Shalom Dear Friends,
As of June 30th, we have not met our tour size requirement for the Israel Tour. Because of this, we have cancelled the Israel Tour for 2011.
WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON?
This is a common question lately due to the “Arab Spring” that has erupted in the Middle East. We have been bombarded by prophecy newsletters claiming to explain it all to us. Unfortunately, none of these letters we have received actually exegete scripture that does tell us what is going on in the world.
The purpose of our next two newsletters is to summarize the sections of scripture that will, indeed, explain to us what in the world is going on—in regard to the “Arab Spring” and much more. This explanation will be a concise summary. However, if you desire to study the subject in-depth, please visit our website and take in the current class entitled “The Romans and Russians are Coming—OH MY!” The study will exegete Daniel 2:32-45, 7:23-27 and Ezekiel 38-39.
THE ROMANS AND RUSSIANS ARE COMING – OH MY!
We begin with Daniel 2:32-45. Daniel is primarily concerned with the time frame we are living in—“The Times of the Gentiles.” The Times of the Gentiles is defined by Yeshua in Luke 21:24 “… Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” This period of time began in 586 BC with the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem and will continue until Jerusalem is finally freed from Gentile domination with the Second Coming of Yeshua.
In chapter 2, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, experiences a frightening dream. Daniel interprets the meaning of the dream. The dream describes the statue of an upright man. The statue consists of four distinct sections. Each section represents a Gentile government that will dominate Jerusalem during the Times of the Gentiles. The head made of gold represents Babylon’s autocracy (absolute monarchy). The breast and arms of silver represent the Medo-Persian’s oligarchy (rule by a small elite). The belly and thighs of brass stand for Hellenistic democracy (majority rule without rights for the minorities). The legs of iron represent Roman imperialism and the feet of iron and clay represent Roman republicanism.
The Roman government receives the greatest amount of attention. This government will dominate Israel for the greatest amount of time (over 2,000 years to date). It consists of two distinct factors. One, Imperialism is the policy of extending a nation’s authority by a) territorial acquisition or b) by the establishment of economic and political leadership over other nations. Rome will use both of these techniques. Two, Republicanism is government by majority rule with the inclusion of individual rights. Rome’s emphasis on human rights will eventually lead to anarchy and chaos as every segment of society clambers for its rights.
A most important detail to note is the fact that the Roman government dominates Israel until the Second Coming. It does not die and need to be revived or resurrected, as so many prophecy pundits proclaim. The Roman government is destroyed by the return of the Messiah, not by the barbarians in 476 AD (Western Roman Empire) or by the Ottoman Turks in 1453 AD (Eastern Roman Empire).
Instead, the Roman government is characterized by change. It does not die. It simply changes form until the coming of Jesus destroys it. This change is portrayed in the statue. The final government is symbolized first by two iron legs. Those legs change into iron ankles. The iron ankles change into two feet, now made up of iron and clay. The two feet change into 10 toes. All in all, the Roman government will go through five distinct changes (to be summarized later in this article).
Next, a stone cut without hands from a mountain crashes into the statue on its feet of iron and clay. The statue and the human governments it represents are absolutely dispersed, with no evidence of their previous existence remaining. The stone expands into a huge mountain that fills the entire earth.
The mountain represents Theocracy (rule by God). The stone is Jesus the Messiah, the King of Kings, who destroys all forms of human government at His Second Coming, rescues His people and establishes the world-wide Messianic Kingdom.
In Daniel 7:23-27 the same governments are portrayed under the figures of beasts. Babylon is lion-like. Medo-Persia is bear like. Hellenism is leopard-like and Roman imperialism/republicanism is the composite beast.
In 7:23 a critical piece of information is revealed. The Roman government will expand into a world-wide government. It will not die. It will adapt according to need. Rome first tried to conquer the world through territorial acquisition. When that imperialistic strategy failed, she resorted to the imperialistic practice of economic and political leadership. In this flexible form she will conquer the world. In Daniel 7:24-26 the final end-time Roman ruler makes his appearance—the Antichrist.
By harmonizing the information in Daniel 2 and 7 we can observe the course of the Times of the Gentiles. The Times of the Gentiles will consist of: 1) the Babylonian government, 2) the Medo-Persian government, 3) the Hellenistic government and 4) Roman Imperialism/Republicanism.
Roman government will go through five distinct changes: 1) a united stage, 2) a two division stage, 3) a one-world government stage, 4) a 10 division stage and 5) the Anti-Christ stage.
Where are we now? Today we are nearing the end of the two division stage. Roman imperialism has just about influenced the entire world. The last hold out is the Arab world. Roman imperialism is evident in the issues fueling the Arab Spring: 1) economic prosperity and 2) individual rights. Rome is extending its imperialistic tentacles into the Arab world. When all is said and done, the Arab world will be Romanized and we will be on the brink of the one-world government. Part two next month.
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