This prophetic image is foundational to understanding which prophetic events and players may come on the scene in our day

IT’S WORTH CONSIDERING

The Statue in Daniel 2

It’s Happening Now

Most Christians have found biblical prophecy interesting, fascinating, and mysterious. We have subconsciously assumed that the unfulfilled prophecies would be accomplished sometime in the distant future, so it’s okay if we don’t understand all the mysterious details. Unprecedented world events have changed all that. Now the details are becoming important because it is likely that the formation of the statue described in Daniel 2 may be taking place right before our eyes, meaning that the Rapture, the Tribulation, and Christ’s Second Coming may not be far away. The Church must prepare herself for what is coming, meaning that the members of the Body of Christ had better seriously consider how we should then live. I have been discussing the details of what this looks like for some time now. Today’s discussion, however, focuses on some of the confusing prophetic passages that reveal who the major players will be as we enter the last of the last days. Identifying the players will help us understand how things will play out as we follow our world news, especially in the Middle East.

The statue in Daniel’s vision in Daniel 2 represents four kingdoms:

1.   Babylon, the existing world power in Daniel’s day, represented by the head of gold,
2.   the combined kingdoms of the Medes and the Persians represented by the breast and arms of silver,
3.   Greece represented by the belly and thigh of bronze, and
4.    Rome represented by the legs of iron and feet of clay mixed with iron.

The Statue Reconstituted

Verse 44 tells us that when Christ comes to earth to set up His Millennial Kingdom, some form of all these four empires will exist. Christ will destroy all four of these kingdoms with a direct attack on some form of a revived Roman Empire (the feet and toes of the statue), causing all the other three to come crashing down. We know that this reconstituted Roman Empire will consist of ten entities (like kings or kingdoms) but it will be a divided kingdom (iron and clay), with one part significantly weaker than the other. The legs are of iron, so some powerful entity (the legs) will be supported by a weaker entity that has strong features but has been mixed with something much weaker (feet and toes.)

According to the statue and the prophecy, when Christ returns to earth with His Bride, some massive entity will oppose Him, an amalgamation of former Babylon (Iraq today), former Medes and Persian (Iran), former Greece (perhaps represented by the territories of Alexander’s four generals—Egypt, Syria, Asia Minor (Turkey) and Macedonia, and Rome (part or all of the territory within the former Roman Empire. Whoever or whatever is represented by the head of gold will appear to be the head of it all, just like Babylon was in Nebuchadnezzar’s day.

 

AS I SEE IT

What we Know

What we know for certain is that Christ will soundly defeat and obliterate all His enemies when He returns. He is the stone of Dan. 2:34-35, a stone that will become a great mountain that fills the whole earth. This mountain is His promised kingdom, the thousand-year “kingdom to come” that Israel had been awaiting and anticipating. Had Israel accepted her Messiah when He came the first time, this kingdom would have come then. Since they rejected Him, it was postponed until after Israel had endured its refining fire.

What we Don’t Know

What we don’t know for certain is who the players are and how their actions will affect the Church before the Rapture takes place. Since the Church needs some serious refining of its own, it is very possible that Christ will use these players to transform the Church into the pure bride she will become. This is why we must understand the times in which we live. Out of all the mysterious prophetic images in the Bible, I believe the statue of Daniel 2 is foundational.

If the Rapture takes place before the Tribulation, then by the time the antichrist comes on the scene, the Church will have been removed from earth. Many of the other prophetic images point to Satan (The Great Red Dragon of Rev. 12:3), the antichrist (The Beast from the Sea of Rev. 13:1), or the false prophet (The Beast from the earth of Rev. 13:11). I believe that by the time we learn of these three players in the book of Revelation, the Church has been taken to heaven. Other than the Daniel 2 image the one that seems to impact us is the beast that carries the woman in Revelation 17, especially the 7th Beast Empire. We’ll look at that next week, but for now, pay attention to how the statue of Daniel 2 may be taking shape in:

1.   Iraq
2.   Iran
3.   Turkey, Egypt, Syria, or Mesopotamia
4.   The nations surrounding the Mediterranean, NW Europe, and the Middle East

What ideology controls or is gaining strength in all these areas? Islam. Will there be some form of union between Islam and Roman Catholicism (iron and clay)? They’ve already had talks. Stay tuned. Exciting times indeed.

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