Jesus refers to the prophecies of Daniel in Matthew 24:15, When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet. To deny the prophecies of the end-time hour found in the book of Daniel is to deny the words and the divinity of Jesus. Jesus Christ recognized Daniel as a prophet of God who wrote not only about history but events of his day and things to come. History confirms the accuracy of Daniel’s prophesies. Ezekiel 14:14,20 classifies Daniel with Noah and Job as great men of God. Everything Daniel said would happen up to our time has taken place, and soon the rest of his prophecies will be fulfilled. As a prophet he was one hundred percent correct because he was one hundred percent yielded to God, a vessel of clay that God could use.

The book of Daniel opens with prophecy fulfilled: Israel’s captivity in Babylon, a captivity that had been prophesied. Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried into Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the LORD. And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon (II Kings 20:17,18). This prophecy also occurs in Isaiah 39:5-7: Then said Isaiah to Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD of hosts: Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried to Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the LORD. And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.

We find the fulfillment of this prophecy in the first two verses of Daniel: In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god (Daniel 1:1,2). It is important to understand that this prophecy, given about one hundred years before it happened, took place just as God had said. God speaks, and what He says comes to pass. If a prophecy does not come to pass, God didn’t say it.

Separated from the World

God had rules of separation for His people. They had their own tongue, their own dress, their own diet. Daniel, as a lad in captivity, had separated himself from the world. He was pure, clean. The king wanted him to drink his wine and eat unclean meat, but Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank (Daniel 1:8). Daniel asked for vegetables. Although going against the king’s command could have meant death, Daniel’s overseer agreed to give Daniel and his friends the diet they wanted for ten days. God honored Daniel’s stand, and at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king’s meat (verse 15). God was able to use Daniel in a marvelous way because he had separated himself from the world. Many in Daniel’s place would have given in to the king’s order rather than have obeyed God.

Interpret My Dream—or Else!

Through Daniel, the Lord described four different periods of time to come in four beautiful pictures. Distinct, yet related, they are pictures of the course of the ages.

In the second chapter of Daniel we find the first picture, one of world kingdoms to come from the vantage point of Daniel’s day. And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him. Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to shew the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king (Daniel 2:1,2).

The whole kingdom of Babylon as well as Nebuchadnezzar was wicked. The king depended upon demon-possessed people for his information. And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream (Daniel 2:3). God had a hand in what the king was about to demand. Never before had he required such a thing. “The dream has left me,” he told his wise men. “I can’t remember it, but I’m troubled over it. You must tell me the dream and what it means—or else!” The devil doesn’t know everything; and God, showing the ineffectiveness of the devil’s bunch, did not reveal to Nebuchadnezzar or the astrologers what the dream meant. If the devil knew everything, psychics would always be able to predict accurately.

Because the astrologers couldn’t come up with the dream or the interpretation, the king issued a grisly order: And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain (Daniel 2:13). Daniel and his friends were included in the death threat because they were counted among the wise. Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would shew the king the interpretation. Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to…his companions: That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon (verses 16-18).

Boldly, Daniel told the king that he would get the interpretation. The devil’s crowd, on the other hand, was whining that the king had never before desired such a thing, that no one had ever given a revelation like it. But Daniel, anointed of God, knew it was God’s chance to show His power.

God, the Revealer of Secrets

Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. 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: He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him. I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast now made known unto us the king’s matter (Daniel 2:19-23).

In this final hour we, too, must give God the honor, the praise and the glory for everything. Today the Lord is still a revealer of secrets. God, through the Spirit of prophecy, tells many things that are coming to pass.

Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him, Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will shew unto the king the interpretation. Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste…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; But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days (Daniel 2:24,25,27,28). King, I know the dream, the interpretation, Daniel is saying; but why can’t your magicians and wise men get this knowledge too? I know your secret, I know your dream. Why don’t they? The king had no answer. The contrast between the power of God and the failure of the devil was obvious here.

Daniel went on to say that the dream revealed events in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these; As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass (Daniel 2:28,29). Evidently Nebuchadnezzar had been lying on his bed thinking about the future and his thoughts troubled him. What would be the fate of mankind? On that he fell asleep…and then came the dream.

Daniel continued: But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart (Daniel 2:30).

This important prophecy stretches for hundreds of years into the future. Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth (Daniel 2:31-35).

Nebuchadnezzar’s dream covered the entire time of the Gentiles, a period extending from the captivity of Judah (some six hundred years before Christ) to the third coming of Christ, culminating with the Battle of Armageddon and then beginning the Perfect Age.

(Do not confuse the times of the Gentiles with the fullness of the Gentiles which Paul speaks of in Romans 11:25. The fullness of the Gentiles refers to the church, the body of Christ from Pentecost to the Rapture of the church. The Rapture will bring to a close the period of time known as the fullness of the Gentiles and will mark the beginning of the Great Tribulation Period.) Nebuchadnezzar’s dream extends even further—into the Perfect Age of one thousand years and ending with the Kingdom of God that will stand forever.

Daniel told the king: This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king (Daniel 2:36). When Daniel said “we,” he wasn’t including another man, but the Lord God. God and I will tell you the interpretation. Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold (verses 37,38). Represented by the head of gold in his dream, Nebuchadnezzar held the known world in his hands; he ruled it all.

Daniel continued: Thou [Nebuchadnezzar] art this head of gold. 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: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. 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 for ever (Daniel 2:38-44). In his night vision Nebuchadnezzar had seen his own kingdom presently in power, and then he saw coming world kingdoms.

Eight World Kingdoms

The Bible speaks of eight world kingdoms in all that will rule before the Lord sets up His everlasting kingdom. Two world kingdoms had been in power before the Babylonian empire came on the scene. Assyria for a time was a powerful kingdom, and then Egypt. But now at the time of Daniel, in the sixth century B.C., Babylon the head of gold is in power, and Nebuchadnezzar’s vision reached accurately into the future.

The next world kingdom to come to power after Babylon—the chest and arms of silver of the image in Nebuchadnezzar’s vision—represents Persia, Medo-Persia. The belly and thighs of the image represent Greece under the rule of Alexander the Great. And finally the kingdom of iron, the Roman kingdom, conquered and took over. The iron was divided into the eastern and western kingdoms, represented by the image’s two legs.

The kingdom of the feet and toes reaches down through time to our day, the revived Roman Empire. This coalition is coming together in the form of the Common Market, now known as the European Economic Community or simple the EEC. The feet with its ten toes are the final world Gentile government before the Antichrist will take over power in the Great Tribulation Period.

The stone cut without hands from the mountain is Jesus Christ. In the vision, the stone comes tumbling down to destroy the all-devouring spirit of world dominion: Jesus will destroy the powers of Lucifer, reigning until He has put every enemy of God underfoot. He is our King.

To review: Two world kingdoms rose and fell before Babylon (Assyria and Egypt). Four kingdoms are represented in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome. Today, a total of six world kingdoms have been in power. Two world powers are yet to come: the Common Market nations, or the EEC, will soon take over world domination, and then the last world power, that of the Antichrist.

John the Revelator also speaks of the Antichrist and of the ten kings who will make up the world kingdom of the Common Market. Revelation goes into more detail of the two soon-coming kingdoms: And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast (Revelation 17:10-12). The ten horns are ten nations; the beast is the Antichrist. Those ten nations are almost complete now; they are, remember, the same nations represented by the ten toes of Daniel’s image. The Roman kingdom that played such a mighty part in world domination is going to be briefly revived—the spirit of it, the power of it—under direction of the Common Market nations. Briefly the world powers of the Common Market nations and the kingdom of the Antichrist will overlap.

The eighth world power, that of the beast, the Antichrist, will reign during the Great Tribulation Period. Although centuries devoid of world dominion by one nation have elapsed, still God said two more world kingdoms will come to power, and it will happen just as He has said.

A Tree of Power

The second picture of prophecy, found in the fourth chapter of Daniel, is of a great tree, a tree of power corresponding to the image’s head of gold of chapter two. Nebuchadnezzar is speaking: Thus were the visions of mine head in my bed; I saw, and behold, a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great. The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth: The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it. I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven; He cried aloud, and said thus, Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit: let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches: Nevertheless leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth: Let his heart be changed from man’s, and let a beast’s heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him. This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men (Daniel 4:10-17).

A Dream of Madness

Nebuchadnezzar was greatly disturbed. In this vision he was shown a terrible thing about to happen to him, something so unthinkable that Daniel hesitated to give the interpretation. But Nebuchadnezzar insisted, and so Daniel said: It is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong: for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth. This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the most High, which is come upon my lord the king: That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times [seven years] shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will (Daniel 4:22,24,25). For seven years Nebuchadnezzar would be mad, insane, until he recognized God.

And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule (Daniel 4:26)? This verse tells us that seven years after losing his mind completely, the king’s sanity would be restored and he would resume control of his kingdom.

Daniel warned Nebuchadnezzar to repent in the hopes that God might overlook what he had done, that God might change His judgment. Daniel knew that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is a merciful and compassionate God, and he wanted the king to humble himself. Did he do it? The king was given a whole year to repent, but at the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty (Daniel 4:29,30). Nebuchadnezzar had that same spirit of not honoring God that so many others have had.

While the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee. And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will (Daniel 4:31,32).

God has warned those who do not honor and glorify Him of the coming judgment, only to see His warnings go unheeded. The devil has many minds in his control. Again and again, people scoff at coming judgment.

The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws (Daniel 4:33). What a sight, what a madman he became! Was he animal or human? He was a man with an animal’s heart. People must have run from such a ferocious sight. The judgment of God had fallen.

But in the thirty-fourth verse we read: At the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation. At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honour 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 (Daniel 4:34,36). A heathen king, devil possessed, gave God no credit whatsoever until judgment brought him to his knees.

All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth 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 doest thou (Daniel 4:35)? The king had things in perspective now, God’s perspective. He acknowledged God, His power and might, that God works according to His will in the army of Heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one has power over God.

As Nebuchadnezzar praised and honored God, the kingdom was returned to him. God had shown the king His power to sweep everything away and then restore it all.

Seven Years under the Wrath of God

In type and shadow, those seven years of Nebuchadnezzar’s madness represent the seven years of tribulation in the Great Tribulation Period, the time of Jacob’s trouble soon to come upon the earth, the seven years when the nations will be handed over to the wrath of God completely. We see the beginnings of it now, the erratic behavior of people as the spirit of the Antichrist is taking over minds, preparing the way for the seven-year Tribulation Period. Morals are becoming more and more degraded; violence is erupting everywhere. There is no place on Earth to hide from it. The domestic scene is being torn apart with restlessness, bitterness, lust and cruelty. So many marriages end in divorce that people no longer give divorce a second thought other than to decide that living together without marriage is preferable. Their minds have been taken over.

Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble (Jeremiah 30:7). The time indeed will be one of overwhelming trouble for the Jews as well as the remaining Gentiles. The Jews will suffer much. God will turn the people on Earth into madmen, deluded, driven with devil-possessed minds. Never has man seen anything approaching the horror of the seven years of coming tribulation. When God gets through with His judgments, finishes pouring out His wrath upon the nations in the Tribulation Period, few men will be left upon the earth.

As the nations in the Tribulation Period are cut down, brought low, it seems that everything will be destroyed. Jesus, in prophesying of those times, said no flesh would be saved unless the days be shortened. And those days will be shortened for the elect’s sake, His own people, the Jews. The tree will be cut down but a stump remain. The Jews, like King Nebuchadnezzar, found out the hard way that he must have God, will find that they must have Jesus.

Nebuchadnezzar was self-made; he depended on self. With the help of the devil, he had elevated his ego above God just as Satan had done so many eons before when he was cast out of Heaven. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High, Lucifer boasted (Isaiah 14:14). He was thrilled with his himself, but God said: Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners (Isaiah 14:15-17)?

Man Tries to By-Pass God

From the time Lucifer tried to overthrow God, was cast out of Heaven for his efforts and put that rebellious spirit into the hearts of man, man has tried to set up world kingdoms. Genesis 10:8-10 mentions that Nimrod built the first Babylon—then called Babel. Chapter 11 describes the ill-fated Babel. (In these two scripture locations only, Babylon is called Babel). The desire to rule the whole world is evident in the events surrounding the building of the tower of Babel. Russia today has that desire; other nations have it—or had it. That spirit, so prevalent in Babylon, has never died but has resided on Earth these thousands and thousands of years: man, not recognizing God, wanting power over every creature on the earth, wanting to dethrone God, to be head of everything.

Those who will not accept what God has said are trying to figure out how man can change the future, master his own destiny. Hasn’t this been man’s problem since the Garden of Eden? Again and again man has tried to by-pass God and take things into his own hands. Nevertheless, God’s prophecies have either come to pass or will come to pass.

Babylon’s famous, beautiful hanging gardens were known as one of the seven wonders of the world; their beauty stood in stark contrast to the wickedness of the people. The kings of Babylon robbed God of His glory and heaped it on themselves. It matters not how powerful nations might become; they may take dominion over the whole world, but they will fall sooner or later. The six nations that conquered their known world have all fallen.

The Nations Judged

At the close of the Battle of Armageddon, the Antichrist and the false prophet will be cast into the lake of fire, the devil into the bottomless pit; and then the Lord will set up His Kingdom. He will judge the nations at this time.

And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left (Matthew 25:32,33). This refers to the judgment of the nations at the end of the Tribulation Period. A goat nation is one persecuting God’s covenant nation, Israel. The sheep nations—the Gentile nations that did not fight against Israel in the Tribulation Period—will come forth to glorify Jesus, to honor Him, to say that He is the Son of God, the Christ of God. For one thousand years peace will reign upon the earth.

Just as judgment was not reality to Nebuchadnezzar until it fell, it is not real to people today. The devil has caused people to set aside the warnings of the Bible, to consider them fairy tales. Nebuchadnezzar was humbled, and in the Tribulation Period, heads of nations will be humbled, also.

Many things are similar among the world kingdoms; one is a hatred of God. The Assyrian kingdom hated God; the Egyptian kingdom hated God. They had the same spirit as Lucifer when he thought he would ascend above the clouds: I will be great, mighty. I will be the highest of the high.

What will it take to destroy this spirit of Lucifer? The Tribulation Period. It’s the spirit of Antichrist, of the devil, of everything unrighteous, unholy, everything sinful that God hates and despises. Each world kingdom has had the power-hungry spirit of ruling the world, of putting people into darkness, bondage, and setting its rulers above God.

Perilous Times Are Here

With all the chaos in the world, with all the pleas for peace, many deceiving maneuvers become evident in the light of the Scripture. Russia doesn’t want peace. Russia wants to rule the world; she wants the United States to come under her dominion. Seeking to give the impression that she is eager to outlaw war, Russia seems to be holding out a hand of peace. No. The Bible tells us about Russia and her spirit. Russia will go down on the Holy Land. Why? Because the devil hates everything of God, and God chose Israel, ordained it, set it aside for His own. God spelled out Russia’s plan in His Word so that people would recognize her for the menace she is. Yet when people won’t accept what the Bible says, they grope in darkness, reaching out for the damnable. God’s words are light for feet and soul, but man’s thoughts can take one into total darkness.

Some ministers today preach that we are now going into the Perfect Age, a kingdom of peace. That is not what the Bible tells us. Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron (I Timothy 4:1,2). Does this sound as though everything is going to be great and wonderful in our civilization? Is man’s belief in God today so pure that it will bring about the Perfect Age, that perfect kingdom of the Lord? Of course not.

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth (II Timothy 3:1-7). Are these the kind of people who will lead you on into the Perfect Kingdom? Are men growing better and better? Is everyone going to be converted, love God and do away with sin? No. It isn’t what the Bible teaches at all.

The Handwriting on the Wall

The third picture of Daniel’s prophecy, found in the fifth chapter, is one of the most important, exciting pictures, possibly one of the most studied. It’s Belshazzar’s great feast. What he did in that feast—what each kingdom has done with their feasting—was to deny God.

Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand. Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein. Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them. They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone (Daniel 5:1-4). This spirit of insolence to God, of idolatry brought judgment. While praising idol gods, Belshazzar’s crowd drank out of the holy vessels, vessels dedicated to God, made for God’s worship only, vessels gathered from the Holy Land and brought to Babylon along with the captive Jews.

Every world kingdom has fought one people, the Jews; one land, the Holy Land, the coveted land of God. God has declared that that land is His. It caused Babylon’s downfall. Any nation or kingdom that has been cruel to the Jews, mistreated them, has either fallen or will fall. Even the Antichrist, the great dictator to come, will fall because of his tyranny over the Jews.

As the merrymakers at Belshazzar’s feast were desecrating the holy temple vessels and praising all the gods they could think of, in the same hour came forth fingers of a man’s hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. Then the king’s countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another. The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers (Daniel 5:5-7). People today still are turning to astrologers to soothe their fears, to tell them the future. You want a message from the devil? Read the astrology columns. God has nothing to do with astrology.

Belshazzar’s festivities didn’t go as planned. As that ominous hand began to write, then was king Belshazzar greatly troubled, and his countenance was changed in him, and his lords were astonied (Daniel 5:9). Belshazzar called for anyone who could interpret; he would give them riches. But God’s hand had written and no one could interpret the words except a man of God.

Belshazzar was in grave trouble. Would knowing the truth do him any good? We have no record that the king repented; he didn’t seem to have repentance in him.

The queen told the king: There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him (Daniel 5:11). Daniel was called to interpret the handwriting on the wall. He reminded Belshazzar what had happened when the heart of his father had been lifted up. Despite knowing this, Belshazzar’s heart had not humbled before God; he failed to glorify the God who held his very breath in His hands.

Daniel said, God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it…Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting…Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians (Daniel 5:26-28). Belshazzar had been weighed, found wanting and the kingdom was divided and given to the Medes and Persians.

Did Belshazzar think it could happen? Babylon had the self-assurance that it could not be taken. The city was surrounded by a moat and huge double walls. The mighty Euphrates ran through the midst of the city. Belshazzar thought the city to be impenetrable from attack…but it wasn’t. When God gets ready for a kingdom to fall, it will fall: He removeth kings, and setteth up kings (Daniel 2:21). Belshazzar didn’t believe it.

The Medes and Persians had been hard at work while the great feast was being celebrated, while the guests were drinking, worshiping all kinds of gods, dishonoring that which God had said Thou shalt not touch. Death was to become the final course that night. Belshazzar the king was slain. The kingdom fell into the hands of the Medes and Persians who had diverted the flow of the Euphrates and entered the city through the riverbed.

It was a new regime in Babylon, the Medes and Persians; but the same old devilish spirit still worked to dethrone God, to corrupt all peoples with the mind of Satan, to destroy everything holy, pure and clean. Hating everything God had promised and despising His Word, the new regime delighted in doing what God had said Thou shalt not do. Declaring their idol gods to be supreme, they did not honor the God of the Jews. But whether people honor Him or not, when God rises up, kingdoms fall.

None of the kings taking the world-power throne honored God, and it will be that way in the two world kingdoms yet to come.

A Picture of Four Beasts

Daniel seven gives us the fourth picture, a vision in which Daniel sees four beasts: a lion, a bear, a leopard, and an incredible monstrosity, a ten-horned beast representing both the Roman Empire and today’s Common Market. The lion of the vision represents the Babylon of Daniel’s time. Babylon was a great kingdom under an elaborate ruling system. The Bible tells us that toward the endof the age, a world government similar to Babylon’s will emerge.

The bear represents Medo-Persia, which defeated Babylon. The leopard, Alexander’s Greece. Alexander dared go against God in his world conquest; but he died, still a young man.

The Romans took over, setting up a mighty kingdom which later was divided into two kingdoms. For years the Romans ruled, but it was the same old thing. They hated the chosen people, Israel. The wickedness of world kingdoms raged down through the Roman Empire and on into our day. But soon God will have had enough.

God Will Judge

The fifth chapter of Galatians lists the things that God will judge, the seventeen works of the flesh: Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings and such like.

The name Daniel means God will judge. Man does not think a God of love would destroy people like the Book of Revelation predicts, but He will; He will destroy all who embrace the works of the flesh. Do you think neither Daniel nor Revelation can be taken literally? If so, you’re wrong. God has proven that He did mean judgments would come; He prophesied judgments and then sent them in Old Testament times. He brought down kingdoms, just as Daniel foresaw. All His prophecies and judgments will be fulfilled.

The two kingdoms prior to Daniel, Assyria and Egypt, had great dominion and power over the earth; and yet for all that, God judged. Who would have dared touch these kingdoms in all their power? God. Who would have dared destroy Pharaoh’s entire army? God. Who would have thought to prepare a watery grave for that great, magnificent army? God. God will judge. He judged Egypt, destroyed her army and brought Pharaoh to his knees as He brought His people out of bondage.

In the near future the Antichrist will stand up, declaring himself to be God, but God will judge. Didn’t God judge Lucifer and cast him out of Heaven when he rebelled? Yes, He did. Didn’t God cast out rebellious angels with Lucifer? Yes. God cast them out, and God will judge.

The same spirit, the same devil which motivated kingdoms to seek world rule throughout the ages is still raging. That same spirit, that same ungodly mess which ran through six nations will soon take over two more. It’s the spirit of rebellion against God and everything like God, a spirit that hates all that God stands for, a spirit Jesus came to destroy.

The Bible closes with the greatest voice of judgment ever, passing sentence on the whole world, turning it into the winepress of Almighty God. Such devastating judgment will fall that the Lord will remove the Bride of Christ from the face of the earth before it happens. Amid all the madness, the insanity, with all the judgments of God poured out, when it looks as though everything on Earth will be destroyed, the Son of God will appear in midair as King of kings and Lord of lords. Jesus, that great Rock hewed out of the mountain that King Nebuchadnezzar saw in his first vision, the Rock that destroyed the mighty image representing the nations, will rule throughout eternity. Jesus will defeat all the enemies of God.

The prophecies that have already come to pass should help you believe that all will come to pass, just as God has said. God speaks and what He says He will do, He will do. When He states that He will cast the wicked into hell, to hell they’ll go. God told Noah He would destroy all flesh, and then the flood came. The wicked didn’t believe God would destroy multitudes and save just eight people; many today about to be destroyed are in agreement with those in Noah’s day: God wouldn’t destroy multitudes! But He will; God will judge.

The book of Daniel is a great cry of warning to all; God will judge. God will judge the sinful; God will judge the ungodly. Just as judgment caught up with every wicked king and ruler of the past, God will judge today, and He is one hundred percent just. The only way to escape judgment is to accept Christ into your heart and keep Him there.

Daniel Prophesied the Coming of Christ

Christ came to a people cruelly oppressed under the great bondage of the Roman thumb. King Herod had ordered all male babies younger than two years of age put to death in his attempt to kill Christ. Such cruelty, such ungodliness and hatred in the heart of a man! Craving power, afraid of King Jesus the little baby, afraid He would set up His Kingdom and overthrow his rule, Herod murdered the innocents.

Why didn’t Jesus establish His Kingdom on Earth when He was here? He did something much greater. He paid the supreme price to conquer sin and ungodliness for every person who wants it conquered in his or her life, so that His kingdom could be set up in the hearts of men. How could the disciples understand Jesus’ mission without considering the power of the Cross? They looked only to the power of man. The disciples one day wanted Jesus to call fire down from heaven to kill some who had turned Jesus away. They thought He would perform powerful demonstrations to destroy His enemies. But His message was, “Love your enemies. Do good to those who despitefully use you.”

Daniel prophesied about Christ. He knew of the crucifixion. If any Book in the Bible should give you deep-rooted faith in accepting what God has said, it should be Daniel. The more you study the Book of Daniel, the more rooted and grounded in the prophecies of God you will become, the brighter the light of God will shine in your heart until you can see clearly the plan of God. The fullness of the Gentiles will end with the Glorious Church being taken out, a church without spot, wrinkle or any such thing. The generation now on the face of the earth will see the coming the Lord.

The Temple to Be Rebuilt

Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up (Acts 15:14-16). God is visiting the Gentiles to take of them a people for His name: this is the Rapture. The Bride of Christ will be taken out, the pride of God from the Gentile race. This is the love of God for the Gentiles; the Bride of Christ will be a group of people, special, glorious, without spot, wrinkle or blemish.

Not until after the Lord has chosen a Bride for His Son Jesus from among the great crowds of Gentiles, will He return to build again the tabernacle of David (Acts 15:16). Some people believe that the temple will be built before Jesus returns, but here we find that’s not so. Other temples have been built, but this final temple is one the Lord will build Himself that the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things. Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world (verses 17,18).

Where Are You?

Where are you in Bible prophecy? Where are you with your life? Are you going to be one of the chosen few the Lord will pick? He let you know you would be special if you were part of the Bride, a Church without spot or wrinkle. Are you ready? If not, you still have time. The Lord loves you; He died for sinners. Ask Him to forgive your sins; welcome Him into your heart. Don’t be like King Nebuchadnezzar who was given a whole year to repent but wasted that precious time. The Lord is warning people daily. It’s time to take heed, to serve God, to look unto the Lord, the Author and Finisher of your faith. It’s time to walk holy, time to know that Jesus will soon come. Come to Jesus today and let Him help you. Come to the Lord and let Him move for you, the God who gave His Only Begotten Son to bring you into oneness with Him. He is waiting to deliver you; He loves you more than your mind can comprehend. Trust Him, yield to His love and let Him prepare you for the soon coming of Jesus.