The Times of The Gentiles part eight

And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. And the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear's, and its mouth was like a lion's mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority. One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast. And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?" And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain. If anyone has an ear, let him hear: If anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes; if anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword must he be slain. Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints. (Revelation 13:1-10 ESV) This is the third passage,Most of this passage will be discussed at a more appropriate time. At this point it is only necessary to deal with it as it relates to the Gentiles.In verses 1-2 John describes the beast that comes out of the sea.The sea in Revelation 13 is the same as the one in Daniel seven,which represents the Gentile world.Daniel two surveyed all the four empires.Daniel seven summarized the four empires,and them focused its attention on the fourth Empire of Imperialism in its various stages.But Revelation 13 is completely focused on the fourth empire,emphasizing a particular stage of the fourth empire,namely the fifth stage of the Antichrist .The beast that John saw is the same beast that Daniel saw in chapter seven where it was nondescript.But here the beast is given a description.In verse one the beast has ten horns and seven heads.The ten horns are found in Daniel seven, and they represent the ten kingdoms which is the fourth stage of the Empire of Imperialism.While the Ten Division stage gives way to the fifth stage,the ten kingdoms continue to exist to the end.The difference between the two stages is that in the fourth stage the world is divided into ten kingdoms ruled co-equally by ten men,while in the fifth stage the world in all ten divisions is ruled by the Antichrist , and the other kings are subject to the Antichrist. A new element is introduced by Revelation 13: the beast has seven heads. The meaning of these seven heads will be explained in the fourth major passage to be discussed later.In verse two the beast has a leopard -like body, bear-like feet,and lion-like mouth.This then,is the interpretation and explanation of the verse found in Daniel 7:12: And as for the rest of the beasts , their dominion was taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.Jesus is coming folks get ready to God be All the Glory

The Times Of The Gentiles part seven

Daniel seven ,then,further develops with greater detail what was given in chapter two,especially in relationship to the fourth empire.In order to clearly understand the times of the Gentiles,the two chapters of Daniel two and seven must be compared before looking at the two other passages involved.Daniel two and seven described the four Gentile empires with an emphasis on the last which goes through several stages.In most of the features the two passages present the same thing.Both agree that there are to be four Gentile empires,one following the other,culminating with the destruction of the fourth empire by Christ and the setting up of the messianic kingdom.Both passages point out the diverseness of the fourth kingdom and the fact that it goes through several stages.It is in these stages that there is a slight difference between the two text.Daniel two shows three stages of the fourth empire, two of which are mentioned by Daniel seven.Daniel seven mentions four stages of the fourth empire,two of which are mentioned by Daniel two.The first empire is the Babylonian Empire which included the head of gold and the lion-like beast.Different aspects of this empire are depicted by Daniel 1:1-5:30 and 7:4.The second empire is the Medo-Persian Empire represented by the arms and breast of silver and the bear-like beast.Different aspects of this empire are described in Daniel 2:39a,5:31-6:28,7:5,8:1-7,and10:1-11:2.This is followed by the third empire,the Hellenistic Empire represented by the belly of brass and the leopard-like beast.It started out as a unit under Alexander the Great but split into four divisions at his death.This empire is subject to considerable revelation In Daniel 2:39b,7:6,8:7-27,and 11:3-35.we will pick up here next time God Bless.

The Times of The Gentiles part 6

Having received this summary interpretation , in verses 19-22 Daniel request further interpretation regarding the fourth beast.In making this request Daniel further describes what he saw regarding the fourth beast.In verse 19 it's diverseness is pointed out.It is important to note how the diverseness of the fourth empire is continually emphasized.For this diverseness Daniel seeks a meaning.He further wishes to know the meaning of the ten horns(verse20a)and finally the little horn (verses 20b-22).In requesting this Daniel gives further information regarding the activity of the little horn:he causes three of the ten horns to fall(verse 20b); he speaks great things(verse 20c);he wars against the saints and is allowed to prevail over them (verse21).But finally he is personally defeated by the coming of the Ancient of Days.Once the judgement is passed on the little horn by the Ancient of Days,he will be done away with,and the kingdom will pass over to the saints.Having made this request,in verses 23-26Daniel is given the interpretation of the fourth beast.As in Daniel two,the fourth empire is seen as going through several stages,though not always the same stages as found in chapter two..In verse23a, the fourth empire is seen in its united stage, and it is in this first stage that it's diverseness from the other previous three empires is seen.This is followed by the second stage,that of a one-world government ; for in verse 23b it states that the fourth empire will devour the whole earth.This will be followed by the ten kingdom stage(verse 24a) which,in turn,will be followed by the little horn,or the Antichrist stage (verses 24b-26).These verses state that he arises after the ten division stage (verse24b).While the fourth empire is diverse from the previous three, the little horn is diverse from the other ten (verse 24c).He eventually puts down three of these kings (verse 24d).Verse 25 again points out his speaking great things as seen here in his speaking against God and against the saints.He seeks to change the times and the seasons,and he will be allowed to rule for only a time,times,and a half a time,which,from other passages (Daniel 9:27, 12:7, Revelation 11:2,3, 12:6,14, 13:5) means 31/2 years.But finally his domination is destroyed (verse 26).With the destruction of the little horn,the messianic kingdom is set up for the saints (verse27).The"saints" in Daniel refer to righteous Israel, or the remnant of Israel ,and not to the church .The chapter ends with Daniel's conclusion regarding his reaction to what he has just seen(verse28).we will pick up here next time God Bless

TIMES OF THE GENTILES PART 5

The third vision is found in verses 9-12.This vision takes place in heaven.In verses 9=10 the vision is of the throne of GOD the FATHER who is described under the title of the Ancient of Days.He is viewed as a judge and the book of judgement is opened.He is surrounded by myriads of angels who will be responsible to carry these judgements out.What is being judged is the fourth Gentile empire verses [11-12].In verse 11 it is the fourth beast,particularly the little horn,that judged and destroyed.As for the other three [verse 12],two things are stated:first there dominion was taken away;and secondly,their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.The exact meaning of this will be discussed under the third passage relating to the times of the Gentiles.The third vision is of God the Father,ready to move out in judgement against the fourth empire.Verses 13-14 contain the fourth vision.It begins with the setting of the kingdom of GOD following the destruction of the fourth Gentile empire.In verse 13 the second coming of Christ is viewed and this is followed by the setting up of the messianic kingdom in verse 14.Having described the four visions which he saw,which present essentially the same overview of the four Gentile empires as was found in Daniel two,he now gives the interpretation in verses 15-27 of Daniel 7.The major emphasis will be upon the fourth empire; 15 My spirit trembled, I Daniel was affrighted at these things, and the visions of my head troubled me. 16 I went near to one of them that stood by, and asked the truth of him concerning all these things, and he told me the interpretation of the words, and instructed me: 17 These four great beasts are four kingdoms, which shall arise out of the earth. 18 But the saints of the most high God shall take the kingdom: and they shall possess the kingdom for ever and ever. 19 After this I would diligently learn concerning the fourth beast, which was very different from all, and exceeding terrible: his teeth and claws were of iron: he devoured and broke in pieces, and the rest he stamped upon with his feet: 20 And concerning the ten horns that he had on his head: and concerning the other that came up, before which three horns fell: and of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth speaking great things, and was greater than the rest. 21 I beheld, and lo, that horn made war against the saints, and prevailed over them, 22 Till the Ancient of days came and gave judgment to the saints of the most High, and the time came, and the saints obtained the kingdom. 23 And thus he said: The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be greater than all the kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. 24 And the ten horns of the same kingdom, shall be ten kings: and another shall rise up after them, and he shall be mightier than the former, and he shall bring down three kings. 25 And he shall speak words against the High One, and shall crush the saints of the most High: and he shall think himself able to change times and laws, and they shall be delivered into his hand until a time, and times, and half a time. 26 And judgment shall sit, that his power may be taken away, and be broken in pieces, and perish even to the end. 27 And that the kingdom, and power, and the greatness of the kingdom, under the whole heaven, may be given to the people of the saints of the most High: whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all kings shall serve him, and shall obey him.After Daniel requests the interpretation in verses 15-16,he is given a summary interpretation in verses 17-18.In verse 17 Daniel is told that these four beast represent four kingdoms.Nevertheless,it is the servants of the Most High who will possess the kingdom ;for whatever will be possessed by the four Gentile empires will be only temporary[verse 18].We will pick up here next time GOD BLESS.

The Times of the Gentiles part five

The Times of The Gentiles part Three

In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters. Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it. And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh. After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it. After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things. I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened. I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time. I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. 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 this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things. These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever. Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet; And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows. I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. Hitherto is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel, my cogitations much troubled me, and my countenance changed in me: but I kept the matter in my heart. (Daniel 7:1-28 KJV) After giving the time and location of the four vision (verse 1),in verse 2-6 the first vision is described.It begins with a vision of the sea (the Mediterranean ),representing the Gentile world (Isaiah17:12-13,Matthew 13:47-50,Revelation 13:1, 17:1,15),troubled by the four winds(verse 2). Suddenly four beast arise from this sea,each one being different from the other (verse 3). All four then arise out of the Mediterranean area.The first beast is lion-like (verse 4),representing the Babylonian Empire(Jeremiah 4:7,48:40,49:19,22,50:17,44 Ezekiel 17:3).The latter part of verse four is probably a reference to Nebuchadnezzar 's experience recorded in Daniel 4:1-37.The second beast is bear-like and represents the Medo-Persian empire(verse 5).The bear is lop-sided,being raised up on one side;for although the Medes and the Persians were confederate,the Persians were by far the dominant power and it was a lop-sided alliance.Furthermore,the bear is found to have three ribs in its mouth,having devoured the flesh.Historically,these three ribs represent the three kingdoms conquered by the Medo-Persian forces giving them their empire status:Lydia,Babylonia,and Egypt.The bear is less majestic than the lion and is bulky and weighty.Medo-Persia conquered by shear force of numbers.The third beast is leopard -like,representing the Hellenistic Empire(verse 6).The leopard is also less majestic than the lion and less grand than the bear but is swifter than both.With leopard -like speed Alexander the Great conquered the Medo-Persian Empire and greatly extended the Hellenistic Empire.At his death,however,the empire split into four kingdoms.The four wings represent the four kingdoms rising out of Alexander's empire,and the four heads represent the four generals who took control of the four kingdoms:Ptolemy over Egypt,Palestine and Arabia Petrea;Seleucus over Syria, Babylonia,and as far east as India;Cassander over Macedonia and Greece; and Lysimachus over Thrace and Bithynia.The second vision found in verse 7-8 describes the fourth beast Unlike the others it is non-descript.While the others are given animal-like discriptions, none is given for this one.This fourth beast is described as being diverse, emphatically different,from all the others it completely subdues and breaks in all that precedes it.It appears as far more ferocious than the previous three empires.The fourth beast has ten horns.But while it began with ten horns,an eleventh horn arises,the little horn,who uproots three of the ten others.Having uprooted the other three,it begins to speak great things . With the uprooting of the three horns,seven of the original remain and the little horn is now an eighth.Once again,as in Daniel two,the uniqueness of the fourth empire is emphasized stating that it goes through several stages.The interpretation will be discussed later.But for now it is enough to note that the fourth beast does represent a fourth Gentile empire. We will pick up here next time God Bless

Times of the Gentiles part three

Having thus described the awesome image that Nebuchadnezzar dreamed,Daniel proceeded to give the interpretation in verse 36-45(read).After the declaration of the interpretation (verse36),Daniel interprets the meaning of the head of gold(verses37-38)as being Nebuchadnezzar ,the head of the Babylonian Empire.It was with this empire that the times of the Gentiles began,when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem and the Solomonic Temple in 586 B.C.Thus Babylon was the first of the four Gentile empires to dominate Jerusalem .The two arms of silver united into the breast of silver represents the two nations of the Medes and the Persians who established the Medo-Persian Empire(verse 39a).The Medo-Persian Empire was followed by the Greek or Hellenistic Empire symbolized by the belly and two thighs of brass (verse39b)for the third territorily embraced both east and west.The two thighs may also represent Syria and Egypt which arose out of the Hellenistic Empire and controlled Jewish territory. The rest of the image represents the fourth Gentile empire (verses40-43).The fourth empire goes through several stages,three of which are presented in this text.First there is the united stage(verse40).But this united stage gives way to the two division stage(verse41) which still has the strength of iron.Eventually,however,the four Gentile empire gives way to a ten division stage as is seen in the ten toes(verses42-43)being composed of iron and clay.Part of this ten division stage will be strong and part will be brittle and weak.The Fourth Gentile empire is unique from all the previous ones.It totally subdues and crushes all that precedes it.It is the fourth Gentile empire that is particularly emphasized by the text dealing with the times of the Gentiles.However,the fifth empire,that will follow it,will not be Gentile but Jewish (verses 44-45).Two prominent symbols are used here,but they are consistent with their usage elsewhere.Whenever the word stone is used symbolically,it is always a symbol of the Second Person of the Trinity,God the Son,the Lord Jesus Christ,the Messiah of Israel .Whenever the word mountain is used symbolically , it is always a symbol of a king,kingdom,or throne.Thus,following the fourth Gentile empire,God will set up His own kingdom.The kingdom is set up during the ten division stage (verse44a),and this brings to an end the domination of the other kingdoms (verse44b).In the end the image of Gentile domination will be smashed at the second coming . Once Gentile domination is thus smashed by the stone,Christ,the kingdom of God is set up,and it is set up by this stone.To summarize the first passage dealing with the times of the Gentiles,this is a period of time when four Gentile empires will follow one another in sequence with the fourth empire going through several different stages.But eventually this will give way to God setting up His own Kingdom. God bless!!!