Volume 2, Issue 3
11 Oct 2016
 In our last issue of Piecing Together Bible Prophecy, we learned that the Spirit’s illumination and a figurative interpretation are both required to rightly divide the Bible’s prophetic texts. In this issue, we will learn about another important key needed to unlock the secrets of Bible prophecy.
Bible prophecy is made more difficult, if not impossible to understand, by overcomplicating it. We overcomplicate it by failing to see that different prophecies often predict the same thing, only in different signs and symbols. By insisting on different interpretations of each individual prophecy we often overlook the Bible’s foretelling of the same future events in different ways. In addition, we force ourselves to come up with contrived interpretations of different prophecies in order to ascribe to each its own separate and distinct forecast of the future.
To illustrate this important point, let’s look at Daniel’s interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s nightmarish image, then, at two other important prophetic texts predicting the rise of these same Gentile world powers upon the earth. According to Daniel, each part of Nebuchadnezzar’s nightmarish image symbolizes one of the great Gentile world powers in human history. The first, the image’s head of gold, as specifically stated by Daniel, represents Babylon, the world’s first great Gentile world power. The second, represented by the image’s silver breast and arms, represents the Medo-Persian Empire, the world’s second great Gentile world power. The third, represented by the image’s bronze stomach and thighs, represents Greece, the world’s third great Gentile world power. The fourth, represented by the image’s iron legs, represents the Roman Empire, the world’s fourth great Gentile world power. And finally, the fifth, represented by the image’s iron and clay feet and toes, represents the word’s final great Gentile world power, which will be superseded upon the earth by the kingdom of God at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
Now, we can confidently identify these great Gentile world powers symbolized by the nightmarish image of Nebuchadnezzar thanks to our 20/20 hindsight of human history. Furthermore, we can safely conclude that if we are now living in the last days, something I believe is incontrovertibly proven by the biblically predicted signs of the times, the only country in the world today that can possibly foot the bill for Daniel’s predicted end-time Gentile superpower is our own country, America.
Let’s now turn our attention to Daniel chapter 7, where the prophet has a night vision of four great beasts rising up out of the sea. The first beast of Daniel’s vision, the one like a lion with eagles wings, not only corresponds to the head of gold in Nebuchadnezzar’s nightmarish image, but also represents, as does the head of gold, Babylon, the world’s first great Gentile world power. The second beast of Daniel’s vision, the one like a bear with three ribs in its mouth, not only corresponds to the silver breast and arms of Nebuchadnezzar’s nightmarish image, but also represents, as does the silver breast and arms, Medo-Persia, the world’s second great Gentile world power. The third beast of Daniel’s vision, the one like a leopard with four wings and four heads, not only corresponds to the bronze stomach and thighs of Nebuchadnezzar’s nightmarish image, but also represents, as does the bronze stomach and thighs, Greece, the world’s third great Gentile world power. The fourth beast of Daniel’s vision, the dreadful and terrible one with great iron teeth, not only corresponds to the legs of iron in Nebuchadnezzar’s nightmarish image, but also represents, as does the legs of iron, the Roman Empire, the world’s fourth great Gentile world power. Finally, the ten horns of the fourth beast and the little horn that rises up among them speaking great things, not only corresponds to the ten toes and feet of Nebuchadnezzar’s nightmarish image, but also represents, as does the ten toes and feet, the world’s final Gentile superpower, the one which will be superseded upon the earth by the kingdom of God at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
Now, let’s turn to a third place where Scripture again predicts the coming of an end-time and unprecedented Gentile superpower. In Revelation chapter 13, the Apostle John sees a vision of a beast rising up out of the sea. Notice here the similarities between this beast and the four beasts seen by Daniel rising up out of the sea. First, this beast has a mouth like a lion, which corresponds with the first beast Daniel saw rising up out of the sea, the one like a lion. Second, this beast has feet like a bear, which corresponds with the second beast Daniel saw rising up out of the sea, the one like a bear. Third, this beast is like a leopard, which corresponds with the third beast Daniel saw rising up out of the sea, the one like a leopard. Fourth, this beast has ten horns, which corresponds with the fourth beast Daniel saw rising up out of the sea, the one with ten horns. Finally, this beast is given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, which corresponds to the little horn Daniel saw rising up among the ten horns, the one that speaks great things.
We may confidently conclude from all of this that the first beast of Revelation chapter 13 not only represents a conglomeration of all the previous Gentile word powers throughout human history, but also the consummate Gentile world power at the end of time. Furthermore, this end-time Gentile superpower will not only be unprecedented, without peer in all of human history, but also the blasphemous leader of the end-time world in its final all-out-assault on Christ and all things Christian. Although this beast—final Gentile superpower—will initially appear successful in its war against the saints, its apparent success will be abruptly shattered when it is superseded upon the earth by the kingdom of God at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
We will close this issue of Piecing Together Bible Prophecy with an obvious, though most objectionable observation among America’s evangelicals; namely, the indisputable fact that our own country, the world’s only remaining superpower, is currently morphing into something positively beastly and blasphemous right before our very eyes.
TO SUBSCRIBE TO THIS PUBLICATION SEND YOUR NAME AND EMAIL ADDRESS TO: don@timefortruth.org
Don Walton
|
