The Amazing Witness of Fulfilling Bible
Prophecy
There is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets and
maketh known what shall be in the latter days" (Daniel 2:28).
The Bible: A Reliable Witness
Our objective in this article is a three-fold one. It
is to show:
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That God guides the destiny of nations;
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That He has a purpose with the earth that is
rapidly coming fruition;
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That the Bible is what it claims to be: the
Inspired Word of God.
The closer we look at anything that man has created
the greater the number of flaws there are revealed. Submit a polished
piece of steel to inspection under a microscope, and it appears pitted
and rough; stand too close to an oil painting and it looks ugly and
distorted.
That is not so with God's creation however. Examine as
closely as you will the petal of a rose, and its soft beauty will be
more wonderfully revealed. Submit the wing of a butterfly, or the
wonderful mechanism of the eye, to scrutiny under the microscope, and
hidden and complex marvels will be instantly seen.
The same is true of the Bible. The more minutely its
pages are studied, the greater beauty and significance there is
revealed. It is transforming in its effect. It provides a basis for
happier living now, whilst revealing the way to life eternal in the
future. As Paul wrote: "It has promise of the life that now is,
and that which is to come" (I Timothy 4:8). And, like the diverse
forms of creation about us, the more it is studied, the greater will
its wonder be revealed, testifying that the Hand that made it is
divine.
The amazing fulfillment of Bible prophecy demonstrates
this beyond all doubt. Man cannot predict the future with any
certainty whatever, but the Bible reveals the end from the beginning.
God has declared:
"I am God, declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My
counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure" (Isaiah
46:10).
This is no false claim. The fulfillment of Bible
prophecy down the ages is a guarantee not only that God can do what He
wills, but that He will do what He proclaims. It is an assurance that
complete reliance can be placed upon the Bible, and that God will make
good His promise to:
-
Send Jesus Christ to reign on earth (Acts 1:1 1;
Acts 3:20-21; Luke 1:32-33).
-
Raise from the dead those responsible to judgment
(Psa. 49:15-20; 2 Tim. 4:1-7; 1 Cor. 15).
-
Reward with eternal life those found worthy
(Matthew 19:29; Romans 2:7).
-
Grant them authority with Christ in His Kingdom on
earth (Revelation 5:9-10; 2:26; Daniel 7:27).
-
Establish universal peace and goodwill on earth
(Psalm 72; Isaiah 2:24).
Our object is to present some of the wonders of
prophecy that the reader may accept with assurance the teaching of the
Bible. This is shown by the rise and fall of nations considered in the
light of Bible prophecy. The Bible predicted that certain nations
would totally disappear, whilst others would remain until the setting
up of the Kingdom of God on earth. Among the former were Nineveh,
Babylon, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, Philistia, etc.; among the latter were
Arabia, Persia, Libya, Ethiopia, Egypt and Israel.
The former nations have entirely disappeared as
predicted; the latter still remain, and in the very condition that the
prophets declared they would be found.
What other book describes with such certainty events
to come?
We propose to briefly consider some of these
predictions that the wonder of their fulfilment might be better
appreciated.
Tyre: A Place For Fishing Nets
The 26th chapter of Ezekiel records a remarkable
prophecy against Tyre. This ancient power had opposed God's people of
Israel, and against it the prophet, in the name of God, had thundered
Divine judgment. The Tyrians were told:
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That Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, would
conquer Tyre (vv. 7-11).
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That the city would be made desolate (v. 2).
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That it would be thrown into the sea (v. 12).
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That it would become a place to spread nets upon
(v. 14).
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That its maritime supremacy would cease forever
(v. 17).
Every detail of this prophecy had complete and
wonderful fulfilment.
Few people today know anything about Tyre, so
completely was the prophecy fulfilled. But in B.C. 596 when it was
uttered, Tyre was the foremost sea power of the ancient world.
Strategically situated on the coast of the Mediterranean, in what is
now known as Lebanon, Tyrian ships dominated the seas for centuries.
Early in the sixth century B.C., however, Tyre
incurred the wrath of Nebuchadnezzar and the rising power of
Babylonia. Nebuchadnezzar determined that he would destroy the power
of Tyre, and accordingly he marched against the city and besieged it.
After a protracted siege that continued for some years, he breached
the walls, and the city fell. When the Tyrians saw that resistance was
futile, they transferred the bulk of their treasure to an island in
their possession, half a mile from the shore. The old city was
deserted and from her new water-enclosed fortress Tyre continued to
defy her enemies.
Though the original city had been "made
desolate" by Nebuchadnezzar as predicted by Ezekiel, the balance
of the prophecy had not been fulfilled. Ezekiel (Ch. 26) had declared:
"They shall make a spoil of thy riches, and make
a prey of thy merchandise; and they shall break down thy walls, and
destroy thy pleasant houses; and they shall lay thy stones, thy
timber, and thy dust in the midst of the water ... I (God) will make
thee like the top of a rock; thou shalt be a place to spread nets
upon; thou shalt be built no more ... I shall bring up the deep upon
thee, and great waters shall cover thee" (vv. 12, 14,19).
None of this was accomplished by Nebuchadnezzar,
though he destroyed the original city. The prophecy spoke of an
unnamed power as "they shall do it." History reveals
that this was Alexander the Great and his Grecian warriors.
Meanwhile, for almost 250 years, the partly-ruined
city of ancient Tyre remained on the mainland, whilst from the island
fortress Tyrian power rose once more. Contrary to the requirements of
the prophecy the stones, timber and dust of the ancient city had not
been "thrown into the sea" as predicted, its site had not
been made "bare like the top of a rock", nor had Tyrian
power been irreparably broken. On the contrary, the riches of the
world flowed through its gates to the east, and Tyrian influence rose
once again to its previous eminence.
It must have seemed as though Ezekiel's prophecy had
failed. But God is never in a hurry, and delay is but a challenge to
faith. At last, Tyre made a fatal mistake. It opposed Alexander of
Greece. In their island fortress, protected by their powerful navy,
and surrounded by the blue waters of the Mediterranean, the Tyrians
could afford to defy his land forces. But Alexander was determined
that he would bring Tyre under his control. To do so he had to get at
the island fortress, and that meant that he had to build a ramp
connecting the mainland with the island across which his soldiers
could march.
The stones, the walls, the pleasant houses of the
ruins of the mainland city (the one Ezekiel said would be utterly
destroyed and never rebuilt) provided him with a means to do this. He
ordered that they be thrown "into the sea" (as Ezekiel had
predicted) for this purpose. A clean sweep was made of the site, and
not a remnant of the city remained. Nor was it ever rebuilt. God had
decreed that this would be its fate, and His words were fulfilled to
the very letter, though for 250 years every indication seemed to point
to the contrary.
Today, the blue waters of the Mediterranean wash over
the ruins of Tyre, which has literally become "a place to spread
nets upon." Go to the site of ancient Tyre today, and it is
possible to see Arab fishermen doing that which Ezekiel predicted they
would do 2,500 years ago. Thomson, in his "Land and the
Book", writes:
"The number of granite columns that lie in the
sea is surprising. The eastern wall of the inner harbor is entirely
founded upon them, and they are thickly spread over the bottom of the
sea on every side. Tyre must have been a city of columns and temples
par excellence . . . Should anyone ask incredulously, 'Where are the
stones of ancient Tyre?' . . . they are found spread over the causeway
of Alexander, in her choked up harbor, and at the bottom of the
sea."
Alexander's attack was successful, and Tyrian sea
power was destroyed. No longer did her fleets dominate the seas, no
longer were her praises sung in the marts of the ancient world. As a
nation she disappeared, never to rise again.
The causeway built by Alexander still connects Tyre's
one-time island-fortress with the mainland, but so completely has
every vestige of the original city disappeared, that its' position can
only be ascertained by the distance measured from the ruins of the
fortress. The mighty city of ancient Tyre was completely erased.
But the amazing thing is the detail in which the Bible
predicted all this, and the wonderful way in which each point was
finally fulfilled. Fallible man cannot predict the future with such
certainty and detail, but the Bible does. It shows that this wonderful
book can be thoroughly relied upon, and confirms that those prophecies
which speak of the second advent of Christ, and the setting up of the
Kingdom of God on earth will come to pass, even though the fulfilment
might appear improbable to mortal man.
Egypt - A Base Nation
Egypt was one of the most powerful nations of
antiquity. It was renowned alike for science, arts and civilization.
For long epochs of time it exercised world power; for centuries it
held at bay the mighty empires of Nineveh and Babylon.
To those who were familiar with Egypt in its greatness
it must have appeared most unlikely that the prophecies of God
concerning this power would be realized.
In his 29th chapter, Ezekiel declared that the King of
Babylon would suppress Egypt for 40 years, and take away captive many
of its people. These events were fulfilled within a few years of their
proclamation by the prophet; but Ezekiel also spoke of Egypt's
condition today, and in a manner so dogmatic, and yet so true, as to
confound all critics of the Bible.
The truth of his words cannot be disproved.
Nebuchadnezzar had intended to completely destroy
Egypt as a nation, but though the prophet predicted the complete
destruction of other nations extant at that time, he declared that
Egypt would continue as a nation until the setting up of the Kingdom
of God on earth, in spite of the intentions of the King of Babylon.
Thus Egypt remains today, though other nations have disappeared during
the course of history.
The prophet also predicted the very condition in which
the nation would be found. He declared that it would remain "a
base kingdom" (Ezek. 29:14); it would "no longer rule over
the nations" (v. 15), and, what is more striking, "There
shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt" (Ezek. 30:13).
These words were spoken when Egypt was a mighty power,
feared by other nations, and disputing with Babylon the sole dominion
of the world. Many other nations sheltered under the shadow of
Egyptian protection, among them the people of Israel.
Ezekiel's words thus foretold a total reversal of
Egyptian power. At the same time as the prophet declared that Tyre
would come to a total end, he also proclaimed that Egypt would
partially recover from the attack of Nebuchadnezzar, and would
continue as a nation, though in a degraded or "base"
condition, ruled over by foreigners, and no longer dominating others.
Apart from Divine inspiration, none could speak with
such certainty, or in such detail, concerning the future of so eminent
and, originally, so powerful a nation. History reveals how completely
the prophecy was fulfilled. Following the downfall of Babylon, Egypt
was successfully dominated by the Greeks, Romans, Saracens and
Mamelukes. Early in the sixteenth century, the Turks took possession
of the country. Towards the end of the 18th century, the French came
on the scene. They were driven out by the British, who handed control
back to the Turks. In 1882, the national party, under Arabi Pasha,
revolted, and forced the Turkish rulers to flee. The English, however,
subdued the rebellion, and occupied Egypt. Ultimately the British
withdrew, but foreigners continued to dominate.
Egypt's political weakness has been demonstrated by
the defeats she has suffered at the hands of the Israelis. In this, as
in other features of modern Egypt, the amazing testimony of Bible
prophecy is manifested. The Bible predicts this. It declares that
"a perverse spirit" shall be manifested in Egypt, to
"cause it to err" with the result that "the land of
Judah shall be a terror unto Egypt" (Isa. 19:14-17).
These words have been fulfilled to the very letter in
our times.
Historians have expressed astonishment at the way in
which Egypt has been subjected by various races, and ruled by
"strangers," down the ages. The student of the Bible is not
astonished. He sees in this a further evidence of the hand of God in
world affairs; a wonderful fulfilment of the most remarkable book
extant: the Bible.
Babylon: To Become a Ruin
The nation that brought about the initial downfall of
Egypt, Tyre and other contemporary powers, including Jewry, was
Babylon. Babylon was the greatest city-empire of the ancient world.
Nebuchadnezzar, its most illustrious king, was a most prolific
builder. Under his direction, the capital was almost entirely rebuilt,
and ultimately became a symbol of his personal power and prestige. Its
massive walls were thought to be impregnable. Its hanging gardens were
one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Its towers, buildings,
architecture and temples were the pride of all Chaldea. Contemporary
historians state that the mighty city which formed a square 15 miles
each way, was enclosed with walls 87 feet thick and 350 feet high.
Nebuchadnezzar aimed to make the city a permanent
memorial of his greatness.
But all this material strength, pomp and glory were
nothing to the God of Israel. Over a century before the birth of
Nebuchadnezzar, Isaiah prophesied:
"And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty
of the Chaldees excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and
Gomorrah. it shall never be dwelt in from generation to generation ...
neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the
shepherds make their fold there. But wild beasts of the desert shall
lie there . . ." (Isaiah 13:19-22).
The boldness of such a prediction is startling when
the size and strength of Babylon is considered. It was uttered when
the city was rising to power. Yet so completely was it fulfilled that
until comparatively recent times, the site of Babylon was in dispute
among scholars. Some critics of the Bible even went to the extent of
claiming that Nebuchadnezzar was a fiction, and that he never existed
outside the pages of the Scriptures!
During the 19th century, however, the ruined palaces
of this wonder city of the past were unearthed, and to the confusion
of Bible critics, the name "Nebuchadnezzar" was found
prominently displayed in its records. But all the glory of the past
had long disappeared. Babylon was no longer the metropolis of a mighty
empire, for the sands of the desert had entirely covered its ruins to
blot it out of existence. Its original fertility had been destroyed so
that "shepherds do not make their folds there" (Isa. 13:20).
Nor will Arabs pitch their tents there, for some local superstition
prohibits them from camping overnight at the site.
Ancient Babylon has become the resting place of the
hyena, the wolf and the jackal as the prophet predicted! The
prophecies of the Bible, recorded in the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah,
Ezekiel and Daniel, have had wonderful and minute fulfilment.
Today, the massive ruins of Babylon are a silent
witness to the veracity of Bible prophecy, as well as to the glory of
the ancient city. They constitute an archaeological wonder, the
delight of tourists; but those very ruins are deserted and avoided by
the Arab dwellers of the land who will not stop near them overnight.
This was once the nerve-centre of the greatest empire
of all time, and Nebuchadnezzar, its chief ruler, rebuilt the city for
perpetuity. In his pomp and glory he boasted: "Is not this great
Babylon, that I have built for the house of my kingdom by the might of
my power and for the honour of my majesty?" (Daniel 4:30). How
transient is the glory of man!
His words echo down the corridor of time, testifying
not to his greatness, but to the infallible truth and reality of Bible
prophecy. The answer of God to Nebuchadnezzar's boast was:
"Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the pride of Chaldea, shall be
as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah....... As Babylon hath caused
the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all
the earth" (Jeremiah 51:49,58).
It is God Who guides the destiny of nations.
In the year 606 B.C., Babylon took Israel captive.
Today the Jews are returning, and Israel is beginning to flourish, but
Babylon's palaces shall "never be inhabited." This mighty
empire was reduced to nothing, exactly in the manner described by God.
Israel - To Be Restored
Israel was numerically among the weakest of nations in
ancient times, and yet, though the prophets predicted the absolute
destruction of mightier powers, God declared concerning the Jew:
"For I am with thee to save thee. Though I make a
full end of all nations, whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not
make a full end of thee; but I will correct thee in measure, and not
leave thee, altogether unpunished" (Jeremiah 30:11).
God's purpose is to be manifest through the Jewish
people (John 4:22), and they are destined to assume a very important
position among the mortal subjects of Christ's kingdom. One of the
titles adopted by the Lord Jesus was "King of the Jews." It
was on this basis that they procured his death, but he is to return,
to humble, discipline and educate that disobedient nation in the
truths of God (Romans 11:26), and to claim his rightful position as
King (Matt. 19:28; Luke 1:32-33). From Jerusalem he will extend his
power throughout the earth, bringing all mankind subject to his
authority (Isaiah 60:12). Jerusalem will become the metropolis of his
power (Isa. 24:23); it will be reconstituted the "throne of the
Lord" (Jer. 3:17), and "the city of the great King"
(Matt. 5:35).
Thus despite the past rebellion of the people against
the ways of God, the words of Scripture will yet be fulfilled:
"As ye were a curse among the nations, O house of Israel! so will
I save you, and ye shall be a blessing" (Zechariah 8:13).
The return of the Jews to the land of Israel in our
time is a step towards that consummation.
In the amazing history of Israel, the wonders of the
prophetic word are outstanding. Every major incident of their history
has been the subject of prophecy. In three remarkable chapters
(Deuteronomy 28, 29, 30) the whole history of Israel, from the time
they entered the Land of Promise until the return of Christ is
depicted. It includes the captivities to which they were subjected,
their scattering among the Gentiles, and even the very feelings of
hatred that they would engender in other people.
This prophecy was delivered by Moses, and given to the
people before they were constituted a nation in the Land of Promise.
It is the custom of most national leaders to encourage
their followers with glowing pictures of future greatness, but when
Moses led Israel out of Egypt 3,500 years ago, he had no false
illusions as to the destiny of the people. By inspiration of God, he
told them plainly that they would prove disobedient to God's commands,
and as a result: "The Lord shall scatter thee among all people,
from one end of the earth even unto the other" (Deuteronomy
28:64).
He even described the state they would find themselves
in among the countries of their dispersion:
"Among these nations shalt thou find no ease,
neither shall the soul of thy foot have rest; but the Lord shall give
thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind;
and thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shaft fear day
and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life"
(Deuteronomy 28:65-66).
Does not this exactly answer to the condition of the
Jews in persecution? The Eichmann trial showed how Jews were brutally
tortured and put to death in the concentration camps of Germany, how
that 6,000,000 were destroyed during the Hitler regime. And that is
but an incident in a long history of persecution in which most nations
have oppressed this people, a treatment that would have destroyed any
other nation but the Jews.
The Bible not only predicts that they would be
persecuted, but also explains why - because they would turn their
backs on God, reject the only secure defense available to save them.
Moses also revealed the circumstances by which they
would be scattered into all nations. 1,500 years before it came to
pass, he prophesied the siege of Jerusalem that in A.D. 70 brought to
an end the Jewish State in one of the most terrible incidents of
bloodshed and violence recorded in history. He declared:
"The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from
far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation
whose tongue thou shalt not understand ... and he shall besiege thee
in all thy gates until thy high and fenced walls come down wherein
thou trustedst (Deuteronomy 28:49-52).
Rome did not appear prominently on the stage of human
history until at least 1,200 years after Moses proclaimed these words,
but is clearly identified in the passage above. The standard of the
Roman legions was a flying eagle; they came from "the end of the
earth" (the utmost confines of the then known world), they spoke
a language unknown to the Jews (there is no language more foreign to
the structure and idiom of Hebrew than Latin).
This nation, so clearly identified in the prophecy,
marched against the Jews in A.D. 70, besieged and ultimately destroyed
the city, and took the people into captivity. Instructions were issued
by the Roman Commander, Titus, that the wonderful Temple was to be
preserved, but in the heat and fury of battle, the legions ignored his
command, and both city and temple were overthrown. This fulfilled a
similar prophecy predicted by Jesus concerning the overthrow of the
city and temple (Luke 21:24). He declared concerning the latter:
"There shall not be left one stone upon another that shall not be
thrown down" (Luke 21:6).
But the Bible not only foretold the scattering of
Israel, but also their regathering, "He that scattered Israel
will regather him," declared Jeremiah (Ch. 31:10). And Moses also
predicted:
"The Lord will turn thy captivity, and have
compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the
nations whither he hath scattered thee" (Deuteronomy 30:3).
Other Bible prophecies declare:
"I will gather them out of all countries, whither
I have driven them in Mine anger, and in My fury, and in great wrath;
and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to
dwell safely ... yea ... I will plant them in this land assuredly with
My whole heart and with My whole soul" (Jeremiah 32:37-41).
"I will bring them out from the people, and
gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land,
and feed them upon the mountains of Israel"- (Ezekiel 34:13).
"it shall be in the latter days" (Ezekiel 38:8,12,16).
The present return of the Jews to their ancient land
is a token fulfillment of these prophecies. The complete fulfillment
awaits the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is of the greatest significance, that in our time,
some three million Jews have returned to the land, and after two
thousand years of dispersion, Israel is again a nation in the earth.
Students of prophecy realize that this is the prelude to the return of
Christ, who is destined to reign from Jerusalem over a regenerated
Israel, cleansed from their previous unbelief and hardness of heart
(Joel 3:16-17; Ezek. 36:22-29).
Christ's kingdom will extend beyond Israel, however,
to incorporate all nations (Jer. 3:17; Zech. 14:17), so that
"many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord in
Jerusalem" (Zech. 8:22). "Peace and goodwill among men"
will then replace hatred and war, for he shall cause
"righteousness and praise to spring up before all nations" (Isa.
61:11).
Amazing Deliverance Of Jerusalem
One of the most amazing vindications of the prophetic
word, is the occupation of Jerusalem in 1967. In that year, after the
remarkable victory of Israel in the Six Day War, in which it defeated
within a week the armies of Egypt, Syria and Jordan by which it was
invaded, the Jewish people found themselves in control of the city of
Jerusalem after two thousands years of dispersion.
The circumstances are remarkable, almost miraculous.
When the UN decreed in 1947 that there would be a Jewish State, it
also declared that Jerusalem should be an international city,
belonging to neither Jews nor Arabs.
If the city had remained like that, Israel would not
be in possession of it today!
Instead, Jordan annexed Jerusalem, and occupied it
until 1967. Then, in the dying moments of the Six Day War, when Egypt
had been defeated, Jordan suddenly decided to invade Israel. The
Israelis pleaded with Jordan not to do so, but the latter persisted.
They declared war on Israel, and were decisively defeated in a few
hours. Through that victory, the ancient city of Jerusalem, and all of
what is called today the West Bank, came under control of Israel.
In this, Christ's prophetic words were remarkably
fulfilled for when he predicted the fall of Jerusalem, and the
scattering of its people throughout the world, he also declared that
the Jewish people would REGAIN THAT CITY IN THE LATTER DAYS. Here are
his words:
"They (the Jews) shall fall by the edge of the
sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations; and Jerusalem
shall be trodden down of the Gentiles UNTIL the times of the Gentiles
be fulfilled" (Luke 21:24).
The word "until" marks off the termination
of the time during which that city would be under Gentile domination.
In fact, Christ was citing the prophecy of Daniel
8:13-14, which also gives a time limit to the "treading
down" of the holy city: a period of 2300 prophetic days (or
years). And it is an amazing fact, that the city of Jerusalem fell to
the Jewish people, exactly 2300 years from the time of the initial
prophecy of Daniel 8: the attack of Alexander the Great against Persia
in 333 B.C. (cp. vv. 21-22). From B.C. 333 to 1967 is exactly 2300
years.
But the wonder of this prophecy does not end there.
Following his words that require the release of Jerusalem, the Lord
Jesus Christ spoke of economic and political distress among all
nations; of "distress of nations with perplexity" (Luke
21:25), of "men's hearts failing them for fear" through
prevailing conditions (v. 26), and then of the manifestation of
himself on the earth again in glory: "They shall see the Son of
Man coming ... with power and great glory" (v. 27).
This very sequence has been amazingly fulfilled.
Following the defeat of Arab powers, and the occupation by Jews of
Jerusalem, and the West Bank, the economic and political conditions of
nations have sharply deteriorated. The nations are faced with
perplexing problems they cannot solve; preparations for war with
weapons of such destructive might are creating fear in the hearts of
thinking people. How have these conditions developed? Through the
effect of the Six Day War and the Israeli occupation of Jerusalem. For
having failed in war, the Arabs had recourse to economic pressures,
including oil. Their objectives was to cause other powers to bring
pressure on Israel, and to destroy the nation economically. Their
policy has resulted in the inflationary spiral and its associated
problems that has affected all nations.
Hence the development of this "time of
trouble" has followed the very course outlined by the Lord in his
Olivet prophecy relating to the last days. A further evidence of the
divine inspiration of the Bible (Hebrews 1:1).
World History Condensed Into 15 Verses
The 2nd Daniel records a remarkable vision seen by the
King of Babylon in which the history of the world is condensed into a
few prophetic verses.
In a dream he saw an image of a mighty warrior
composed of different metals, and shining with tremendous luminous
glory. It had a head of gold, breast and arms of silver, belly and
thighs of brass, legs of iron, feet and toes of part iron and part
clay. As he watched the mighty image, he saw a stone hurling towards
it. It struck it upon the feet, causing it to topple over and crash to
the ground. The metals broke into pieces. The stone grew, crushing the
metals to powder, which the wind blew away. The image was gone, but
the stone remained. The king saw it grow into a mountain and fill the
whole earth.
What did it all mean?
The clergy of Babylon could not supply an
interpretation.
But Daniel, the Hebrew prophet did. He pointed out
that the four metals of the image represented four world powers that
would arise. The fourth, however, would become divided, answering to
the toes of the image. Some of these divided nations would be strong,
others would be weak, answering to the iron and the clay.
World history has followed the pattern of prophecy
outlined by Daniel to the king. There have been four world-powers:
Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome. Rome was divided into several
parts answering to modern Europe. Today we live in the "clay and
iron stage," a stage concerning which Daniel declared the nations
would be unable to unite on a common policy, a time when the
"clay" of Communism has mixed with the "iron" of
imperialism to form the political pattern of the present.
Read Daniel's words, and look at the world today and
see how exactly the former describes the latter. He declared that the
nations would be "partly strong and partly weak" . . .
"unable to cleave together" (vv. 42-43).
But there remains a phase of the vision yet to be
fulfilled. The king saw the image standing in all its might, and then,
suddenly, it was shattered by a "little stone" that broke it
to pieces, and afterwards grew into a mountain filling the whole
earth, and grinding the metals to powder. The king was told that the
dream revealed "what shall be in the latter days" (Daniel
2:28,45). Thus the image must yet be caused to exist in all its
terrible power (v. 31) before being smitten by the stone. In other
words, the modern powers ruling upon the territories of those ancient
kingdoms represented by the metals, must be confederated together so
as to form one great alliance.
Over one hundred years ago, in 1848, a Christadelphian
commentator of Bible prophecy (John Thomas in Elpis Israel wrote
as follows:
"in order, then, to prepare for the catastrophe,
the image which is now in antagonistic parts, must be confederated; in
other words a dominion must arise before the setting up of the kingdom
of God which shall rule over the toe-kingdoms (of Europe), and the
Turkish and Persian territories, till it meets the British Power in
the east ... I shall be able to show, from other parts of the
prophetic Word, that the power destined to play the conspicuous part
indicated above is RUSSIA. It will dominate all the ten kingdoms
(European powers), subdue Turkey and incorporate Persia into its
empire; but that when it has reached its zenith, it will, in turn, be
precipitated into the abyss, and its dominion suppressed for a
thousand years . . . They will contend for the dominion of the East;
but neither will obtain it . . ."
Why will neither obtain it? The answer is given in the
prophecy of Daniel. It is because the "little stone" power
will intervene to overthrow the image and fill the earth with its
glory. Daniel, in explanation of this, told the king:
"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 stand for ever" (Daniel
2:24).
That is the destiny mapped out for the nations by God.
Today, Russia is attempting to confederate the nations in one mighty
bloc in accordance with the prophecy of Daniel. Her intention is world
domination, of such a nature as to be opposed to God's purpose, and
this was predicted thousands of years ago in Bible prophecy. But there
is a limit beyond which Russia will not be permitted to proceed. At
the height of her success, when it will seem that all the world is
about to succumb to her influence, a new Power will be seen in the
political arena. This will be the "stone" power of the
vision; the kingdom that God will set up on earth with Christ as king.
Associated with the Lord in power will be those who have lived in
accordance with his precepts now, for they shall be raised from the
dead to receive their inheritance, including eternal life.
The vision of Daniel 2, depicted this stone as growing
into a world-filling mountain to the exclusion of all else. The
Kingdom of God will do that. It is small in its beginnings, but
destined to rule the whole earth. It is least in the considerations of
men now, but ultimately will dominate all mankind. A mountain filling
the whole earth is its symbol, which Daniel interpreted as meaning:
"A kingdom which shall never be destroyed, and will not be left
to others."
Can we place any reliance in the establishment of such
a Kingdom? Surely, with the wonders of the prophetic word in mind, we
must answer in the affirmative. Just as surely as Tyre became a
"place for the spreading of nets," as Egypt fell from her
eminence and became a base nation, as Babylon was completely
destroyed, as Israel was scattered and is now being regathered, so
also will this final prophecy be fulfilled! Christ is coming and will
reign on earth.
Who can doubt it with the facts before them?
Remember that world events reveal that the epoch of
Christ's return is at hand. The times are significant, the issues are
vital, you owe it to yourself and your family to seek God's way.