Daniel 7.19-22

Daniel 7:19-22

Shalom!

This is your brother Israel Leonard with the word of God for you!

To watch in video:

1) https://www.facebook.com/israel.leonard.9026/videos/1826090074298970/ 

2) https://www.facebook.com/israel.leonard.9026/videos/1826110054296972/

3) https://www.facebook.com/israel.leonard.9026/videos/1826116074296370/


As we are reaching the end of this amazing prophecy in the seventh chapter of the book of Daniel, the question to us become more personal:

What are you gonna do about this?

Because you don't live your life in the same way if you know that there is hope for you, or if you are in the agony of hopelessness. Daniel knew that. That's why he prayed about his people and his country, and that's why he received God's answers.

In Daniel 7:19-22 we read

"Then I wanted to know the true meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others and most terrifying, with its iron teeth and bronze claws - the beast that crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left"

"I also wanted to know about the ten horns on its head and about the other horn that came up, before which three of them fell - the horn that looked more imposing than the others and that had eyes and a mouth that spoke boastfully"

"As I watched, this horn was waging war against the saints and defeating them, until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom"

The original Aramaic text for these verses is:

"Edáyin sebít le yatsabá al khevtá rebiatá, di khavá shanyá min kalekhón, dekhilá yatirá, shinayá di parzél vetifrayá di nekhásh, akhlá umaddaká, usheará be raglayá ráfsa"

"Ve al karnayá asár di bereshá, veakhorí di silkát unefalú min kodamayá telát, vekarná dikén veaynín le, ufúm memalíl rabrebán, ve khezvá rab min khabratá"

"Khazé khavét ve karná dikén, abdá krav min kadishín veyakhlá lekhón, ad di atá atík yomayá, vediná yehíb lekadishé elyonín, vezimná metá umalkutá hekhesínu kadishín"

The translation we read in the NIV is perfect for these verses. I want you to note this little phrase which reveals Daniel's heart and mind: "Then I wanted to know". There is a reason Daniel got this prophecy and so many other ones in his book, he "WANTED TO KNOW". He read the Scriptures, he prayed to the God of Israel, he was a real seeker.

Do you WANT TO KNOW what is going to happen?

Let's pray:

Almighty Father, we give you thanks for the Word you have given to your servants the prophets.

We give you thanks especially for this amazing prophecy you gave to Daniel.

We give you thanks for you want to give us also prophecies, the revelation about what is going to happen.

We pray that you open our eyes and ears to receive what you have for us.

In Jesus' Holy Name.

Amen.

In the previous message, about verses 17-18, we have seen that Daniel received the revelation about the fourth beasts and the holy people of the Most High. Nevertheless, there was something different in the four beast that drew his atention.

Was it the fact that it was the last one before the Kingdom of God's arrival?
Was it that it was different than the other ones?
Was it the little horn that would wage war against Israel?

We have dealed with all these things in this blog, and you can read or watch the video about them. In the message to the verses Daniel 7:7-8, we have spoken about the fourh beast, the Roman Empire which will be formed again. In the same message and in the one concerning verses 11 and 12, we spoke about the ten horns of this beast and about the little horn, known as the Antichrist.

The judgement of this little horn and of the fourth beast, which takes place in the heavenly court before the Ancient of Days, is the issue of the message concerning Daniel 7:9-10. And the coming Kingdom of God, where the King of Israel, the Messiah, will reign on earth forever over the holy people Israel and the church, grafted in it, is treated in the message to Daniel 7:13-14.

In the last message, concerning Daniel 7:17-18, we spoke about the terrible attack on Israel that took place with the United Nations 2334 resolution, declaring more than a half million Jews to be "illegal occupants" in their own country and in their own capital, Jerusalem. We saw that the conglomerate of nations coming against Israel is the fulfilment of another prophecy, from Daniel chapter two, where the prophet is revealing his dream to king Nebuchadnessar. This is the prophecy we want to take again and specify. It is found in Daniel 2:43:

"And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay"

This verse is highly neglected in the translation of the New International Version. "...the people will be a mixture..." is a very poor translation of the Aramaic "mitarebín lehevón mizrá anashá" which literally means "... they will mix themselves in the seed of men..." (or "in human seed") where "mizrá" is "in seed" and "anashá", "human" or "of men". The American Standard Version has a far better rendering for this phrase, "they shall mingle themselves by the seed of men".

The fourth beast, which is represented in Nebuchadnezzar's dream as the iron in the legs and feet of the statue, which mixes with baked clay at the feet, will experiment a change in quality. This change causes the final weakening of the kingdom at the end (..."will not remain united")

When does this mix in human seed begin?

The Christian Church was born in the upper room in Jerusalem, where 120 disciples of Jesus were praying on Pentecost (corresponding to the "Feast of Weeks" in Judaism) and the Holy Spirit came upon them. This is believed to have taken place on 33 AD. And the church was persecuted from this very beginning.

In the book of Acts we can read about the persecution of the church by the Jewish religious leaders. They considered Jesus a false Messiah and did all in their power to hinder the belief on Him. Nevertheless, thousands of Jews became Christians, and for some years, the Christian church was mainly a church of converted Jews, a sect within Judaism. This was a beneficial thing for the Christians regarding Rome, because the Romans accepted Judaism as one of the many religions in their vast Empire. So Christians were not persecuted by Rome in the beginning, because they were just another Jewish sect. But it was about to change.

In the year 64 AD, the city of Rome was set on fire. All hints pointed to Nero, the Roman Emperor, who blamed the Christians for the fire and unleashed a fiery persecution on them. Even when it was terrible, the persecution was not so long and comprehensive as those that will take place after the Jewish revolts.

From 66 to 136 AD, several Jewish revolts took place in order to liberate Israel from the Roman dominion. The last rebellion, known as Bar Kokhba revolt, was defeated by the Romans, who sought to erase Judaism and Jewish identity from earth. They renamed Judea as "Syria-Palaestina" (the name "Palestine" comes from that decision) and Jerusalem as "Aelia-Capitolina", and the Jews were dispersed and  suffered persecution and humilliation in the whole Empire.

Even from the first Jewish revolt, with ended with the invasion of Jerusalem 70 AD and the fall of Masada in 73 AD, the Christians saw a change in their relation to Judaism. By that time, the number of Gentiles in the Church surpassed the number of Jews, and with the fall of Jerusalem, the connection was totally broken. That was not good for the church, because being a sect of Judaism had been a reason for the Romans to accept Christians. When they became a "new religion" with no physical ties to Judaism, the persecutions got harder, broader and longer.

The emperor Domitian, who died on 96 AD, was the first to persecute Christians because of religious causes, and the persecution of the church, even to death, was the main feature of the Empire until 313 AD. This was the year when Emperor Constantine legalised Christianity for the whole Empire. But Christianity remained associated with all other pagan religions until 380 AD, when it became state religion.

That Christianity became state religion had good and bad results for Christians. They became mainstream and even powerful, and the Empire conformed civil laws afer Christian doctrine. But many non spiritual people sought to become "Christians" so that they could satisfy their carnal ambitions. That was the beginning of the "mix by the seed of men", a mix between Church and State. The imperial church didn't make the Roman Empire to a Christian one, but the Roman Empire made the Church worldly.

With the move of the capital to Constantinople, in 330 AD, emperor Constantine began a process that ended with the division of the Empire between the West and Byzantium. This division, together with the claims of the bishop of Rome to be a "Pope" for the whole church, should lead to the separation of the Church also between Catholic and Ortodox. The "mix by the seed of men" was by that time total. The difference was that in the West, the church dominated the state, whereas in the East, it was the state who controlled the church. In both cases, the pagan religions were persecuted to death and the Jews discriminated and persecuted also. The words of Jesus, "my Kingdom is not of this world", had been totally forgotten.

This unholy alliance between church and state is by far the main feature of the period we call the Middle Ages, and it was even in some way prevalent through the Reformation Period and the birth of the system we usually call Western Civilization. It was almost 1800 when the birth of democracies established state secularism as a norm, it is, the separation between church and state. It was the only way to conciliate "freedom of conscience" or "of religion" with democracy, which means that in a democratic society, no religion should be imposed on the citizens, and no discrimination should exist on citizens, based on religion.

In these last 200 years the world have seen great advances in science, technology and wealth, but also the greater and deadlier wars of all times. And this is nothing in comparison with which is to come. The worst wars this world will experience are yet to come. And the seed is been sown right now. Let me tell you:

The original secularists were not Atheists, as many believe. There were Atheists and religious people as well. The principle was not antireligious, but anti-church-authority-over-the-state and anti-state-authority-over-the church. That's why there's no problem for a state-secularist to vote for a Christian President.

But there is a crucial difference between a Christian secularist and an Atheist secularist. The first one understands freedom of religion and separation between church and state, but still believe Jesus is the Son of God and His teachings and example are the cornerstone of moral (good and evil) for us all. Atheists deny Jesus' authority and promote immoral laws. Among the greatest issues in this debate are the marriage between homosexuals, the laws on abortion or - lately - the ambiguity about male / female gender. In the heat of these and other similar disscussions, secularism has become - especially in the USA - synonym with Atheism. And the prevailing Atheist view among seculars (including all of these immoral laws rejecting Christian beliefs, rejecting the Creator and the Creation and adopting darwinism as the explanation of the existence of the world, and other ones) has conformed the Western World from a Christian one to an Atheist one.

Nevertheless, it is no match for us Christians to live in an Atheist society. Christianity survived 200 years of deadly persecution in the pagan Roman Empire, and the number of Christians was even increased. But the new phase of Atheist takeover, the so called "multicultural society", is eroding the self democratic basis that conformed Western democracies. In order to achieve this utopia, the Atheists are trying to amalgamate sharia-law in the democratic laws of Western countries.

Before talking about what sharia law includes, let me tell you a little bit about its influence in islamic countries. It is the prevailing law in mainstream islam, and most of the islamic countries live by it, partially or completely.

In Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Yemen, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and others, sharia law is the 100% of the law, which means it amalgamates religious and civil law. By the way, that's the Quran's commandment. If you follow the News about the muslim world from some reliable source, you'll find that some of these countries are involved in the worst conflicts in that part of the world, with Iran being the greatest terrorism sponsor of the world. NONE OF THESE COUNTRIES RECOGNISE ISRAEL'S RIGHT TO EXIST. Iran sponsors all "palestinian" terrorists trying to make life impossible for the Jews in Israel.

After them, you'll find a group of countries that have mixed sharia with civil laws, but to an extent which is not compatible with our western democracies. Among them are Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Bangla Desh and Malaysia. What we mean with "not compatible" is that Christians are discriminated and even persecuted in most of these countries, and that the amount of sharia existing is not compatible with democratic laws. THEY DON'T RECOGNISE ISRAEL EITHER except Egypt, which act of recognition costed his life to President Anwar Sadat, who was killed by the Muslim Brotherhood, a terrorist organization. Lebanon, included in this group, harbors and helps the worst terrorist group against Israel, Hizbollah, which Iran also sponsors.

Last AND least, there is a little group of muslim countries which call themselves secular, and have a separation between sharia and civil law. Most of them recognise Israel and some of them have even diplomatic or economic ties with the Jewish state. This group includes Turkey, Albania and some former Soviet Republics (Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and others) Of course, it doesn't make them to Israel's "soulmates". Far from it. Israel-Turkey relations were broken for eight years because of Turkish support to the "palestinian" terrorists in Gaza.

Now we have seen that sharia has a very strong bearing to the islamic world. And a little list of details should show us its total discrepance with democratic laws:

1) Blasphemy laws are punishment for cursing Allah or the prophet Muhammed. "Cursing" includes "annoying" them or "question their authority". The punishment is usually death. This apply even to Christians who have no reason to recognise Muhammed's authority and all reasons to deny it. Blasphemy law is why the Ayatollah Khomeini, the Iranian leader, called all muslims to kill an Englishman called Salman Rushdie, who wrote a fictional book on Muhammed IN ENGLAND. You can imagine the condition of a country which is under such a "leader's" rule.

The principle of "FREEDOM OF SPEECH", basic to democratic societies, makes freedom possible. That's why Atheists can defend their galimatias without a Pope who sends them to be burnt alive, that's why Christians can preach the gospel without a Roman officer who cast them to the lions, that's why anyone can freely say what they think about any god, prophet, philosopher... and that is why ANY person have the right to mock or portrait Muhammed, Allah or the Islam, without a savage "religious leader" calling all muslims to kill him.

2) Apostasy law brings death penalty upon a person who abandones Islam. That's why you don't see so many converts to other religions or so many Atheists in 100% sharia law countries. This "law" contradicts the democratic principle called "FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE". Under democratic laws, you have 100% right to be a Christian, Jew, Muslim, Hindu, Atheist or Mormon; it is all left to YOUR conscience and election. And you have the right to change your religion and worldview, according to your conscience. This is another cornerstone of democracy. No Muslim who converts to Christianity is to be killed for being an "apostate".

3) Homosexuality and adultery are also punished by death under sharia laws. Even when the Christian church consider those sexual deviations as sin, according to the Bible, they have no bearing in civil law (only if the adultery leads to divorce) The principle of SEPARATION BETWEEN CHURCH AND STATE implies that many sins which are called sins in the Bible are not criminal offenses in civil law, whereas others are (theft, murder, etc.) Some sinners will answer before God, not before human civil justice. But pure sharia law consider many sins as criminal offenses, and establishes punishment for them.

4) Fornication under sharia law implies corporal punishment for the infractor. Democratic civil laws has nothing to do with that.

5) Polygamy is legal for sharia law countries. In democratic societies, marriage would be a man and a woman (the abomination of marriage of homosexuals is a rather new one)

6) The marriageble age can be as low as 12 years, and 15 is a rather common one for girls. This is very different in democratic countries, where this should be pedophilia - the psychological term - which is a criminal offense if it becomes physical (then it is called child sexual abuse)

There are many other differences between sharia laws and democratic ones, but this short list should be enough to understand where the majority of the muslim world lies in comparison with the western world. A last observation is that for those who live by these laws, they are "God's given" - because they are the "revelation" that Allah gave to Muhammed - so they are impossible to discuss, repeal or replace. There are some secular activists which are being persecuted in islamic countries for promoting democracy.

Sharia laws are totally incompatible with democracy. Yet, the Atheists promoting a "multicultural society" pretend to have Islamic conclaves where "some degree" of sharia law is permitted. Laws forbidding critique of Islam are being proposed, radical preaching in western countries calling muslims to destroy our civilization is permitted, and the mainstream media is trying to hush-hush the whole thing. Even attempts to embellish islam have been done. It is probable that many of the sharia things we are talking about are unknown by you, because you'll never see them in CNN or similar. But they are real, and a fact that proves the "mix in human seed" taking place before our own eyes.

Wherever you take a look, you'll find islamic fundamentalists trying to impose their sharia law on people or even countries, even when this would imply war, and they have to become terrorists. Nigeria, Israel or India are good examples. The so called "palestinians", the Kashmir muslims or Boko Haram don't want at all a "pacific coexistence" with Jews, Hindus or Nigerians. They want to conquer and subjugate. It is a sign of huge arrogance to think that France, the UK or Germany are free from that situation, because it has nothing to do with your political, military or economical power. It has only two reasons to explode: enough muslim percentage and radical islamic preachers. That's why the "multicultural society" that the Atheists promote is a ticking bomb.

The Antichrist will rise in Europe, his regime will be a dictatorial one who will subyugate all the ones who don't submit, and he will invade the islamic world. It is prophesied - partly in the same book of Daniel, chapter 11, which we will share also if the Lord allows. May the Lord have mercy on this continent which has given Him its back, and delay these fulfilments until we can preach the Word of God and save many souls!

If you've not received Jesus yet as your Lord and Savior, let me tell you, there is time yet! The day will come when everything will change and the world as you know it will not exist anymore. If you don't believe me, look att Syria and Irak. That pandemonium needs very little to arise in your neighbourhood. And most of the influential, famous or powerful among us are doing nothing to hinder it. They rather follow a vision which promotes the total catastrophe.

But there is hope for you! Before that horrible end comes, Jesus will return to this world, first to take His church with Him, and after that, to reign upon the whole world from Jerusalem. You can escape the worst nightmare in the history of mankind, the "...great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now..." Jesus warned us about. The only thing you have to do is to pray this prayer:

Father God, I come before you to beg for your forgiveness.

I pray that You forgive me and set me free from our sins.

I pray that You make me to your child.

Receive me, cleanse me from my sins and make me one of yours, so that in the great day, when Jesus comes, I'll be taken with Him in the air, and be forever with You.

In Jesus Holy Name I pray.

Amen

God's peace be with you all!