among the four Major Prophets, Daniel stands out prominently, simply because in his prophecies he offers exact number of years, and where we are to begin counting time. But how did Daniel work his way to become a “headliner” and a major player in Babylonian politics? It has been proven time and again in scripture, that at crucial moments in human history when we stand at the brink of disaster, God finds a man: one that would step to the fore and turn things around. [Stand in the gap.]
King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream [about world events] that troubled him immensely; and to compound the issue, the king forgot the contents of the dream. “And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream. Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriack, [the language of Syria] O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation. The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, the thing is gone from me: if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.” Daniel 2: 3-5.
This was the kind of event that brought Joseph out from prison to stand before Pharaoh, and thereby making his way to ride in a chariot second only to the Pharaoh. So what was unfolding with dire consequences in Babylon, as the king sought to get a grip on his dream that has vaporized as if in thin air? It is important to follow this path that will bring Daniel on the scene as a bona fide prophet of the God of the Hebrews. In responding to the king’s wrath and determination to find a man who can tell the dream and the interpretation thereof: “The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can shew the kings matter: therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean. And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.” Daniel 2: 10-11.
In the rage of the king who issued a decree to destroy all the wise men of Babylon, Daniel and his three companions were also rounded up, caught in the huge dragnet ordered by the king. Here comes the man of the hour! Here comes God’s mouth piece and his weapon of war! “Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would shew the king the interpretation. verse 16. After much prayer and waiting on the Lord, Daniel came back with the answer.
“Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king; [listen to this little gem] But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream and the visions of thy head upon thy bed are these.” Verses 27, 28. [Do the people who deny the existence of God ever read the book of Daniel, that is laced with historical facts?]
Daniel opened up the king’s dream to reveal the emergence of four world powers, starting with Babylon as being the head of gold. The great image [called the great colossus] was that of a man whose head was of gold, his breasts and arms were of silver, his belly and thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. After telling the king that he is the head of gold, Daniel explained: “And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: etc. etc. Verses 38-40.
World history has in its archives the fact of four world kingdoms as seen by king Nebuchadnezzar in a dream, and as explained in Daniel’s interpretation of the king’s dream, and also from his own night vision. In fact, based upon Daniel’s vision, he actually named each emerging kingdom. But once again, how did this man Daniel come by such insight and foresight of monumental issues that affected world kingdoms?
Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his: And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding.” Daniel 2: 20, 21. Let me repeat! Every person who doubts the existence of God, should read the prophecies of Daniel, and cross check them against world history, and the facts of their authenticity simply cannot be denied or disputed. Daniel explained to king Nebuchadnezzar that there would be four world kingdoms, starting with him [Babylon] being the first. Not only did the prophet refer to the succeeding kingdoms but also their quality and their strength.
Let us examine the four kingdoms in question and their longevity in actual years. The Neo-Babylonian Empire was founded in 625 B.C. In October 539 B.C. Darius the Mede conquered Babylon, beginning the Medo-Persian Empire jointly with Cyrus the Great. In 331 B.C. Alexander the Great conquered Medo-Persia, thus establishing the third world empire. Historians say that Rome conquered Greece in B.C. 146, becoming the fourth kingdom as seen by Nebuchadnezzar in his dream and by Daniel in his own night visions.
Here is Daniel’s own account! “I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all of this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things. These great beasts, which are four, are four kings [kingdoms] which shall arise out of the earth.” [Out from among men] Daniel 7: 15-17.
Ladies and gentlemen! Stay with me here! Please notice that the king’s dream and Daniel’s visions spoke of only four world kingdoms. Rome ruled from B.C.146 until A.D. 476 in the West and until 1453 A.D. in the East. But the narrative of scripture did not end with the fall of Rome, or the end of the fourth kingdom. Amazingly enough, what Daniel said was to follow the fall of all four world kingdoms, lies dormant in the pages of millions of bibles the world over.
Allow me to say this without any misgivings that Daniel’s prophecies and Nebuchadnezzar’s dream leave no opening for the emergence of a fifth political world power, and since the fall of Rome in 1453 A.D., despite the dreams and efforts of many who’d rise from the ashes of antiquity and erect another dominant world power, their efforts have not succeeded, because in scripture, there is no place given for a fifth political world power.
But millions of us who are Spirit filled, who believe and operate the nine gifts of the Spirit, and preach inspired sermons can ask: “Why is it important for us to know and understand these dates in years and weeks and days? Do they have any bearing upon our salvation?” Before continuing with the original subject, let us see the importance of learning and understanding prophetic days, weeks, years, and times.
Listen to Daniel again! “And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king’s business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it.” Daniel 8:27. If this was the end of the story, we’d be left with a mountain of unanswered questions. But three years later, after this account was made by Daniel, he had a visit from the angel Gabriel, who was made to fly swiftly to the prophet for one specific purpose. “And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. Therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision. Daniel 9: 22, 23b. From this point moving forward, is outlined the most important “time prophecies” that is on record since the day that Gabriel spoke with the prophet and gave him an absolute and clearly defined sequence of events that would unfold; and in what sequence each one would be fulfilled. The prophet is given a starting point and this has enabled us to follow intelligently. Bear in mind that a week consists of 7 years, a day for a year.
God established the “year for a day” in his anger with Israel at Kedesh Barnea, after the spies brought back an evil report from spying the land for forty days. “After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.” Numbers 14: 34.
Gabriel continued to un-wrap the huge bundle of prophetic years to Daniel. “Seventy weeks are determined [cut off—set aside] upon thy people, and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, etc. Know therefore and understand, [notice that the angel removed all ambiguity and vagueness from his presentation] that from the going forth of the command to restore and to build Jerusalem unto Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks: [totally 49 years]
And three score and two weeks [434 years] the streets shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.” Daniel 9:24, 25.
Sixty two weeks, plus seven weeks, equal sixty nine weeks, the exact time when Jesus walked down to the Jordan to be baptized. As he came back from the wilderness we read: “Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled [the 69 weeks or 483 years out of 490 years are complete] repent and believe the gospel.” Mark 1: 14, 15. This form of interpretation does not sit well with those who espouse dispensationalism. They believe and teach that at the end of the 69 weeks, the Rapture [a word not found in scripture] will occur and upon the departure of the saints from the earth, the dreaded man of sin, the anti-christ will take to the world stage, and will promptly offer Israel a peace treaty for 7 years: in the middle of which he will renege upon the treaty, and trigger the great tribulation that is to last the other 3 ½ years—this is called Daniel’s 70th week. But alas! Upon close scrutiny, this is not validated in scripture, and the concept of a secret Rapture was unheard of throughout the centuries of the early church, until the year 1830 when a sick Scottish woman on her sick bed claimed to have seen a vision of saints being caught up in the air.
Notice that the walls of the city was built on time, the temple was restored on time, and Jesus was born on time as foretold by the prophets. When Herod heard of a king being born, he enquired of his wise men. “And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, and thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.” Matthew 2: 4-6. Thus we see the importance of knowing and understanding how time figures into God’s dealings with nations and peoples upon the earth.
So why is not there another single world kingdom or a single world empire, since the fall of Rome? Here is what Daniel was told, as a part of what we just read above. “But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.” Verse 18. However, to get a better view from a better vantage point in scripture, we need to go back to Babylon and listen to more of Daniel’s prophetic announcements. He did not leave a vacuum after the fall of the four world powers; but over the centuries of dispensational teachings what happened has been mostly neglected or ignored all together. But if we are willing to teach sonship and the kingdom of God, we must get an angle on these truths.
All of these truths are already offered on my website in much more details. Simply go to www.godfire.net/kennedy and click on: “When Shall These Things Be?” Here you will read an abundance of details concerning these subjects, such as the little horn, the man of sin, the abomination standing in the holy place, and Christ’s earthly reign. If you do not have access to a computer, get help from a friend, or go to your local library and use one of their computers.
In any case, to view or buy my four published books, go to www.google.com and type in: “books by Royce Kennedy” and the list will appear with buying options and price lists.
In the king’s dream back in Babylon, he saw that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image on its feet [alluding to both the eastern and western empires of Rome]. Now, remember that the components of the image were gold, silver, brass, iron and clay. Each one bespeaks of a world power coming down through time. But look at what happened by the impact of the stone.
“Then was the iron, the clay, the bass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them. [This marks the end of all four world powers, so what’s next?]
And the stone that smote the image became a great mountain [mountain bespeaks of kingdom] and filled the whole earth.” Daniel 2:35.
Here is an intelligent, legitimate question! If each part of the image represents a world power that occupied its own time period, how was it possible for the stone to smite the image on its feet and in the process destroyed all four? That is because when Medo-Persia conquered Babylon, Cyrus did not destroy the city. In fact, he rebuilt it and improved the lives of its citizens: so in essence, Medo-Persia became a two-fold kingdom. When Greece conquered Medo-Persia, it became a three-fold kingdom; and Rome became a four-fold kingdom, resulting in it being stronger than all the others combined. We read: “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 forever.” Daniel 2: 44. Ladies and gentlemen! We are not talking about occupying heaven, and dancing among the stars. Daniel wrote about the saints ruling upon the earth, and has given details of how and when the process began.
Many experts and biblical scholars have determined that the stone kingdom must be a literal kingdom, much the same as the others mentioned in the narrative were. Its impact began to be felt in Judea, in Jerusalem, in Galilee, and other parts that were under Roman rule. The impact of the gospel reverberated across the Roman Empire, spilling the blood of saints, but ripping apart the very fabric of Roman society. Since that time, the stone has been growing, until at this present time it has just about filled the earth. It began in our secret parts with the kingdom being experienced as righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. Romans 14: 17; for indeed: “the kingdom of God is not in word but in power.” 1st Corinthians 4: 20.
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As always, be blessed!