Daniel 7:11 “I watched then because of the sound of the pompous words which the horn was speaking; I watched till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed and given to the burning flame…?

The trial of “the beast” has a foregone conclusion. It is a bit of speculation to declare that the one seated on the fiery throne is God the Father or God the Son. God is a triune God made up of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. All three are part of the same God.

One may be reading into this verse, but consider this. The Beast is an identity of Satan AND the antichrist. When one reads the next verse there are many beasts. In this case, (JIV) Daniel 7:11 is the fourth beast (nation-ruler) of Nebuchadnezzar’s Statue Dream. It is destroyed along with its ruling class or political leadership positions.

Pompous words? The character who is defined by speaking pompous words is the “little horn” that conquers three of the ten horns. In this case (v11), this pompous speaking little horn character is the antichrist or his speaking idol-image (go back to 7:8).

Daniel 7:12 “As for the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away, yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.”

This is truly a curiosity verse. Verse 11 tells us that the fourth beast (political systems/Antichrist) is entirely gone. Many or some of the rulers of this or these subjective government systems (s) remain. A season and a time might mean 3 months and half a month or one and a half years; similar to Daniel’s 70th week of 70 sevens. The rest of the beasts [V12] are probably the remaining 7 of 10 horns. Satan will be cast into a 1,000-year visit to the abyss. This means the pompous one in this chapter is not him.

SPECIAL NOTE: The beast(s) of Daniel are probably parallel to the beasts of Revelation 13. We at ahabiblemoments suggest that the beast of Revelation is a composite meaning a combination of the four different beasts of Daniel 7 (Revelation 13:2)…looks like a leopard with the feet of a bear and the mouth of a lion. Keep it in mind that the 4th beast of Daniel was NOT given the identity of an animal (Daniel 7:7).

Daniel 7:13  “I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him.”

This is both an amazing disclosure and a powerful moment in the timeline of human existence. The Ancient of Days is God the Father. The one LIKE the son of man is Jesus [See Revelation 14:14]. Jesus is likened to the man he once was on earth having both the likeness of man and the likeness of God. This time he is coming in the clouds and approaching the Throne where God is seated. Be mindful That God the Father is spirit [John 4:24]. “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

A true Student Note: This may not be of great significance to most Bible readers, but…. Jesus came with the clouds, and they brought him before Him (God the Father). Whom is this plural being called “they”? JIV:  In this verse the word “clouds” and the word “they” are synonymous.  These clouds are probably like when a large group of people is identified in scripture as a sea or something from out of the sea (a sea of people).  These clouds may be angels or believers returning to earth with Jesus (2nd Advent) accompanied by a realm of people or angels. Jesus comes to occupy his kingdom; now given to him by the one that verse 14 says …

Daniel 7:14 Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, [all] nations, and [all] languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, And His kingdom is the one Which shall not be destroyed. (emphasis mine) What part of “ALL” might be confusing to one?

God the Father gives Jesus Christ dominion over all beginning with the millennial reign of Jesus on earth. His Kingdom [to] come (Matthew 6:10) is now JESUS’ KINGDOM. He is ushered in as the king with the clouds of saved and/or angels of heaven.  Daniel is now speaking of the end of (earth) End Time.  This goes far beyond the realm of his thousand-year reign on earth. The new heavens and earth have yet to be seen. Look at the last part of verse 14… His kingdom is the one Which shall not be destroyed. God is infinite. This is the beginning of eternity.

Daniel 7:15 “I, Daniel, was grieved in my spirit within my body, and the visions of my head troubled me….”

Why was Daniel so grieved in spirit (kârâ’ rûach)? This is Aramaic/Chaldean for something like…anticipation of or open to something one does not fully understand but aches to know.

From Daniel 7:15 to Daniel 7:26 we read the prophecy of the end of time as we know it.

PS: Why do we refer to happenings on earth and in the universe as the “end of Time”?
ANSWER: Time was created in Genesis 1:1, 2 Peter 3:8. Genesis 1:1 states “in the beginning”...time had a beginning. To end time is to begin eternity.

Daniel 7:16 I came near to one of those who stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of these things:

Daniel 7:17 ‘Those great beasts, which are four, are four kings which arise out of the earth.

Verses 16 & 17 are obvious. Four great beasts ARE four kings (rulers). Note it reads, out of the earth. They do not rise from Satan’s headquarters somewhere in the earth. They are part of the populations on earth and out of them they will rise to power. What is key is inserted into this passage in the next verse.

Daniel 7:18 ‘…But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.’

Saints of the most high? This is an assurance that all is not going to end with ruthless rulers having dominion over this earth. “…the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever”. The *Aramaic (Chaldee) for ‘saints’ is kad-deesh’ [Click on]. In brief: The KJV translates Strong’s H6942 [kad-deesh]: sanctify (108x), hallow (25x), dedicate (10x), holy (7x), prepare (7x), consecrate (5x), appointed (1x), bid (1x), purified (1x), miscellaneous (7x). If the reader of this commentary article is a believer, s/he is included.

Daniel 7:19 “Then I wished to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its nails of bronze, which devoured, broke in pieces, and trampled the residue with its feet;

Once again that fourth beast or power is a mystery to us until it happens. It has already been described as a multi-beast creature in verse 7 of chapter 7. Yet, this fourth beast is not given a comparative name of a known beast. As previous scripture says, IT IS LIKE ONTO A BEAST. Do not be mistaken. This 4^th beast is the feet of iron and clay per Nebuchadnezzar’s statue back in chapter 2. What we don’t know is if there are two feet, as in Nebuchadnezzar’s statue dream, then are there two divided powers? At ahabiblemoments, we suggest (JIV) that there are two powers. One is the antichrist and the other is his opposition…possibly it is [Islam] that is given appeasement of ¼ of the earth to rule and dominate according to Revelation 6:8. We might remind the reader that the pale horse means a greenish-colored horse. Green was Mohammed’s favorite color. It is also a color that is in almost every Arabic (Islamic) national flag.

JIV NOTE: “…the original Bible (Greek) language describes the color of the last horse as chlōros. This is a green-tinged yellow, the same word to describe the color of the grass on which the 5,000 sat to be fed by Jesus (Mark 6:39). The word “grass” in Mark 6:39 is chlōros.

This is JIV (Jim’s Introspective View) but the above is why we connect the “pale horse” with Islam and the slaughter that takes place according to Revelation 6:8. Secular history states that Islam was spread by fear of death, not conviction.

Rev. Dr. Jstark
2023

Daniel 7:5 “And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And they said thus to it: ‘Arise, devour much flesh!’

The suddenness of the Medes conquest of Babylon (i.e., Belshazzar) without a fight, entering and taking total control of this emerald and huge center of political power. Aristotle describes the Medes and Persians to be like a bear… an” all-devouring animal”. The cruelness of Persians can be seen back in Daniel 6:24. Not only were the false accusers of Daniel (lion’s den) thrown into the den of lions but so were their families. The much flesh devoured was the cruel conquest of many other city-nations.

Daniel 7:6  “After this, I looked, and there was another, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it.”

This refers to the prophesied swiftness of Alexander the Great. He conquered many nations and city-states with the speed of a Leopard. His conquest began as a drive for vengeance against Persia for their aggression against Greece that he was taught about by his tutor Aristotle and his father Philip, King of Macedonia. Persian King Darius III, not the Darius who reigned over Babylon for only two years before retiring, had attempted to conquer Greece a hundred years earlier. It was Alexander’s father, Philip, who transformed the Macedonian army into one of the most feared fighting machines in the ancient world. This was part of Alexander’s inheritance.

Four wings and four heads and dominion were given to it. These are the four succeeding Generals of Alexander’s conquests who divided between them and fought over what the Greek Macedonians had conquered. Alexander had no heirs.

Dan 7:7  “After this, I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.“

The fourth beast is not described as like unto another wild animal. So far, we have seen lion, bear, and leopard comparisons…three different kingdoms/empires.  This one is not given a comparison identity. Why? What we do get is a similarity to Daniel_2:41-43; the “iron teeth” here allude to one of the materials in the fourth kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar’s statue image in Daniel chapter 2. The iron is the legs. Recall history. There are two legs of iron. Rome was divided between the West empire in Rome and the east empire in Byzantine (*Constantinople). The western Roman Empire eventually became the seat of power for the Catholic Church and the Holy Roman Empire. The eastern Roman empire, Byzantine eventually fell to the sultans of Turkey meaning Islam.

*Constantinople became the de facto capital of the Roman Empire upon its founding in B.C. 330, and became the de jure capital in AD 476 after the fall of Ravenna and the Western Roman Empire. It remained the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire (also known as the Byzantine Empire; 330–1204 and 1261–1453), the Latin Empire (1204–1261), and the Ottoman Empire (1453–1922). Following the Turkish War of Independence, the Turkish capital then moved to Ankara. Officially renamed Istanbul in 1930 A.D. (Wikipedia)

PS: For an intriguing comparison and educating read, look up the Bahman Yasht.

The Ten Horns: Jamison-Fausset Commentary writes… The ten kingdoms, therefore, prefigured by the ten “toes” (Daniel_2:41; compare Revelation_13:1 & 17:12), are the ten kingdoms into which Rome shall be found finally divided when Antichrist shall appear. [Revelation 17:12 says that the ten kings are given authority but for one hour by Antichrist] These, probably, are prefigured by the number ten being the prevalent one at the chief turning points of Roman history. (modification mine)

Daniel 7:8  I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words.

The “I” here is Daniel speaking. Look back a few sentences in the bold print of this verse-by-verse commentary. There are ten kings given authority for one hour. Then, seven of these temporary kings will surrender their crowns to the little horn. The mouth speaking pompous words is the idle made of the Antichrist and ordered to be made by the false prophet (church). It will be given the power to speak [Revelation 13:15]. The three horns plucked out by the roots mean three of these kings will need to be forcibly removed.

Daniel seems to shift in his prophesies and vision of End Time. We now see the intervention of the Godhead. He begins to alert the Israelites (Jews) of their pending troubles (chapters 8-12). Not that Israelis haven’t paid huge bounties over the centuries just to exist, the severity, they will finally declare the Messiah for who he is.

Daniel 7:9 “I watched till thrones were put in place, And the Ancient of Days was seated; His garment was white as snow, And the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, Its wheels a burning fire” [NKJV]

Dr. David Guzic writes: The King James Version poorly translates this as thrones were cast down. The New King James Version corrects this and indicates that the thrones are established.

Ephesians 3:1-7 helps with an understanding of these thrones, Gentiles, and Israelites. It will not just be Jews who are given the future power to be sons of God. Ezekiel’s visions are synchronicity with Daniel’s prophecies. Most people do not realize that Ezekiel too was a Jewish Babylonian captive. Take a side road and glance through Ezekiel chapter 1 (click on the highlighted text).

Thrones are in place, the Ancient of Days is seated on HIS throne, he wears a pure white garment, his hair is like pure WOOL (?), his throne is ablaze [in holiness] … does your mind picture the true God/Christ?

Daniel 7:10 “A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him. A thousand-thousands ministered to Him; Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The court was seated, And the books were opened”.

If this verse does not increase the anticipation of the reader, there is a problem with understanding. This does not mean one struggles to interpret the scene. It means one’s mind needs to picture this scene. This is a continuation of the previous verse. Click on and read the following passages from Revelation 4:4 and Ephesians 3:1-7. Although Daniel writes his autobiography, local and global prophecies, and a prophetic view of our tomorrows, he makes it clear that this is not the elimination of Gentiles in God’s judgment and Millennial Reign. It is now Christ on the throne and judgment day is come.

…AND THE BOOKS ARE OPENED! The unbeliever will then (now) be judged as will be all unbelievers in heaven and on earth. Satan’s doom is now at hand. So is his fellow fallen angels, Satan’s minions.

Rev. Dr. Jstark
2013

This is the last chapter in Daniel that is written in the common tongue (language) of Daniel’s time. In chapter 8, Daniel switches from Chaldee/Aramaic to Hebrew.

Chapter 8:1 will introduce a significant change in Daniel’s life and prophecy. This begins a dialogue of facts that had yet to be fulfilled while Daniel lived. The prophetic accuracy is so profound that many try to say these prophecies in chapters 8-12, written by Daniel during his life on earth, had to be written after the fact, then inserted into Daniel’s Book. Of course, that would not make them Daniel’s prophecies. God does not make mistakes other than to allow man’s free will to be free in thought and actions.

The Book of Daniel was originally written in two languages. From the beginning of the book through Daniel 2:3 it was originally written in Hebrew. In Daniel 2:4 the prophet switched to Aramaic [Chaldee], the language of the Babylonians and the general commercial world. The message and prophecies within these chapters are to the world in general. Beginning in Daniel 8:1, he switches to Hebrew…not a common language outside of the Israelites, especially the Ju-deans taken captive by the Babylonians. The purpose of changing languages is that the messages, dreams, visions, and prophetic words are a caution to Israelis. This means, to an Israel that had yet to exist…up to and including the time of Jacob’s Trouble, aka, Great Tribulation.

AHAMOMENT: Other passages in scripture that were written in Chaldee include Ezra 4:8–6:18; 7:12-26; Genesis 31:46; Jeremiah 10:11.

We will review Daniel 7:1-28, then step into the prophetic future of the world as it aligns itself with and often against Israel. Right off the starting pad, chapter 7 addresses an overview of the then, now, and tomorrow.

Chapter 7: Daniel’s dream of the four great world empires are key to understanding the book of Revelations. Beasts come up out of the sea – Judgment of the beasts – One who is like the Son of man.

Here is a review of the final five chapters of verse-by-verse in the Book of Daniel. It is all about Israel and the End of Time as we know it.

Chapter 8: A Vision of Daniel; Alexander the Great (destruction of the Medo-Persian Empire by the Macedonians); Empire broken into four kingdoms (Syria and Egypt most notable).

Chapter 9: The prayer of Daniel answered in the latter part in the definition of the Messianic kingdom. A better prayer to pray than the Lord’s Prayer which is supposed to be done in secret private if one reads the six verse prior to Jesus offering the prayer. This includes Daniel’s vision of what is known as the 70 7s.

Chapter 10: Conflict between Egypt and Syria (Judah under the Syrians paralleling what it will be like under the antichrist).

Chapter 11: The nameless persons, places, and things (pronouns) now identified (nouns).

Chapter 12: The time of the end of the world before Christ is on the throne in Jerusalem.

Daniel 7:1-4 Verse by verse commentary (NKJV)

Chapters 2:5 through 7:28 was written in Chaldee/Aramaic. Why? Most of this content had little to do with Israel directly as time moves through Daniel’s 69 of 70 weeks vision i.e., Daniels vision of the 70 7s as found in Daniel 9. This will be covered to a much greater extent as we comment verse by verse on Daniel 8 -12.

Daniel 7:1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head while on his bed. Then he wrote down the dream, telling the main facts.

Dr. David Guzik puts it this way… [This first] vision – one of four described between Daniel 7 through 12 – is the most comprehensive. The other three visions go into greater detail within the general framework of this first vision. Belshazzar is either a son or grandson of King Nebuchadnezzar. There were three short-reigning kings between the great Nebuchadnezzar and son or grandson Belshazzar; a total of six years:

Evil-Merodoch aka Amel-Marduk	562-560 B.C.
Neriglisar (Neb’s son-in-law)	559-556 B.C.
Laborosoardoch	556 B.C.
Nabonidus-Belshazzar	555-539 B.C.

Daniel 7:2 Daniel spoke, saying, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the Great Sea.

Whether this was a vision (by night) or a dream, it matters not. What does matter is what follows. The four winds (rûach) of heaven stir up the waters (people) of the Great Sea, i.e., the Mediterranean Sea or bordering countries. How might one deduce this is the Great Sea? It is often referred to in scripture as the Great Sea. PLUS: all for empires that Daniel will refer to border on the Mediterranean Sea. This may also mean that the great sea of politics and people get greatly stirred up.

Daniel 7:3  And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other.

Four great beasts from out of the sea? Consider this. Scriptures often refer to they’re being a sea of people or, probably in this case, the sea of politics. It is political differences or power that arise out of each new ruling empire. This is the meaning of “each different from the other”. From the sea of politics, we get four different political scenes in the areas surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. One has yet to come.

This may very well refer to Revelation 7:1 in combination with Revelation 17:15. The other common denominator is Jerusalem being a centerpiece of each successive empire. Each empire is a point in time. There are gaps between them.

Daniel 7:4 The first was like a lion and had an eagle’s wings. I watched till its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man’s heart was given to it.

Adam Clark puts it… The beast like a lion is the kingdom of the Babylonians; and the king of Babylon is compared to a lion, Jeremiah_4:7; Isaiah_5:29; and is said to fly as an eagle, Jeremiah_48:40; Ezekiel 17:3”. Imagery is common to the Bible. It is the featured points of an animal that helps define the power.

Wings plucked, lifted up, made to stand like a man, given the heart of a man. These each describe the different phases of Nebuchadnezzar’s life when Daniel’s God cut him down. His wings were plucked as a king. He was insane for 7-years. He was then given back his sane mind by God (made to stand up like a man). Next, he stood up once again as the Golden statue head of Babylon, but this time with his mind on the one true God. He died shortly after.

Rev. Dr. Jstark
2023

Does the book of Daniel’s prophecies fit into the rest of the Bible, secular history, and the world yet to be?

After 70 years in Babylon, a small percentage of the captive Judeans returned to the land of Judah. It was by written decree of their conquering Medes and Persians through King Cyrus of Persia. It took over 100 years for three different groupings of Babylonian Judeans to return to their homeland. They rebuilt both the temple and the city of Jerusalem, but it took many years. The books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther cover a  post-exilic prophetic period of Israeli history. Note in the Book of Esther that there remains a significant number of Jews in Babylon; enough for Haman to wish to exterminate all of them. Queen Esther appears in scripture some 50 to 60 years after the return of some Judeans, under Zerubbabel, to their former kingdom. Obviously there remained a goodly number of Jews in and around Babylon. The Book of Esther follows well the Book of Daniel.

The Old Testament concludes about 400 BC. There is a gap between the end of written Old Testament scripture and the beginning of the New Testament. If one did not realize it before, most of the resettled Jews in and around the former Kingdom of Judah, today called Israel, are mostly offspring of those JU-DEANS who returned to their homeland after the Babylonian exile. Others have returned since 1948. President Truman was surprised when the newly establish Jewish homeland in 1948 didn’t call themselves Judah. The New Testament “Jews” are the offspring of those whose ancestors returned from the Babylonian captivity. The Apocrypha books were written during this 400 years between the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament.

NOTE: Matthew comes first in the New Testament but it was not the first New Testament book that was written. It is quite possible Mark wrote the first New Testament book.

The following is about the end of the short-term independence of Judah by the Maccabees and is from the Jewish History website. This is during the 400 silent years of the Bible.

The final period of Old Testament history is prior to the 400-years between the end of the Book of Ezra-Nehemiah and the birth of Christ. During this time, no eventually canonized Scripture was written. Ezra is usually credited with pulling the Old Testament together. Original Ezra and Nehemiah was one book. Technically, this 400 year is post-Old Testament and pre-New Testament. It is sometimes called the 400 Silent Years. This leads us to the time of the birth of Christ; about 4 or 3 BC. It is also when the Apocrypha Maccabeus books their a were written. The Maccabees ruled an almost autonomous Judah. This Maccabean Hasmonean dynasty ruled Judah between 167 to 63 BC. Rome ended that. Click here to read about this. The Bible student should make note that the number of “Jews” in Judah was much less after their release than pre-Babylonian captivity. MOST of the Judeans did NOT RETURN once they were released by King Cyrus of Persia.

During this 400-years of Bible silence, an evil ruler named Antiochus (IV) Epiphany [175 BC] of Syria killed many Judeans, desecrated their temple, set an idol of himself in the temple, and offered pigs as a sacrifice. (We ran into him in our earlier study on the Book of Daniel). Antiochus (IV) Epiphany history is a prophesied parallel to the New Testament tribulation and antichrist. It is not the same characters but there is a strong parallel of what Israel will endure in End Time. The Maccabees revolt [167 BC] occurred against and because of Antiochus (IV) Epiphany. Judaism of today celebrates Hanukkah in memory of this period in Israeli history. It is a parallel history to Daniel’s/Revelation prophecy of the Tribulation, Israel, and the antichrist.

This leads us to the New Testament birth, life, death, and resurrection of Christ. The Book of Daniel also addresses this Gentile, New Testament time. It is the 69th week of his 70 sevens vision found in Daniel (Daniel 9:24-27). Christ was born around 4 or 3 BC and died sometime around 30 AD. Right after Christ’s death and resurrection, the Church Age began. It continues up to this very day today. This involves the 70-7’s dream of Daniel 9:24-27. The 70^th week of Daniel’s vision is the 7-year Tribulation. The Old Testament is about a nation and their God. The New Testament is about individual relationships with Jesus and the body of believers.

JIV NOTE: The entire New Testament was written and completed between the approximate dates of 36 AD and 100 AD. Islam [Mohammed] comes over 500 years later; in 610 A.D. The chronological order of the origin of the three dominant religions known today is and centered in Jerusalem…Judaism, then Christianity, then Islam.

How does the book of Daniel fit into Old Testament history? Daniel covers his life-history from about 605 BC, to around 535/530 BC. It is the 70-year Babylonian Exile. Daniel was forced into a Babylonian exile (present-day Iraq) around 606/605 BC. He was perhaps 15 years old. He served King Nebuchadnezzar and 2, perhaps 3 other Babylonian kings. He also served King Darius the Mede. Darius was the Medo-Persian general who temporary ruled over Babylon after his forces assaulted and captured Babylon. It is also him who was responsible for the history of Daniel in the Lion’s Den.

King Belshazzar’s history includes the infamous “writing on the wall”. Darius’ the Mede’s rule was temporary, about two years, and under the authority of the Persian king Cyrus. The Bible tells us General Darius was 62 years old when he assumed the role of an appointed king. There is often a good reason the Bible to sometimes includes such seemingly trivial information as one’s age . This is a time when a Bible student MUST pay close attention. Darius only ruled for two years, then retired. No secular record exists of him because he was simply Babylon’s interim King.

Daniel’s initial short-term prophesies are focused on the period between when he lived up through the time of Christ. He prophesies about the first advent of Jesus the Messiah or Christ and his yet pending second advent. Daniel gives detailed prophecies about long-term future events leading up to the end of the world i.e., the Millennial period. The Bible gives us little information during and after the Millennial period. Daniel’s parallel prophetic history of Antiochus IV Epiphany is a prophecy-in-kind of End Time. What happened to Jerusalem during his rule of terror is the parallel of the “Jews” during the Tribulation, aka, Jacob’s Trouble [Matthew 24:15-31].

There are two covenants given by God that are unchangeable and exist throughout the entirety of the Old and New Testament; the promise to Israel of a land free from outside influence, i.e., a Promised Land where they are honored as God’s chosen People by their neighbors, and the covenant of the Church Rapture and his 2^nd Advent. Daniel basically covers this in his prophecies.

During the time of the Exodus of Israelis from Egypt, right before Moses’ death, and just before Israel began conquering the land of Canaan, God warned Israel through Moses the consequences of disobedience to God’s Law. We believe the same thing is true of the Canaanites Israel was to destroy and drive out of the Promised lands. It was promised to through Abraham who had lived there after he left Ur, Babylon. God used His personally Chosen People to bring judgment upon a people who originated from Ishmael and Esau. They totally rejected God. They knew better. God also used outside peoples to conquer the Old Testament Israelis. They too knew better.

The New Testament Jews of Jerusalem, then and now, are mostly descendants of those few Jews who returned from Babylonian exile under Zerubbabel, Ezra, then Nehemiah. See the scriptural sequence of Ezra, Haggai, Zechariah, and Nehemiah…click here. It is an eye-opener.

Deuteronomy 27:1 thru 28:48 summarize the warning and the promise that God gives Israel for their on and off obedience to His Law. In a very real way, God chose exclusively through Abraham to isolate a people of Israel. At the same time, through Abraham and Isaac, we get the Arabs. In an Identifiable power struggle in modern times, we get the age-old fight with Muslims over Jerusalem. Somehow, today this includes non-Arab and non-Israeli people; nations also taking sides. Jesus said that the WORLD hated him first. Satan hates God’s chosen people. He has and continues to try to destroy them, right up to and into the time of the Tribulation of Israel. This is not man’s design, but Satan’s. The proof of this is in the almost universal enemies of Israel.

God continues his warning through Moses in the verses following Deuteronomy 28:48. In the next few verses he prophesies:

The LORD will bring a nation against you from afar, from the *end of the earth, as the eagle swoops down, a nation whose language you shall not understand, a nation of fierce countenance who shall have no respect for the old, nor show favor to the young. Moreover, it shall eat the offspring of your herd and the produce of your ground until you are destroyed, who also leaves you no grain, new wine, or oil, nor the increase of your herd or the young of your flock until they have caused you to perish. And it shall besiege you in all your towns until your high and fortified walls in which you trusted come down throughout your land, and it shall besiege you in all your towns throughout your land which the LORD your God has given you. … Deuteronomy 28:49-52 (NASB)

*End of the earth means the settled lands of civilization that is futuristic to this scripture. This would include America. As we see America disintegrate, and becomes less Godly, we see how easily political powers and social trends can move toward aligning against Israel.

Next week will be Part #4 of 5 in this series.