Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Prophecy 3

Let's take a much closer look at some of these verses we touched on yesterday.


Dan 7:4 The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it.


Now if what we believe is true- that the 1st beast is a representation of the kingdom of Babylon we should be able to understand this a little better.


Let's look up a few things on the internet and see if we can't find a connection of any sort.


From the--


The Ishtar Gate (Assyrian: ܕܵܪܘܲܐܙܲܐ ܕܥܵܐܫܬܲܪ translit: Darwaza D'Ishtar, Arabic:بوابة عشتار) was the eighth gate to the inner city of Babylon. It was constructed in about 575 BC by order of King Nebuchadnezzar II on the north side of the city.

Parts of the gate and lions from the Processional Way are in various other museums around the world. Only three museums acquired dragons, while lions went to several museums

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In the Bible itself we have mention of a lion representing Babylon. Jeremiah prophesized of Babylon's destruction of Jerusalem this way...


Jer 4:6 Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction.
Jer 4:7 The lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate; and thy cities shall be laid waste, without an inhabitant.


Jer 20:4 For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will make thee a terror to thyself, and to all thy friends: and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and thine eyes shall behold it: and I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall carry them captive into Babylon, and shall slay them with the sword.


Jer 50:17 Israel is a scattered sheep; the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones.


Jer 50:43 The king of Babylon hath heard the report of them, and his hands waxed feeble: anguish took hold of him, and pangs as of a woman in travail.
Jer 50:44 Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan unto the habitation of the strong: but I will make them suddenly run away from her: and who is a chosen man, that I may appoint over her? for who is like me? and who will appoint me the time? and who is that shepherd that will stand before me?


Still more internet sources show a statue of the lion of Babylon-

The Lion of Babylon, large and splendidly carved in basalt, reminds us again that the lion was the symbol of the goddess Ishtar. In the sculpture, the lion's back has marks indicating that it was meant for a precious saddle upon which the goddess Ishtar would stand.

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The Striding Lion
Iraq: Babylon, Processional Avenue north of the Ishtar Gate
Neo-Babylonian Period
Reign of Nebuchadnezzar II, ca. 604-562 B.C.
Molded brick with polychrome glaze
90.3 cm H, 230.5 cm W
Purchased in Berlin, 1931
Oriental Institute, Chicago
OIM A7481

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Click on the links to see the pictures. These are HISTORICAL facts, not made up fiction. When Daniel said the first beast was like a lion it's easy to associate it with Babylon without having to take a very big leap of faith at all.


What about the rest of what Daniel said--


1st beast-like a lion
had eagle's wings
Wings plucked
Lifted up from earth
Stand upon the feet like a man
A man's heart was given it


What do eagle's wings represent in the Bible?


Deu 28:49 The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand


2Sa 1:23 Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided: they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.


Psa 103:5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.


WINGS
wingz (kanaph; pterux):
Biblical references to the wings of birds are common, especially in Psalms, many of them exquisitely poetical. Often the wings of an eagle are mentioned because they are from 7 to 9 feet in sweep, of untiring flight, and have strength to carry heavy burdens: so they became the symbol of strength and endurance. Ancient monuments and obelisks are covered with the heads of bulls, lions, different animals, and men even, to which the wings of an eagle were added to symbolize strength. .


Solomon was thinking of the swiftness of wings when he said, "For riches' certainly make themselves wings, like an eagle that flieth toward heaven" (Proverbs 23:5). So also was Isaiah in 40:31, "They that wait for Yahweh shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint."

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And a Biblical reference--


Hab 1:6 For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwellingplaces that are not theirs.
Hab 1:7 They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves.
Hab 1:8 Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat.


Some Babylon history--


Under Nabopolassar, Babylon threw off Assyrian rule in 612 BC and became the capital of the Neo-Babylonian (sometimes and possibly erroneously called Chaldean) Empire.[6][7][8]
With the recovery of Babylonian independence, a new era of architectural activity ensued, and his son Nebuchadnezzar II (604–561 BC) made Babylon into one of the wonders of the ancient world.[9] Nebuchadnezzar ordered the complete reconstruction of the imperial grounds, including rebuilding the Etemenanki ziggurat and the construction of the Ishtar Gate — the most spectacular of eight gates that ringed the perimeter of Babylon. A reconstruction of The Ishtar Gate is located in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin. All that was ever found of the Original Ishtar gate was the foundation and scattered bricks.
Nebuchadnezzar is also credited with the construction of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon (one of the seven wonders of the ancient world), said to have been built for his homesick wife Amyitis. Whether the gardens did exist is a matter of dispute. Although excavations by German archaeologist Robert Koldewey are thought to reveal its foundations, many historians disagree about the location, and some believe it may have been confused with gardens in the Assyrian capital, Nineveh.
Chaldean rule did not last long and it is not clear if Neriglissar and Labashi-Marduk were Chaldeans or native Babylonians, and the last ruler Nabonidus and his son and regent Belshazzar were Assyrians from Harran.

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Nebuchadnezzar engaged in several military campaigns designed to increase Babylonian influence in Syria and Judah. An attempted invasion of Egypt in 601 BC was met with setbacks, however, leading to numerous rebellions among the states of the Levant, including Judah. Nebuchadnezzar soon dealt with these rebellions, capturing Jerusalem in 597 BC and deposing King Jehoiakim, then in 587 BC due to rebellion, destroying both the city and the temple, and deporting many of the prominent citizens along with a sizable portion of the Jewish population of Judea to Babylon.[6] These events are described in the Prophets (Nevi'im) and Writings (Ketuvim), sections of the Hebrew Bible (in the books 2 Kings and Jeremiah, and 2 Chronicles, respectively). After the destruction of Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar engaged in a thirteen year siege of Tyre (585–572 BC), which ended in a compromise, with the Tyrians accepting Babylonian authority.
Following the pacification of Tyre, Nebuchadnezzar turned again to Egypt. A clay tablet,[7] now in the British Museum, states: "In the 37th year of Nebuchadnezzar, king of the country of Babylon, he went to Mitzraim (Egypt) to make war. Amasis, king of Egypt, collected [his army], and marched and spread abroad." Having completed the subjugation of Phoenicia, and a campaign against Egypt, Nebuchadnezzar set himself to rebuild and adorn the city of Babylon, and constructed canals, aqueducts, temples and reservoirs.

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So there is no doubt Babylon was a strong kingdom and under Nebuchadnezzar it grew tremendously into something spectacular. But just as it was swift to grow it also had it's wings plucked- it wasn't to remain strong, and it wasn't to grow and conquer endlessly.


1st beast-like a lion
had eagle's wings
Wings plucked
Lifted up from earth
Stand upon the feet like a man
A man's heart was given it


In fact for all that Nebuchadnezzar along with His kingdom, Babylon, were a force to be reckoned with they didn't remain so. Babylon became weak- like a man in comparison to a lion and to put a man's heart in a lion's chest would never sustain it. A man's heart is weak compared to the heart of a lion, just as a man's courage is much weaker than a lion's.


It isn't farfetched at all whatsoever to compare the head of gold - Babylon with the 1st beast in this later vision of Daniel's. Let's go further and see if we can make connections with the other beasts and their corresponding part of the image in Dan. 2.


Dan 7:5 And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.


Firstly, a lion in the animal kingdom is the king- the head of the whole animal kingdom whereas a bear isn't so much. Clearly the bear is inferior to the lion and that is one thing to note. Medo-Persia was inferior to Babylon.


Secondly, it was raised on one side. The conquerors of Babylon were the Medes and Persians. And it is a well known historical fact (for history buffs that is) that the Persians were stronger than the Medes when all was said and done.

Let's read a bit about it…


The Medes and the Persians: from the 9th century BC

Of the two main Indo-European tribes moving south into Iran, it is at first the Medes who play the dominant role. With a capital at Ecbatana (modern Hamadan), they establish themselves as powerful neighbours of Assyria. In 612 they combine with Babylon to sack the Assyrian capital at Nineveh. Their spoils are northern Assyria and much of Anatolia, where the Halys river becomes the border between themselves and Lydia.

The Medes already control much of Iran including Fars, in the southwest. This is the heartland of the Parsa or Persians, whose king is a vassal of the Medes - and from whose name the region has until recently been known as Persia in the west.
 
Cyrus the Great: 559-530 BC

The balance between the Medes and the Persians rapidly changes after Cyrus II becomes king of the Persians in 559 BC. He rebels against the Medes in 553. Three years later he captures their king and their capital city, Ecbatana. He then presses west to secure and expand his new empire. He seizes the Lydian capital, Sardis, in 546, together with Croesus, its famously rich king. His armies then continue west to dominate the Greek cities of Ionia, extending his power to the shores of the Aegean.

Babylon and Mesopotamia fall to him next, in 539. The basis of the first Persian empire (the Achaemenid empire) has been set in place within a mere eleven years of Cyrus defeating the Medes. He has earned his title 'the Great'.
 
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Cyrus the Great conquered Media, Lydia, and Babylon.

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Cyrus the Great of the Persian's had 3 major conquests- Media, Lydia, and Babylon.


These could be the 3 ribs, yes?


2nd beast- like a bear
Raised up on one side
3 ribs in it's mouth between the teeth
Said- Arise, devour much flesh


Think about it… A bear comes up next after the lion, then the bear raised itself up on one side, Persia over the Medes and Persia who conquered together. Then Cyrus of the Persians conquered 3 others, Media, Lydia, and Babylon. That bear has 3 ribs in its mouth and yes, the Persians went on to do much conquering…devouring much flesh before being conquered by Greeks.


Read this…


According to Plutarch, Artaxerxes' successor Artaxerxes III (358 – 338 B.C.E.) came to the throne by bloody means, ensuring his place upon the throne by the assassination of eight of his half-brothers.[30] In 343 B.C.E. Artaxerxes III defeated Nectanebo II, driving him from Egypt, and made Egypt once again a Persian satrapy. In 338 B.C.E. Artaxerxes III died under unclear circumstances (natural causes according to cuneiform sources but Diodorus, a Greek historian, reports that Artaxerxes was murdered by Bagoas, his minister).[31] while Philip of Macedon united the Greek states by force and began to plan an invasion into the empire.
Artaxerxes III was succeeded by Artaxerxes IV Arses, who before he could act was also poisoned by Bagoas. Bagoas is further said to have killed not only all Arses' children, but many of the other princes of the land. Bagoas then placed Darius III (336–330 B.C.E.), a nephew of Artaxerxes IV, on the throne. Darius III, previously Satrap of Armenia, personally forced Bagoas to swallow poison. In 334 B.C.E., when Darius was just succeeding in subduing Egypt again, Alexander and his battle-hardened troops invaded Asia Minor.
At two different times, the Achaemenids ruled Egypt although the Egyptians twice regained temporary independence from Persia. After the practice of Manetho, Egyptian historians refer to the periods in Egypt when the Achaemenid dynasty ruled as the twenty-seventh dynasty of Egypt, 525–404 B.C.E., until the death of Darius II, and the thirty-first dynasty of Egypt, 343–332 B.C.E., which began after Nectanebo II was defeated by the Persian king Artaxerxes III.
Alexander the Great (Alexander III of Macedon) defeated the Persian armies at Granicus (334 B.C.E.),

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Did you read that?! The tale of such death, such treachery, the killing of family, of children, poisoning…Yes, much flesh was devoured by the Persians. So it's really not all that farfetched to put all this together, right? History! History coinciding with prophecy.


We have to be able to look at the prophecies given to us by God. God wants us to understand, to know that His word is true and what He said has come to pass and WILL come to pass. Believing in the word of God takes faith, faith being the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen. We are called to believe by faith and it is by faith we must believe. We have to trust in God, it was our original parents who broke that trust in God but it's a trust that can be restored, repaired. We see it in our own lives all the time don't we, on a human to human level. We get hurt by someone and the trust we have is broken but that trust is often restored again. We are called to forgive because every time we forgive we are experiencing on a very small level the much greater experience of God forgiving us. If we don't forgive we can't ever expect to be forgiven. God's grand picture includes US, each and every one of us! In this grand picture there have been those who are called to fulfill God's will in big ways, but many more of us are called to fulfill it in very tiny ways. All of us that have the honor, the privilege of being able to read God's word need to do just that. While people are being tortured and even killed to read this amazing message so many others don't give it a second glance. Right now we are delving into prophecy and as was mentioned before prophecy fulfilled is our history and prophecy unfulfilled our future. As long as we are still living here on earth and our Savior hasn't come for us we are living with unfulfilled prophecy that WILL be fulfilled if not in our lifetime than in our descendents. Every moment we live we are living in prophecy being fulfilled we just don't always recognize it, in fact the majority don't and very, very few do. Remember -- Jesus was a prophecy fulfilled and many didn't and still do not believe, do not recognize the fulfillment.


When I said that we are constantly living in prophecy fulfilled I meant it. We are living in the time of the ten toes awaiting the Stone that will break down this world as we know it and usher in life with Christ.


There are a lot of prophecies, a lot, and many of them have been fulfilled, very few haven't compared to the majority that have. We need to look at our thousands of years of history closely and by the grace of God and through the Holy Spirit's guidance we will be able to discern so much. We will continue to study and pray that we are understanding as God would have us understand fully and in Him and His righteousness, His love.


Amen.

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