Topic: Religion and Government
Why Some Christians Believe in the Inevitability of Global Governance and are Apprehensive of It (Part Two)... "Thus he [the angel] said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon the earth, which shall be diverse [different] from all [previous] kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces." Daniel 7:23by Michael
(libertarian)
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Daniel's Vision Interpreted
In continuing on in the 7th chapter of Daniel these matters are further clarified for us as we are presented with the interpretation which the angel gives to Daniel concerning his vision:
15. I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me.
16. I came near unto one of them that stood by and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me and made me know the interpretation of the things.
17. These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.
18. But the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.
19. Then I [Daniel] would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse [different] from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet;
20. And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout [stronger; more powerful] than his fellows.
21. I beheld, and the same horn [the "little horn"] made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;
22. Until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.
23. Thus he [the angel] said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon the earth, which shall be diverse [different] from all [previous] kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.
It is of both interest and consequence to note here that the original Hebrew word which is translated as "diverse" in verses 7, 19, 23 and 24 implies an alteration or change rather than a complete difference. So that the fourth kingdom represents an alteration or change to the three which had preceded it rather than being something which eliminates and replaces the three entirely and altogether. In line with this, we have also seen in verse 12 that the three kingdoms which preceded the fourth survive in tact beyond the destruction of the fourth kingdom.
24. And the ten horns out of this [fourth] kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall arise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first [ten], and he shall subdue three [of the ten] kings.
25. And he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out [persecute] the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
Here in the 24th verse we have insight given into the chronology or sequence of events of the End Time. The fourth great and dreadful beast rises up from the sea of humanity. By cross-referencing Daniel chapter 7 with the 13th and 17th chapters of the Revelation we find that it has seven heads which are interpreted as being seven "mountains" and which I believe is in reference to the seven continents of this Earth. There are ten horns upon the seven heads of this Beast which are interpreted as being ten kings who are given authority over the seven continents. In other words, a One World government with ten continental/regional jurisdictions/divisions is established. After this comes to pass it is then that we see the "little horn" which rises to power and puts down three of the previous ten kings--as we continue in the Scriptures we will see that it is this "little horn" which is to be the False Prophet, the man of sin, the son of perdition, the individual personage of the End Time Antichrist; the individual who is to institute mark of the Beast.
Summarizing then these things which we have seen in the 7th chapter of the book of Daniel, we find that three forms of government have arisen historically among mankind upon the Earth, represented in Daniel's vision as three beasts: a lion, a bear and a leopard. In the End Time another fourth form of government arises and it has ten kings and it devours, or places its authority, over the entire Earth. In cross-referencing with the 13th and 17th chapter of the Revelation we find that this fourth beast was like unto a leopard, has the feet of a bear and speaks with the mouth of a lion. In other words, it has attributes of the three forms of government which have preceded it and of which it is actually comprised.
If we interpret the three former beasts thus: the lion/monarchies, the bear/communism and the leopard/democracies then we begin to be able to see the attributes of the fourth beast, or the fourth form of government which shall soon "devour" all of the Earth (is it not already upon us?). Its overall appearance will be that of a democracy. Its military practices will be those which in the past have been displayed by the godless ruthlessness of communism [with a historically unique atheistic/humanistic/social evolutionary perspective twist on, "...reducing the excess (inferior=religious and nationally patriotic) population..."]. It will speak in decrees with the absolute authority of a monarch.
Indeed, the relatively recent, open, public acclaim of the New World Order and the long-while trend towards One World government/Global governance begins to fit the bill of these descriptions from the prophetic Scriptures! And for how many will this fourth great and dreadful beast arise unnoticed because it is a conglomeration, a combination and a global overlay of dominion upon the three forms of government and the formerly sovereign nations which have preceded it and which indeed continue to exist in tact beyond its eventual destruction--but which, in the meanwhile, have forfeited national sovereignty to Global governance designs!
And now, in light of the current global economic crisis/noncrisis, long-time proponents of the New World Order like Henry Kissinger are giving us an either/or ultimatum--either we accept a New World Order or we endure the economic chaos (that they will cause to ensue) if we don't:
Interestingly enough, this fourth great and dreadful global political Beast was initially designed and implemented according to the greed-motivated intentions of global financial interests--referred to in the Bible prophecies as Babylon. But at a predetermined point this global political Beast of burden will turn upon its master, financial Babylon, and justifiably destroy her.
In his testimony before the US Senate Finance Committee against the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade/World Trade Organization, Sir James Goldsmith stated:
"...there is absolutely no doubt whatsoever that the World Trade Organization is a major diminution of sovereignty...it can't be otherwise, otherwise why would it exist? What is the purpose? It's only purpose is to impose discipline on all the nations to accept a trading system and that that discipline should be under the control of all the nations that participate on a one vote/one nation basis--full stop--that's diminution/dilution of sovereignty...GATT is worldwide, it's so big that people can't grapple with it...it is just massive...it is the single biggest economic act we could take!...I don't think we have enough [opposition to GATT/WTO in Europe]. Because the European Commission and the European--the European Commission is the equivalent of (it shouldn't be, by the way, but it is) it acts like a government--it has the monopoly of initiative and it's dominated by religious Free Traders--they consider it a religion..."
The views expressed in this
article are those of Michael only and do not represent
the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates. Michael is
solely responsible for the contents of this article and is not an
employee or otherwise affiliated with Nolan Chart, LLC in his/her role as a columnist.
Want to comment on this
article? Leave your comment here. Your email address is
required to track your comment. However, we will neither
publish your email address nor distribute it to other
organizations or persons. The only reason we might use
it would be if we needed to contact you regarding your
comment. All comments are subject to our
terms of use policy.
