The History of The World Pt 2
Daniel 2:45-49
Message #4
I decided to make a last week's message, "History of The World Part 1" a Part 1 message because there was so much more I wanted to say on this subject. So here we are today, with “The History of the World – Part 2.” All coming from one dream that one king had when the prophet Daniel had just become a rookie wise man back in Babylon in 600 B.C. King Nebuchadnezzar was so freaked out by this dream he was going to have every wise man in the kingdom executed if someone didn’t tell him both the dream and its meaning. God used that circumstance to bring Daniel to the forefront, and Daniel was able to tell the King exactly what his dream was and exactly what his dream meant. So God used this circumstance to put Daniel in the place he wanted him.
Let me just tell you something right now. God will use a circumstance in your life to put you where he wants you. Often, it may seem like, the threat of death. It may seem like a valley of the shadow of death. But it’s a circumstance that God is using to put you in a place he wants you.
But God was not just bringing Daniel to the forefront. God was also laying out the history of the world at the beginning of world-ruling empires. So today, I want to wrap up the historical part of God raising Daniel up in Babylon, and then I’d like to take a little closer look at the history of the world, according to God.
Before we get back to the prophecy, let’s finish up Daniel Chapter 2. The last verse we read last week was verse 45. Daniel was finishing his interpretation of the dream, and he said at the end of verse 45:
Daniel 2:45 (NLT)
45 . . . The great God was showing the king what will happen in the future. The dream is true, and its meaning is certain.”
Daniel was finished interpreting the dream, and now Nebuchadnezzar responded, and God put Daniel right where he wanted him.
Daniel 2:46-47 (NLT)
46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar threw himself down before Daniel and worshiped him, and he commanded his people to offer sacrifices and burn sweet incense before him.
47 The king said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is the greatest of gods, the Lord over kings, a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this secret.”
Nebuchadnezzar didn’t understand worship etiquette; he was just trying to pay homage to Daniel’s God. As we continue in Daniel, we’ll see Nebuchadnezzar have quite a rollercoaster interaction with God. But here, for starters, he seems to have a few things right about God.
And then, here is the point to this side of the story.
Daniel 2:48-49 (NLT)
48 Then the king appointed Daniel to a high position and gave him many valuable gifts. He made Daniel ruler over the whole province of Babylon, as well as chief over all his wise men.
49 At Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to be in charge of all the affairs of the province of Babylon, while Daniel remained in the king’s court.
Daniel was moved immediately into the king’s court, which is where God wanted him, and Daniel elevated his friends as well, putting them in office over the different “Districts” of the kingdom. And we’ll see them all again on the historical side of our study.
But for today, let’s get back to the statue and the history of the world. I had to go through it so fast last week; we just have to go back and be amazed some more. So, the King’s dream was of a giant transformer statue made of different metals, ending in “Porcelain Clay” (Daniel 31-33). Daniel explained that each of the different metals on the statue represented different world-ruling empires, until the end of this world’s “Ruling Empires,” when a ROCK, not cut by human hands, obliterates every last speck of all the previous world-ruling kingdoms.
That’s the overview of the dream. So let’s look at some of the prophetic mind-blowers we had to skip over last week.
Let’s remember prophecy has two primary purposes:
Bring GLORY to God
Bring a RESPONSE for those who hear and believe
So, in 600 B.C., God lays out the history of the world like this. In Daniel 37-38, Daniel explains that Babylon (with Nebuchadnezzar as its King) IS the head of gold. Babylon was the first true “world ruling” empire, and in many ways, gold represented Babylon so well. This was man’s first golden kingdom, in approximately 600 B.C.
And then we read in Daniel 2:39,
Daniel 2:39 (NLT)
39 “But after your kingdom comes to an end, another kingdom, inferior to yours, will rise to take your place . . .
Back in verse 32, following the head of gold come the chest and arms of silver. This is the second “world ruling” empire of Medo-Persia. Medo-Persia toppled Babylon in approximately 530 B.C., and God used this conquering of Babylon to release the people of Israel to return to Jerusalem. Notice verse 39 says this second kingdom will be inferior to the first kingdom of Babylon, and its metal (silver) is inferior to the head of gold. And every world-ruling kingdom that will follow will be inferior to the one before it showing from God’s perspective continual decline, not continual improvement (another blow to the evolutionists.)
So Daniel 2:39 continues:
Daniel 2:39 (NLT)
. . . After that kingdom (the 2nd) has fallen, yet a third kingdom, represented by bronze, will rise to rule the world.
Verse 32 says the statue’s “belly and thighs” were bronze, and bronze represents the world-ruling kingdom of Greece under the mighty military arm of Alexander the Great. Greece “conquered the world” (as they say) in 333 B.C., and the armies of Greece were known for their incredible bronze armor and bronze weapons. And so now, we’re 300 years later, and Daniel’s prophecy is coming to pass, exactly as God said it would. Also, we notice (as we go down the statue) every succeeding kingdom is trading magnificence for might. Their quality is declining, but their brute force is increasing.
But the world hadn’t seen anything of brute force yet until the iron legions of Rome conquered the world.
So we read in Daniel 2:40,
Daniel 2:40 (NLT)
40 Following that kingdom, there will be a fourth one, as strong as iron. That kingdom will smash and crush all previous empires, just as iron smashes and crushes everything it strikes.
The prophecy is so accurately descriptive right there, because Rome smashed and crushed all previous empires, just like iron smashes and crushes everything it strikes. Rome took over “ruler of the world” status in 146 B.C., and held that title until approximately 450 A.D. 600 years and the longest of any ruling empire by far. As we said last week, Rome was never conquered; Rome fell from within.
But it is interesting to note; there is one school of historians who refute the idea that Rome ever “fell.” They say the Kingdom of Rome didn’t fall, per se. It merely transformed into the European and Mediterranean nations we have today, which we’ll get to in a minute. Notice again, the declining value of the metal. And notice again the increasing use of brutal force to rule. Declining value – increasing force. This is the path the world rulers have always been on.
So that takes us from 600 B.C. and Babylon to 450 A.D. and the transformation of Rome, and it takes us from the head of the statue to the legs. And lastly (last ruling empire of the world), we see a revived Roman Empire in the feet and toes of the statue.
Daniel 2:41–43 (NLT)
41 The feet and toes you saw were a combination of iron and baked clay, showing that this kingdom will be divided. Like iron mixed with clay, it will have some of the strength of iron.
42 But while some parts of it will be as strong as iron, other parts will be as weak as clay.
43 This mixture of iron and clay also shows that these kingdoms will try to strengthen themselves by forming alliances with each other through intermarriage. But they will not hold together, just as iron and clay do not mix.
This is an “Alliance of Nations” with roots in ancient Rome (iron.) (This so aptly describes the European Union [E.U.] of today that they should use these verses on their website’s “About” page.) We talked last week about the formation of the E.U. and their initial treaty called “The Treaty of Rome” and their rise in power in Europe since 1958.
Both Daniel and Revelation make it super clear the Antichrist will come out of an alliance of nations that is the Revived Roman Empire. I wish we could read all the texts that point clearly to this, but I’ll be able to discuss it more as we continue in Daniel.
What I want you to know today is this: there is an alliance of nations in the end times with their roots in ancient Rome through which the Antichrist rises to world power. And the E.U., which has been developing for the past 50 years, meets all of the biblical requirements.
Here’s one bit of “newer news” regarding the E.U. that meets yet another critical requirement. The E.U. had never had a single president. They functioned without one person to gain control of the alliance, which the Antichrist would need to do. But then, on December 1, 2009, the E.U. installed their very first president, and there is now a single office for a single person to speak on behalf of this alliance of nations and eventually to take control of them.
Both Daniel (which we’ll see later) and Revelation show clearly this man will have the support of seven key nations, and he will rip out three other nations that oppose him and take control of this European Union of Nations. So the office for the Antichrist has now been put in place over ten years ago. We’ll talk more about the E.U., and I’ll show you some incredible stuff about them, as we get into Daniel Chapters 7 and 9.
Now, there are just a couple of other minor things that have to be (at least) on the horizon prophetically.
1). There has to be an increasing worldwide conflict with the enemies of Israel, which we’ll get to in future messages
2). The world’s current superpower needs to be “equalized” in order to not get in the way of the E.U.’s rise to power.
In regards to the first point, you’ve got to be living in a hole to not see the increasing worldwide conflict with the enemies of Israel. There are a number of prophecies that this fulfills. But the big one is – the Antichrist – who rises out of the Confederacy of European Nations will be credited with bringing peace to the world, and especially to Jerusalem, specifically peace between Israel and her enemies.
Can I just tell you I spent way too much time researching the E.U. and especially their policies on the Muslim Nations? There is a current written agreement in the E.U. that there will be no reference to Christianity in any of the E.U.’s writings so that the E.U. will not unknowingly offend their Muslim brothers and sisters (exactly how it’s worded).
The E.U. is at the forefront of demanding peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, and they are at the forefront of pushing radical Islamic nations into full membership in the United Nations. And it will be foundations like these that will allow the Antichrist to negotiate a seven-year peace plan between Israel and her enemies (which we will see when we get to Daniel Chapter 9).
This “seemingly miraculous” peace is what begins the seven-year tribulation period. So we believe we won’t see this miraculous peace because we believe we’ll be raptured just before. And in fact, the rapture might be the flashpoint that creates this sudden “peace” (false peace.) The groundwork for this prophetic fulfillment is clearly being laid today. I’ll show you more about the E.U. in the second half of Daniel.
But what about the second point? The second thing we need to see – at least on the horizon – is the equalizing of the only current superpower in the world. That’s us, the United States. We don’t play a key role. We don’t play any significant part in the end times. That doesn’t mean we won’t exist. But we won’t be the world power or the world’s policeman like we are today.
Now, before I go any further, I need you to hear me when I say I LOVE the U.S.A. I am extremely patriotic. And my family, through our son (like so many of yours), has sacrificed significantly for our love of this great country. Let me also say these are not political statements. They are facts that relate to Biblical prophecy. This is not about Republican / Democrat, or anything else. This is about how the U.S. will be sidelined in preparation for the end times.
So, let me share with you what could be a clearly prophetic event to sideline the U.S. in the end times. Our previous President was influenced greatly by his Kenyan father, who was a militant “anti-colonialist.” For our purposes here, and in brief, Anti-Colonialism is based on the idea that the U.S. has become rich by oppressing and occupying other poorer nations, and in doing so, there has been an unfair distribution of wealth in the world. The goal of the anti-colonialist is to redistribute the wealth from the rich country to the poorer countries that they see as oppressed. To the anti-colonialist, the best way to equalize all nations is to bring down the rich nations economically and use their wealth to build up the poor nations so that everyone is on more even ground.
I can’t go into detail of all the ways our President was trying to equalize our nation with other nations (Muslim in particular.) But I can tell you one thing you may not know. The number one thing that brings economic collapse to a country is debt load. So if a person (or group) wanted to bring down a county “economically” so that it is more equal with other countries, their number one weapon would be skyrocketing debt. Now, if you take ALL the presidents of this country, EVER – since George Washington – and you combined all the national debt they created together (all combined), it comes to $6.3 trillion. That’s a combined total over the past 225 years since George Washington.
In Obama’s first term, before ObamaCare, Obama himself (in one term) added $6.5 trillion. In his second term, the projection is for Obama to add an ADDITIONAL $7 trillion in debt, again doubling (for the second time) the debt of all 43 previous presidents combined. And Obama is a smart man. He knows that skyrocketing debt will bring this country down economically, and he knows the people will love him for doing it… all the way up to the cliff.
What I am saying is we may be witnessing one of the ways that the U.S. is no longer a super power in the end times because of what many believe to be a soon coming, full-blown, economic meltdown. Not to mention our uncontrolled lust for sinful, immoral, and un-Godly living. That is how close we are to being ready for Daniel’s prophecy to come to pass.
But wait, that’s not all. There is another occurrence on our horizon that plays perfectly into the history of the world as God wrote it. Again, we know the U.S. plays no significant role in the end times, and a massive destruction of our economy would certainly begin that process.
But there’s more.
There’s something else on our horizon that you may have never heard about. It’s called the North American Union, and it’s alive and well right under the noses of all Americans. Under the name of “trade agreements” and “trade acts,” there’s been a huge push – behind the scenes – for years, to bring about a union of the three North American Nations, very similar to the union of the European Nations. (E.U.) The North American Union is about making the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, in effect, one combined nation. There are currently two main “fronts” for this push toward a union of the three North American Countries. One is trade (economics) because when our economy collapses we’re going to need Mexico and Canada. But the other “front” we see so big right now is massive amounts of illegal immigration from Mexico. It’s almost like someone spread the word in Mexico – Come on across, spread the word. You won’t be prosecuted. And especially send your children.
Now, again, I’m not talking politics here; I’m talking about the unfolding of Biblical prophecy. There are many signs that the massive immigration crisis we’re seeing right now has actually been designed to usher in more and more of a union with Mexico in the form of amnesty and citizenship for all those people flooding into the U.S. right now. And there’s good evidence Obama is planning a mass amnesty prior to the end of his term, by Presidential order only.
At the same time, our trade agreements with Canada are laying the groundwork to bring in our union with that country, and the big weapon – the flashpoint that could bring on the acceptance of this North American Union – is the collapse of our economy and the U.S. dollar which true economists agree will happen if we keep skyrocketing the debt until we’re bankrupt. And that’s what we’re fully in the process of doing right now.
But, again, the only point I am making is this. The foundation is laid, both in the European Union and in the United States, for Daniel’s prophecy to be fulfilled as far as the history of the world goes.
The last thing that’s going to happen is the rise of a European Union of Nations, which will become a launchpad for the Antichrist. That sure seems like the E.U., and we’ll keep talking about them as we go. Then, also, the U.S. as a world superpower must be equalized so that we are no longer a stand-alone world power, and we had a President who is committed to accomplishing that. These two things would accomplish the only unfulfilled part of Daniel’s prophecy here in Chapter 2, which means we could be very close.
We believe when all these things are in place, and God is good and ready… the next event on the prophetic timeline will be the rapture of the church where Jesus comes in the clouds and calls his Church home. Look in Word By Mail for the message called “Rapture” to learn more about that event.
Then, following the rapture comes the seven-year tribulation period, which we taught in detail in the Revelation study (and we’ll talk more about it here in Daniel.) And then, at the end of the seven-year tribulation period, Daniel’s prophecy picks up for one final event.
Daniel 2:44 (NLT)
44 “During the reigns of those kings, (Revived Roman Empire) the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed or conquered. It will crush all these kingdoms into nothingness, and it will stand forever.
This is the Kingdom of Jesus Christ on this earth. We believe it will come at the end of the tribulation and at the beginning of the millennium, and it will come with awesome force. And if you are a believer, you and I will be with him when he returns.
Back up in Daniel 2:34-35, we read (describing the statue):
Daniel 2:34–35 (NLT)
34 As you watched, a rock was cut from a mountain, but not by human hands. It struck the feet of iron and clay, smashing them to bits.
35 The whole statue was crushed into small pieces of iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold. Then the wind blew them away without a trace, like chaff on a threshing floor. But the rock that knocked the statue down became a great mountain that covered the whole earth.
That Rock is Jesus Christ, and his Kingdom is coming to earth. During the reign of that final world-ruling empire with the Antichrist as its head, Jesus Christ will return like a comet and obliterate not only that existing empire but every world empire that ever existed.
And again we read in Daniel 2:45,
Daniel 2:45 (NLT)
45 That is the meaning of the rock cut from the mountain, though not by human hands, that crushed to pieces the statue of iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold. The great God was showing the king what will happen in the future. The dream is true, and its meaning is certain.”
The dream is true, and its meaning is certain . . .
So… what? What now? What do we do with that information? How are we supposed to handle that kind of information?
Let me tell you how. Please hear me.
In 2 Peter, Peter is writing about the coming of the Day of the Lord and the judgment that’s coming when the Lord returns. And so we read in 2 Peter 3:
2 Peter 3:11-12 (NLT)
11 Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live,
12 looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along . . .
And then we read:
2 Peter 3:14–15 - (NLT)
14 And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight.
15 And remember, our Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved . . .
What now?
How do we handle this kind of prophetic information?
Don’t go crazy - make every effort to live peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in God’s sight.
Set your priorities and set them according to God’s perspective. And remember, our Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved.
So, what now? Live for God and let those around you know. God has already told us the history of the world. We know who wins, and we have a chance to join him.
Let me just tell you something right now. God will use a circumstance in your life to put you where he wants you. Often, it may seem like, the threat of death. It may seem like a valley of the shadow of death. But it’s a circumstance that God is using to put you in a place he wants you.
But God was not just bringing Daniel to the forefront. God was also laying out the history of the world at the beginning of world-ruling empires. So today, I want to wrap up the historical part of God raising Daniel up in Babylon, and then I’d like to take a little closer look at the history of the world, according to God.
Before we get back to the prophecy, let’s finish up Daniel Chapter 2. The last verse we read last week was verse 45. Daniel was finishing his interpretation of the dream, and he said at the end of verse 45:
Daniel 2:45 (NLT)
45 . . . The great God was showing the king what will happen in the future. The dream is true, and its meaning is certain.”
Daniel was finished interpreting the dream, and now Nebuchadnezzar responded, and God put Daniel right where he wanted him.
Daniel 2:46-47 (NLT)
46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar threw himself down before Daniel and worshiped him, and he commanded his people to offer sacrifices and burn sweet incense before him.
47 The king said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is the greatest of gods, the Lord over kings, a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this secret.”
Nebuchadnezzar didn’t understand worship etiquette; he was just trying to pay homage to Daniel’s God. As we continue in Daniel, we’ll see Nebuchadnezzar have quite a rollercoaster interaction with God. But here, for starters, he seems to have a few things right about God.
And then, here is the point to this side of the story.
Daniel 2:48-49 (NLT)
48 Then the king appointed Daniel to a high position and gave him many valuable gifts. He made Daniel ruler over the whole province of Babylon, as well as chief over all his wise men.
49 At Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to be in charge of all the affairs of the province of Babylon, while Daniel remained in the king’s court.
Daniel was moved immediately into the king’s court, which is where God wanted him, and Daniel elevated his friends as well, putting them in office over the different “Districts” of the kingdom. And we’ll see them all again on the historical side of our study.
But for today, let’s get back to the statue and the history of the world. I had to go through it so fast last week; we just have to go back and be amazed some more. So, the King’s dream was of a giant transformer statue made of different metals, ending in “Porcelain Clay” (Daniel 31-33). Daniel explained that each of the different metals on the statue represented different world-ruling empires, until the end of this world’s “Ruling Empires,” when a ROCK, not cut by human hands, obliterates every last speck of all the previous world-ruling kingdoms.
That’s the overview of the dream. So let’s look at some of the prophetic mind-blowers we had to skip over last week.
Let’s remember prophecy has two primary purposes:
Bring GLORY to God
Bring a RESPONSE for those who hear and believe
So, in 600 B.C., God lays out the history of the world like this. In Daniel 37-38, Daniel explains that Babylon (with Nebuchadnezzar as its King) IS the head of gold. Babylon was the first true “world ruling” empire, and in many ways, gold represented Babylon so well. This was man’s first golden kingdom, in approximately 600 B.C.
And then we read in Daniel 2:39,
Daniel 2:39 (NLT)
39 “But after your kingdom comes to an end, another kingdom, inferior to yours, will rise to take your place . . .
Back in verse 32, following the head of gold come the chest and arms of silver. This is the second “world ruling” empire of Medo-Persia. Medo-Persia toppled Babylon in approximately 530 B.C., and God used this conquering of Babylon to release the people of Israel to return to Jerusalem. Notice verse 39 says this second kingdom will be inferior to the first kingdom of Babylon, and its metal (silver) is inferior to the head of gold. And every world-ruling kingdom that will follow will be inferior to the one before it showing from God’s perspective continual decline, not continual improvement (another blow to the evolutionists.)
So Daniel 2:39 continues:
Daniel 2:39 (NLT)
. . . After that kingdom (the 2nd) has fallen, yet a third kingdom, represented by bronze, will rise to rule the world.
Verse 32 says the statue’s “belly and thighs” were bronze, and bronze represents the world-ruling kingdom of Greece under the mighty military arm of Alexander the Great. Greece “conquered the world” (as they say) in 333 B.C., and the armies of Greece were known for their incredible bronze armor and bronze weapons. And so now, we’re 300 years later, and Daniel’s prophecy is coming to pass, exactly as God said it would. Also, we notice (as we go down the statue) every succeeding kingdom is trading magnificence for might. Their quality is declining, but their brute force is increasing.
But the world hadn’t seen anything of brute force yet until the iron legions of Rome conquered the world.
So we read in Daniel 2:40,
Daniel 2:40 (NLT)
40 Following that kingdom, there will be a fourth one, as strong as iron. That kingdom will smash and crush all previous empires, just as iron smashes and crushes everything it strikes.
The prophecy is so accurately descriptive right there, because Rome smashed and crushed all previous empires, just like iron smashes and crushes everything it strikes. Rome took over “ruler of the world” status in 146 B.C., and held that title until approximately 450 A.D. 600 years and the longest of any ruling empire by far. As we said last week, Rome was never conquered; Rome fell from within.
But it is interesting to note; there is one school of historians who refute the idea that Rome ever “fell.” They say the Kingdom of Rome didn’t fall, per se. It merely transformed into the European and Mediterranean nations we have today, which we’ll get to in a minute. Notice again, the declining value of the metal. And notice again the increasing use of brutal force to rule. Declining value – increasing force. This is the path the world rulers have always been on.
So that takes us from 600 B.C. and Babylon to 450 A.D. and the transformation of Rome, and it takes us from the head of the statue to the legs. And lastly (last ruling empire of the world), we see a revived Roman Empire in the feet and toes of the statue.
Daniel 2:41–43 (NLT)
41 The feet and toes you saw were a combination of iron and baked clay, showing that this kingdom will be divided. Like iron mixed with clay, it will have some of the strength of iron.
42 But while some parts of it will be as strong as iron, other parts will be as weak as clay.
43 This mixture of iron and clay also shows that these kingdoms will try to strengthen themselves by forming alliances with each other through intermarriage. But they will not hold together, just as iron and clay do not mix.
This is an “Alliance of Nations” with roots in ancient Rome (iron.) (This so aptly describes the European Union [E.U.] of today that they should use these verses on their website’s “About” page.) We talked last week about the formation of the E.U. and their initial treaty called “The Treaty of Rome” and their rise in power in Europe since 1958.
Both Daniel and Revelation make it super clear the Antichrist will come out of an alliance of nations that is the Revived Roman Empire. I wish we could read all the texts that point clearly to this, but I’ll be able to discuss it more as we continue in Daniel.
What I want you to know today is this: there is an alliance of nations in the end times with their roots in ancient Rome through which the Antichrist rises to world power. And the E.U., which has been developing for the past 50 years, meets all of the biblical requirements.
Here’s one bit of “newer news” regarding the E.U. that meets yet another critical requirement. The E.U. had never had a single president. They functioned without one person to gain control of the alliance, which the Antichrist would need to do. But then, on December 1, 2009, the E.U. installed their very first president, and there is now a single office for a single person to speak on behalf of this alliance of nations and eventually to take control of them.
Both Daniel (which we’ll see later) and Revelation show clearly this man will have the support of seven key nations, and he will rip out three other nations that oppose him and take control of this European Union of Nations. So the office for the Antichrist has now been put in place over ten years ago. We’ll talk more about the E.U., and I’ll show you some incredible stuff about them, as we get into Daniel Chapters 7 and 9.
Now, there are just a couple of other minor things that have to be (at least) on the horizon prophetically.
1). There has to be an increasing worldwide conflict with the enemies of Israel, which we’ll get to in future messages
2). The world’s current superpower needs to be “equalized” in order to not get in the way of the E.U.’s rise to power.
In regards to the first point, you’ve got to be living in a hole to not see the increasing worldwide conflict with the enemies of Israel. There are a number of prophecies that this fulfills. But the big one is – the Antichrist – who rises out of the Confederacy of European Nations will be credited with bringing peace to the world, and especially to Jerusalem, specifically peace between Israel and her enemies.
Can I just tell you I spent way too much time researching the E.U. and especially their policies on the Muslim Nations? There is a current written agreement in the E.U. that there will be no reference to Christianity in any of the E.U.’s writings so that the E.U. will not unknowingly offend their Muslim brothers and sisters (exactly how it’s worded).
The E.U. is at the forefront of demanding peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, and they are at the forefront of pushing radical Islamic nations into full membership in the United Nations. And it will be foundations like these that will allow the Antichrist to negotiate a seven-year peace plan between Israel and her enemies (which we will see when we get to Daniel Chapter 9).
This “seemingly miraculous” peace is what begins the seven-year tribulation period. So we believe we won’t see this miraculous peace because we believe we’ll be raptured just before. And in fact, the rapture might be the flashpoint that creates this sudden “peace” (false peace.) The groundwork for this prophetic fulfillment is clearly being laid today. I’ll show you more about the E.U. in the second half of Daniel.
But what about the second point? The second thing we need to see – at least on the horizon – is the equalizing of the only current superpower in the world. That’s us, the United States. We don’t play a key role. We don’t play any significant part in the end times. That doesn’t mean we won’t exist. But we won’t be the world power or the world’s policeman like we are today.
Now, before I go any further, I need you to hear me when I say I LOVE the U.S.A. I am extremely patriotic. And my family, through our son (like so many of yours), has sacrificed significantly for our love of this great country. Let me also say these are not political statements. They are facts that relate to Biblical prophecy. This is not about Republican / Democrat, or anything else. This is about how the U.S. will be sidelined in preparation for the end times.
So, let me share with you what could be a clearly prophetic event to sideline the U.S. in the end times. Our previous President was influenced greatly by his Kenyan father, who was a militant “anti-colonialist.” For our purposes here, and in brief, Anti-Colonialism is based on the idea that the U.S. has become rich by oppressing and occupying other poorer nations, and in doing so, there has been an unfair distribution of wealth in the world. The goal of the anti-colonialist is to redistribute the wealth from the rich country to the poorer countries that they see as oppressed. To the anti-colonialist, the best way to equalize all nations is to bring down the rich nations economically and use their wealth to build up the poor nations so that everyone is on more even ground.
I can’t go into detail of all the ways our President was trying to equalize our nation with other nations (Muslim in particular.) But I can tell you one thing you may not know. The number one thing that brings economic collapse to a country is debt load. So if a person (or group) wanted to bring down a county “economically” so that it is more equal with other countries, their number one weapon would be skyrocketing debt. Now, if you take ALL the presidents of this country, EVER – since George Washington – and you combined all the national debt they created together (all combined), it comes to $6.3 trillion. That’s a combined total over the past 225 years since George Washington.
In Obama’s first term, before ObamaCare, Obama himself (in one term) added $6.5 trillion. In his second term, the projection is for Obama to add an ADDITIONAL $7 trillion in debt, again doubling (for the second time) the debt of all 43 previous presidents combined. And Obama is a smart man. He knows that skyrocketing debt will bring this country down economically, and he knows the people will love him for doing it… all the way up to the cliff.
What I am saying is we may be witnessing one of the ways that the U.S. is no longer a super power in the end times because of what many believe to be a soon coming, full-blown, economic meltdown. Not to mention our uncontrolled lust for sinful, immoral, and un-Godly living. That is how close we are to being ready for Daniel’s prophecy to come to pass.
But wait, that’s not all. There is another occurrence on our horizon that plays perfectly into the history of the world as God wrote it. Again, we know the U.S. plays no significant role in the end times, and a massive destruction of our economy would certainly begin that process.
But there’s more.
There’s something else on our horizon that you may have never heard about. It’s called the North American Union, and it’s alive and well right under the noses of all Americans. Under the name of “trade agreements” and “trade acts,” there’s been a huge push – behind the scenes – for years, to bring about a union of the three North American Nations, very similar to the union of the European Nations. (E.U.) The North American Union is about making the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, in effect, one combined nation. There are currently two main “fronts” for this push toward a union of the three North American Countries. One is trade (economics) because when our economy collapses we’re going to need Mexico and Canada. But the other “front” we see so big right now is massive amounts of illegal immigration from Mexico. It’s almost like someone spread the word in Mexico – Come on across, spread the word. You won’t be prosecuted. And especially send your children.
Now, again, I’m not talking politics here; I’m talking about the unfolding of Biblical prophecy. There are many signs that the massive immigration crisis we’re seeing right now has actually been designed to usher in more and more of a union with Mexico in the form of amnesty and citizenship for all those people flooding into the U.S. right now. And there’s good evidence Obama is planning a mass amnesty prior to the end of his term, by Presidential order only.
At the same time, our trade agreements with Canada are laying the groundwork to bring in our union with that country, and the big weapon – the flashpoint that could bring on the acceptance of this North American Union – is the collapse of our economy and the U.S. dollar which true economists agree will happen if we keep skyrocketing the debt until we’re bankrupt. And that’s what we’re fully in the process of doing right now.
But, again, the only point I am making is this. The foundation is laid, both in the European Union and in the United States, for Daniel’s prophecy to be fulfilled as far as the history of the world goes.
The last thing that’s going to happen is the rise of a European Union of Nations, which will become a launchpad for the Antichrist. That sure seems like the E.U., and we’ll keep talking about them as we go. Then, also, the U.S. as a world superpower must be equalized so that we are no longer a stand-alone world power, and we had a President who is committed to accomplishing that. These two things would accomplish the only unfulfilled part of Daniel’s prophecy here in Chapter 2, which means we could be very close.
We believe when all these things are in place, and God is good and ready… the next event on the prophetic timeline will be the rapture of the church where Jesus comes in the clouds and calls his Church home. Look in Word By Mail for the message called “Rapture” to learn more about that event.
Then, following the rapture comes the seven-year tribulation period, which we taught in detail in the Revelation study (and we’ll talk more about it here in Daniel.) And then, at the end of the seven-year tribulation period, Daniel’s prophecy picks up for one final event.
Daniel 2:44 (NLT)
44 “During the reigns of those kings, (Revived Roman Empire) the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed or conquered. It will crush all these kingdoms into nothingness, and it will stand forever.
This is the Kingdom of Jesus Christ on this earth. We believe it will come at the end of the tribulation and at the beginning of the millennium, and it will come with awesome force. And if you are a believer, you and I will be with him when he returns.
Back up in Daniel 2:34-35, we read (describing the statue):
Daniel 2:34–35 (NLT)
34 As you watched, a rock was cut from a mountain, but not by human hands. It struck the feet of iron and clay, smashing them to bits.
35 The whole statue was crushed into small pieces of iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold. Then the wind blew them away without a trace, like chaff on a threshing floor. But the rock that knocked the statue down became a great mountain that covered the whole earth.
That Rock is Jesus Christ, and his Kingdom is coming to earth. During the reign of that final world-ruling empire with the Antichrist as its head, Jesus Christ will return like a comet and obliterate not only that existing empire but every world empire that ever existed.
And again we read in Daniel 2:45,
Daniel 2:45 (NLT)
45 That is the meaning of the rock cut from the mountain, though not by human hands, that crushed to pieces the statue of iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold. The great God was showing the king what will happen in the future. The dream is true, and its meaning is certain.”
The dream is true, and its meaning is certain . . .
So… what? What now? What do we do with that information? How are we supposed to handle that kind of information?
Let me tell you how. Please hear me.
In 2 Peter, Peter is writing about the coming of the Day of the Lord and the judgment that’s coming when the Lord returns. And so we read in 2 Peter 3:
2 Peter 3:11-12 (NLT)
11 Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live,
12 looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along . . .
And then we read:
2 Peter 3:14–15 - (NLT)
14 And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight.
15 And remember, our Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved . . .
What now?
How do we handle this kind of prophetic information?
Don’t go crazy - make every effort to live peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in God’s sight.
Set your priorities and set them according to God’s perspective. And remember, our Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved.
So, what now? Live for God and let those around you know. God has already told us the history of the world. We know who wins, and we have a chance to join him.