Prophecies in the Bible (2)
Besides some of the more general prophecies mentioned in the previous chapter, there are several prophecies mentioned in the book of Daniel all which came true with total accuracy.
The book of Daniel prophecies that seven kingdoms ultimately would rule over Israel, starting with Babylon, which did happen, that was the kingdom that was ruling when Daniel was written.
Daniel then had a vision of a ram conquering the world. It had two uneven horns that went north and south. The country that conquered Babylon was the Medes and Persians kings.
Daniel 8:3-4 - Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great.
After that, a goat with one horn goes very quickly conquering the world, then his horn suddenly breaks into four pieces. Interestingly, the next country to conquer Israel and the world was Alexander the Great, who died very suddenly and had his kingdom split among his four generals.
Daniel 8:7-8 - And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns: and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand.Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven.
The angel then explains this is what will happen at the end of the chapter.
Daniel 8:20-22 - The ram which thou sawest having two horns 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.Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power.
Now, some of this occurred decades after it was prophesied. That is no coincidence. The Bible prophesied who would conquer the world many years before it actually happened, around 600's - 500's B.C. while Alexander the Great came in the 300's B.C. That is quite a bit of time to just be a coincidence or something someone experienced and wrote down. Only God could have known this would happen in such detail.
There are more prophecies in Daniel, again, of who will conquer the world. The King of Babylon had a dream and wished for someone to interpret it, as dreams were believed back then to have meaning. This was the dream.
Daniel 2:31-36 - 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. This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass,His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.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.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 threshingfloors; 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.This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.
Then, Daniel interprets the dream.
Daniel 2: 37-44 - Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.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. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.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. 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. 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.
So, the first Kingdom was Babylon. Then came the Medes and Persians, not as glorious. Then Greece, which did conquer the entire known world, as it said the third Kingdom would. Then was an iron and clay kingdom that would be harsh. Rome came next and is known as one of the most brutal kingdoms in European history (iron) but also became one of the weakest (clay) at its end. Daniel also said it would be mixed up, and it was, the kingdom was filled with all kinds of types of people, all races and religions and languages. It also mentions the kingdom would be divided, which did happen when Rome split into the Roman and Byzantium empires. Eventually, the Kingdom of God will come, with Jesus Christ reigning, as is also prophesied in the New Testament.
Again, this is no coincidence. These books literally existed centuries before the events happened. How could Daniel have known without intervention from God Himself? I think if we can trust the Bible in such areas as prophecy, it is safe to say we can trust it in other areas as well.
Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: Truyen247.Pro