UNDERSTANDING THE BEASTS -PART1

A lot of people read Daniel and Revelation and when they see all these beasts and horns they shudder. What’s all this about? People have made the assumption that a nation or king that is seen as a beast, is somewhat more wicked than the rest. It’s not about being the most evil person. It’s about how they relate to Israel and the Christ. None of the scriptures in the bible will ever make sense until we see how Jesus Christ fits in to it.

The first major eschatological vision in the bible which lays out these beastly kingdoms was seen by Nebuchadnezzar. Why? Daniel then has a series of dreams and visions which further expounds and explains these beastly kingdoms. Daniel wasn’t as concerned about these beasts as he was concerned about his people. But the future of Israel was tied to the beasts.

WHY THE BEASTS CAME
God chose Israel as his nation, as his plot, and he placed his name in Jerusalem.

Deuteronomy 32:8-9 (WEB)
8 When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the children of men, he set the bounds of the peoples according to the number of the children of Israel. 9 For Yahweh’s portion is his people. Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.

1 Kings 11:36 (WEB) I will give one tribe to his son, that David my servant may have a lamp always before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen for myself to put my name there.

God intended for Jerusalem to remain holy until the time when the messiah comes and subdues the rest of the nations and places them under God. However, Israel chose to serve other gods, the gods who were worshipped by these nations. So God removed the kings of Israel and placed the nation of Israel under the kings whose gods they served.

Jeremiah 27:6-8 (WEB)
6 Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant. I have also given the animals of the field to him to serve him. 7 All the nations will serve him, his son, and his son’s son, until the time of his own land comes. Then many nations and great kings will make him their bondservant. 8 “‘“‘It will happen that I will punish the nation and the kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon,’ says Yahweh, ‘with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.

God Chose Nebuchadnezzar, a gentile King his servant. The whole world was now placed under Babylon… The height of Satan’s Kingdoms. This was around 605 BC.

THE RULE OF THE GENTILES.
As Nebuchadnezzar, a gentile king takes authority over Gods city and temple. God reveals to him the mystery of the times of the gentiles.

Daniel 2:28-29 (WEB)
28 but there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has made known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head on your bed, are these:

29 “As for you, O king, your thoughts came on your bed, what should happen hereafter; and he who reveals secrets has made known to you what will happen.

God chose to reveal everything to Nebuchadnezzar because he was the very foundation of gentile kings who would have authority over Israel until the Messiah comes to free Israel and rule the world. It is all about Israel and the Messiah. We all know the dream so I won’t quote it.

Let’s go straight to the interpretation.

Daniel 2:36-38 (WEB)
36 “This is the dream; and we will tell its interpretation before the king. 37 You, O king, are king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the strength, and the glory. 38 Wherever the children of men dwell, he has given the animals of the field and the birds of the sky into your hand, and has made you rule over them all. You are the head of gold.

WHAAAT????
Did you hear this?

Nebuchadnezzar is literally sitting in the seat that the messiah Jesus is supposed to sit. He not only rules Jerusalem but.

1. HE IS KING OF KINGS.

2. HE HAS BEEN GIVEN THE KINGDOM, THE POWER, THE STRENGTH AND THE GLORY

3. THE BIRDS THE ANIMALS AND ALL CREATURES HAVE BEEN PLACED UNDER NEBUCHADNEZZAR.
What… listen to how Jesus is described

Jesus is the real King of kings.

Revelation 17:14 (WEB) These will war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings, and those who are with him are called chosen and faithful.”

To Jesus belongs the kingdom power strength and glory.

Revelation 5:12 (WEB) saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who has been killed to receive the power, wealth, wisdom, strength, honor, glory, and blessing!”

To Jesus the Messiah belong authority over all animals birds etc…

Psalms 8:6-8 (WEB)
6 You make him ruler over the works of your hands. You have put all things under his feet: 7 All sheep and cattle, yes, and the animals of the field,
8 the birds of the sky, the fish of the sea, and whatever passes through the paths of the seas.

The kingdom and glory which was supposed to belong to Israel till the Messiah comes has been given to unbelievers. The rule and glory of the Messiah Jesus had been surrendered to godless people otherwise known as the Unbelievers. Anyways, lets move on with yhe interpretation.

Daniel 2:37-40 (WEB)
37 You, O king, are king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the strength, and the glory. 38 Wherever the children of men dwell, he has given the animals of the field and the birds of the sky into your hand, and has made you rule over them all. You are the head of gold. 39 “After you, another kingdom will arise that is inferior to you; and another third kingdom of bronze, which will rule over all the earth. 40 The fourth kingdom will be strong as iron, because iron breaks in pieces and subdues all things; and as iron that crushes all these, it will break in pieces and crush.

Do you see that.
Each kingdom though inferior to Nebuchadnezzar is sitting in his seat. They are inheriting his authority and his seat.

What then happens? At its very end, there shall be confusion and mixing of things.

Daniel 2:42-43 (WEB)
42 As the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom will be partly strong, and partly broken. 43 Whereas you saw the iron mixed with miry clay, they will mingle themselves with the seed of men; but they won’t cling to one another, even as iron does not mix with clay. “In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, nor will its sovereignty be left to another people; but it will break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it will stand forever.

Do you see that
At the very end, the messiah himself will bring his kingdom, destroy and subdue these four kingdoms at the same time.

Jesus the Messiah will then sit as.

1.KING OF KINGS

2.HE WILL HAVE HIS KINGDOM GLORY AUTHORITY STRENGTH AND POWER.

3. HE WILL RULE OVER ALL THINGS.

Daniel 2:45 (WEB) Because you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God has made known to the king what will happen hereafter. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.”

One thing that’s common is that all these four kingdoms established a rule over Jerusalem. They are not four random kingdoms, neither are they necessarily the most wicked kingdoms or the biggest, but these four kingdoms colonised the Jews and Ruled over Jerusalem, thereby sitting in the seat of the anointed one of God.