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APPENDIX
Tablet Sixteen
THOSE
PROPHECIES WHICH ARE NOT YET FULFILLED
<1>In the book of
Daniel in the
Bible, there are three prophecies which are of great
significance.
<2>First, the dream of King Nebuchadnezzar,
which is described in Daniel 2:31-35. Its interpretation is
given by
God through Daniel in
verses 37-45. In brief, the interpretation informs the king that
there will be five great kingdoms on earth. The first is the kingdom
of Nebuchadnezzar (the Chaldean Empire). The second kingdom, which
is somehow inferior to the first (symbolized by silver, the first
was symbolized by gold) will rise, and then the third (of brass)
will rise. The fourth will be strong as iron but will be divided,
and the fifth will be half iron and half clay. In the time of these
last kingdoms which were symbolized as the feet of the image, the
truth will come and will destroy the whole image and replace it.
<3>Therefore, so far we know that the first
kingdom is the Chaldean Empire. What are the next four? We can find
the clues in another prophecy and vision of Daniel in chapter 8. The
vision is about a ram with two horns, and about "an he goat" with
one "notable horn
between his eyes" (Daniel 8:5). The goat destroys the ram and
becomes very great but in the height of its greatness, its horn will
be broken.
<4>The interpretation of the dream is given
to Daniel by Archangel
Gabriel that the two horns of the ram are the kings of Media and
Persia, "And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great
horn that is between his eyes is the first king [Alexander the
Great]" (Daniel 8:21).
<5>With these visions a clue is given for
understanding the dream of King Nebuchadnezzar: that the next great
kingdom is of Media and Persia (ram with two horns), and the third
will be the king of Grecia. Also history supports this. These kings
came to power and were destroyed as it was prophesied in the book of Daniel.
<6>So far the three kingdoms of the expected
five have been identified, namely Chaldean Empire, Persian Empire,
and the Grecian Empire. The fourth empire which would be divided
into two is the Roman Empire with capitals at Rome and
Constantinople. So with this, four empires have been created and
destroyed so far. <7>However, there is one more which has not come yet which
apparently has no clues as to what it is. But the
Bible
always clarifies itself by giving the answer somehow in other parts.
<8>In chapter 7 of
Daniel, another
vision is seen by him about
four beasts. In verse 17, the interpretation is given that,
"These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall
arise out of the earth" (Daniel 7:17). With comparison to the
previously revealed four empires, the fourth kingdom is the Roman
Empire. <9>The head of this fourth beast had ten horns
corresponding to the ten toes in the dream seen by King
Nebuchadnezzar. These ten horns are the last kingdom which will come
with ten nations (a union of nations) which are very closely related
to the Roman Empire.
And in the days of these kings shall the
God of
heaven
set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed:...
(Daniel 2:44)
<10>Also in
The Revelation and many
other different parts of the Bible, it has been prophesied
that eventually the Kingdom of
God will be established on
earth and the saints will gain dominance over it. As all other
prophecies have been fulfilled so far, so a dominion of ten united
nations closely related to the Roman Empire will arise. <11>After
that is the time that the Kingdom of
God will be established (for a more detailed explanation of the
Daniel prophecies, read
Commentaries on
Prophecies in Daniel, Period of Intellectual Domination).
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