The two visions for our future being peddled by the candidates on both sides of the political aisle, seem to suggest that our best and brightest days, and our safest and most prosperous days are just before us, if one or the other is elected. On the right, we have Mr. Trump heralding an era of law and order, with millions of jobs being created, and with the period of global terrorism, and lawlessness coming to a sudden end. In a Trump presidency, a wall will be built to finally secure our borders, and Isis will be brought its knees. In his own words, he is the only person alive who can “Fix” all our problems, and so, he says that he must be elected, if America is to be made great again.
On the left, we have been given soaring promises of a new dawn in our nation’s history, in which the playing field will be leveled, and where Mrs. Clinton will not only save us from the tyranny of Trump, but will return us to peace and prosperity, with a bright future for our children. In a Clinton presidency, the phenomenon of global warming will be reduced to sustainable levels, and fat-cats on wall street will be made to pay for their financial sins, whilst the poor, the needy, the disenfranchised, together with the millions of immigrants will be given a welcome seat at the negotiating table. Families that have lived in the shadows, are promised a new day, and thus, in order for our national and international problems to be resolved, the proverbial glass ceiling must finally be broken, according to politicians on the left.
Now, while it’s always good to be optimistic about the future, yet, as Christians, we must make certain that, our understanding of future events, is never to be informed by scripted, smooth-talking agents who herald a bright future on this earth as we know it, but rather by the solemn predictions of the Bible as given by all the prophets of The Most High. In other words, the predictions of the Bible stand in marked contrast to the contemporary world vision of future greatness in this world, and soon, the two opposing concepts will be pitted directly against each other.
However, in order for us to better understand the conundrum we are facing, there is a fundamental, but inconvenient truth we will need to grapple with, in order that we be not disappointed by the empty, unfulfilled promises, as in days, and years gone by. There aren’t any nations existing today, which will welcome the prospect, or the thought that they will come to an end, and therefore, the truths of God’s word, heralding His establishment of a permanent, spiritual kingdom of righteousness, will never be generally received by national leaders, or the vast multitudes under their jurisdiction. But, in the days of “these kings”, God has indeed promised that He will set up His own kingdom, which shall never, ever
be destroyed. Let’s read:
Daniel 2:1 And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him.
2 Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to shew the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king.
3 And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream.
19 Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
31 Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible.
32 This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass,
33 His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.
34 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.
35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
36 This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.
37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.
38 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.
39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.
Now, while it is true that Nebuchadnezzar greatly appreciated the dream being brought back to his memory through the prophet Daniel, there are two main phrases in the interpretation given to the king which seemed to bother him: [1] "After thee" [2] Inferior to thee. The king rightly understood from these two phrases, that his kingdom would not be permanent in nature, and that Babylon was to be succeeded by an inferior kingdom, which wounded his personal, and national pride. And as he rolled over the prediction in his mind, he could not bear the thought that Babylon was to come to an end, so in the very next chapter, he comes up with an idea
to nullify the solemn predictions of God, so that, as he thought, Babylon would stand forever. In order to solidify support for his own vision of Babylon’s future, he calls for a BNC --- Babylon National convention, a national assembly of leaders, so as to galvanize national unity upon his preferred vision of the future of the nation. Let’s read:
Daniel 3:1 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.
2 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
4 Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages,
5 That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up:
6 And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
This mindset, of desiring permanence by a national leader was not only exclusively indigenous to the kingdom of Babylon, for as stated before, there isn’t a single nation on the planet which will welcome its demise, as being good news. It is inherent in human nature to seek for permanence, for there is where hopes of continued national greatness are embedded. This is the reason why Mr. Trump suggests that we cannot have prosperity without security, and thus, in the attempt to “Make America great again” an image, a cryptic, antitypical form of worship must be set up, whether it be on the left or right side of the political arena. Let’s read:
Jeremiah 26:1 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word from the Lord, saying,
2 Thus saith the Lord; Stand in the court of the Lord's house, and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the Lord's house, all the words that I command thee to speak unto them; diminish not a word:
3 If so be they will hearken, and turn every man from his evil way, that I may repent me of the evil, which I purpose to do unto them because of the evil of their doings.
4 And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord; If ye will not hearken to me, to walk in my law, which I have set before you,
5 To hearken to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I sent unto you, both rising up early, and sending them, but ye have not hearkened;
6 Then will I make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth.
8 Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak unto all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people took him, saying, Thou shalt surely die.
9 Why hast thou prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate without an inhabitant? And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.
11 Then spake the priests and the prophets unto the princes and to all the people, saying, This man is worthy to die; for he hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears.
12 Then spake Jeremiah unto all the princes and to all the people, saying, The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that ye have heard.
13 Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God; and the Lord will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you.
15 But know ye for certain, that if ye put me to death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon the inhabitants thereof: for of a truth the Lord hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears.
Luke 4:24 And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.
25 But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land;
26 But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.
27 And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.
28 And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,
29 And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.
30 But he passing through the midst of them went his way.
Thus it is, that the message of a coming kingdom of righteousness, which will up-end all other existing kingdoms, will never be popular with the multitudes but God will have us to study the prophecy in Daniel chapters 2&3 so that we may know for certain what is coming upon the face of the earth in short order. “In the days of these kings” therefore points to a period in earth’s history when the nations of earth will be fragmenting, when decades-long attempts at unity between nations will begin to fracture, for no apparent reason.
Daniel 2:42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.
43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.
44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.
And so, there is one question, and one only which needs to be answered: “Are we living in the days of “These kings? Is it true that the international unity between various nations have now begun to come apart? And if so, what should be our understanding of visions of the future, given the political rhetoric we are being inundated with? The answers are to be found in the scriptures, and must also be confirmed by current events. Let’s read:
Luke 21:10 Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
Daniel 2:43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed
with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.
(CNN) A new normal shrouds Europe now.
Questions we didn't ask last summer: What next? Where will I be? Who will l know? Is my life less safe? The attacks in Belgium, France and Germany amplify anxieties over Brexit, Frexit, an unraveling of an order dictated by the European Union. The fabric of cohesion offering peace, prosperity and security patiently woven over decades suddenly feels like a paper bag in a summer storm. Ready to rip. String of recent attacks fuels anxiety that old order is unraveling. Europe is facing greatest threats in a generation.
Luke 21:25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and
upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity…
26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth.
2nd Timothy 3: This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4 Traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
(CNN) The shooting deaths of three officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, this month pushed the number of law enforcement fatalities past a tragic benchmark.
As of July 20, 32 law enforcement officers were shot to death in the United States, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, which keeps data on officers killed on the job. That's up 78% from this time last year, when gun-related deaths accounted for 18 of 62 law enforcement fatalities through July 20, 2015. And it means gun-related deaths account for nearly half of the 67 law enforcement deaths.
(CNN) Battlefield success against ISIS may produce more terrorism for the West, FBI Director James Comey warned this week. Speaking to a cybersecurity conference at Fordham University Wednesday, Comey predicted that eventually crushing ISIS in its self-proclaimed caliphate in Syria and Iraq will likely result in dispersing terrorists elsewhere. "At some point there is going to be a terrorist diaspora out of Syria like we've never seen before," Comey said. "Not all of the Islamic State killers are going to die on the battlefield."
Normandy, Istanbul, Dhaka, Nice, Baghdad, Orlando: WHY? By Peter Bergen, CNN National Security Analyst Updated 5:53 PM ET, Tue July 26, 2016
(CNN) Mass casualty terrorist attacks in Orlando, at the Istanbul airport, at a café in Bangladesh, a market in Baghdad, the Bastille Day celebration in Nice, and on Tuesday the murder of an elderly priest in Normandy, all carried out by ISIS or in the name of ISIS. And that's just in the past several weeks. After each one of these attacks the first question is: Why? Why would anyone kill complete strangers who are dancing at a nightclub, or eating at a restaurant, or folks attending a holiday fireworks display, or an 86-year-old priest?
It becomes clearly obvious that something is going terribly wrong in our world, and we will soon need to choose between listening to our smooth-talking politicians, or to the word of God. If we choose the smooth words of our national leaders, we will be ill-prepared for what is coming upon the face of the earth, and if we trust man to fix our existential problems, we will be hanging our hopes of national security, and permanence upon very brittle line.
However, if we choose to believe the word of God, which says “In the days of these kings” the God of heaven will set up a permanent kingdom, then we will be moved to make the necessary preparations, by a complete surrender to The Lord Jesus Christ, to His laws, principles, His statutes, and His methods. It is vain for us to seek external solutions to the internal problem of sin, and therefore, the history of earth will gradually wind down before our eyes, even though politicians may beg to differ.
As was stated before in a previous Bible study, if a woman takes the helm in the greatest nation on earth, we may know for certain that the end is near, even at the doors, for a woman played a leading role at the beginning of earth’s history, and it’s quite possible that a woman will again play a leading role at its end. This is not an advice for any person to vote for either side, for God’s will is to be accomplished, regardless of who wins the election. We therefore end with a caution against putting our trust in either man or woman, for none can deliver us in times of great crisis. Let’s read:
1st Thessalonians 5:2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
God bless!