Over 2600 years ago, a Gentile king by the name of Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that troubled him. Although he didn't remember the dream, a man called Daniel, one of the king's wisemen and a Jewish prophet, was able to tell the king the dream and the interpretation. Daniel informed Nebuchadnezzar that the God of heaven was making known to the king what would be in the last days (link).
Daniel describe a succession of Gentile kingdoms, starting with Babylon of Nebuchadnezzar, that would rule over the earth until the Lord would return to set up His kingdom. The empires that were being described were Babylon, the Mede-Persian, the Grecian, and the Roman. Daniel even described the split of the Roman empire into two parts - the east and west. All of this, most Bible prophecy teachers will agree. It is the last portion, the feet and toes of iron and clay, that there seems to be discrepancies.
Some will describe this as the Holy Roman Empire while others describe it as a revived Roman Empire. One thing one needs to notice is that this statue that Nebuchadnezzar dreamed of was contiguous, one empire/kingdom butted right up against another - there was no break in time from one being in power until the next was in power. Daniel described the split of the Roman empire into east and west then into a complete fragmentation. Out of this break-up we see the rise of nation states.
The nations that arose were also split between the east and west - and they are even til this day. And just how Daniel described in Daniel 2:43 (NASV), "And in that you saw the iron mixed with common clay, they will combine with one another in the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, even as iron does not combine with pottery." As the nations came to power, the very iron principles of the Roman Empire (the republic, democracy, code-of-law, taxation, etc) did not mix well with the various cultures and peoples. Daniel described this last empire/kingdom as a loose union of nation states.
Today, we might want to call it a United Nations. The United Nations that we are familiar with a loosely organized of nations that, in it's own right, is a world empire. Of course, Daniel described 10 kings that would be in power. The United Nations is made up of 192 nations. There is, however, a security council that makes the final decisions on how the global body will act. There are 5 permanent members: U.S., Britain, France, China, and Russia. Except for that, we could be witnessing the "empire" that will be in power when the Lord returns!
One last point to ponder. At the start of 2008, British Prime Minster Gordon Brown has called for security council reforms that include taking the number of permanent members to 10 (link). Those 5 new members would be India, Japan Brazil, Germany, and an African nation. This would give a world power, with 10 'kings', that are split evenly between the east and west! We are truly living in the last days! With seeing how late the hour truly is, what are you waiting for?
The nations that arose were also split between the east and west - and they are even til this day. And just how Daniel described in Daniel 2:43 (NASV), "And in that you saw the iron mixed with common clay, they will combine with one another in the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, even as iron does not combine with pottery." As the nations came to power, the very iron principles of the Roman Empire (the republic, democracy, code-of-law, taxation, etc) did not mix well with the various cultures and peoples. Daniel described this last empire/kingdom as a loose union of nation states.
Today, we might want to call it a United Nations. The United Nations that we are familiar with a loosely organized of nations that, in it's own right, is a world empire. Of course, Daniel described 10 kings that would be in power. The United Nations is made up of 192 nations. There is, however, a security council that makes the final decisions on how the global body will act. There are 5 permanent members: U.S., Britain, France, China, and Russia. Except for that, we could be witnessing the "empire" that will be in power when the Lord returns!
One last point to ponder. At the start of 2008, British Prime Minster Gordon Brown has called for security council reforms that include taking the number of permanent members to 10 (link). Those 5 new members would be India, Japan Brazil, Germany, and an African nation. This would give a world power, with 10 'kings', that are split evenly between the east and west! We are truly living in the last days! With seeing how late the hour truly is, what are you waiting for?
