United Kingdom of the World - Vision of Lasting World Peace
We all have heard of peace deals after peace deals. We have seen cease-fires come and gone up in smoke! Many people still wonder what it will take to bring about a real united kingdom or government of the world.
Or, who says this will bring any kind of solution to the political, economic, social, and more so, the 'uncontrollable' problems of our world?
Yet, long before Nostradamus, the plans for lasting peace and solution to these problems were spelled out as clear as Hollywood could have done today. You need to read about...
The Forgotten But Troublesome Dream
Have you ever had a dream one night that was difficult to remember the next morning? I have. You know it was strikingly important, but the details, are, at best, very fuzzy.
Guess what? It happened to the king of Ancient Babylon many centuries ago. You see, the people living around 603 BC put a lot of emphasis on dreams, because they thought that dreams were the way that the gods communicated with them.
The name of the king of Babylon was Nebuchadnezzar. (You don't have to do the tongue-twisting pronunciation if you don't want to - just say, 'the king' when you see that word again.)
So, as I was about to say...
The king had a dream one night but he could not remember what the dream was. But why was that such a big deal, anyway?
You and I might have just said, so what? We had a dream last night... we cannot recall what it is, but it might have been because of what we ate yesterday. Uh-uhhhh! Not so with this monarch from the world superpower. The king of Babylon was terribly troubled. He wanted answers.
What the Dream Means - Call the Psychics
The worried king Nebuchadnezzar called in "the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers" to tell him what his dream meant. How would you like to be one of these well-learned psychics in the kingdom of Babylon?
You can sense the distress in the answer that these "wise men" gave the king when he asked them to give him the interpretation of his dream - a dream that he himself cannot even remember!
Let's pick up the story in Daniel chapter 2 verse 4. (Please click the browser back button to come right back to this point):
Nebuchadnezzar threatened to have all the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers in the kingdom of Babylon put to death. Now, in those days, the king was the supreme court. In fact, he was the constitution. There was no appeal. These guys were facing the executioner.
"Tell your servants the dream, and we will interpret it," they pleaded.
But the king said, "This is what I have firmly decided: If you do not tell me what my dream was and interpret it, I will have you cut into pieces and your houses turned into piles of rubble. 6 But if you tell me the dream and explain it, you will receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. So tell me the dream and interpret it for me" - verse 5.
Again they said they could only tell what the dream means if the king would tell them the dream, but the king jus said, "you guys are just trying to but more time."
You could see that things were getting hot. In fact, the king charged that the "wise men" have "conspired to tell me misleading and wicked things."
The King is Furious!
In verse 12 of Daniel chapter 2, we see a very angry king Nebuchadnezzar. He was steaming because these "wise men" who were trained at the state's expense were now saying that no one in the world could tell the king what he was asking. They told the king that he was asking for something that was too difficult.
So all the "wise men" in the kingdom were now sentenced to death.
I want you to follow this story. It's not just something that could form the theme of a Hollywood drama - this was life in the ancient Babylonian empire. And...
We will see how the rest of this true story impacts you and me, right now... today.
Daniel Saved The Day... Or, Did He?
Let's take a look at the events as they unfold in verses 14 through 19 of Daniel chapter 2. Click here to take a look at these verses, then use the browser back button to come back here.
Daniel and three other Hebrew young men were among the prisoners of war (POWs) that Babylon had taken in their raid on the Israelite nation. The Babylonians had hand-picked the most brilliant of the captives, changed their names, and trained them to be some of the wise minds in the kingdom.
When the decree was given to put all the wise men to death, it included Daniel and his companions, even though they were not among the group that was called in to interpret the king's dream earlier.
When Daniel heard of his death sentence, he requested to see the king. He asked Nebuchadnezzar for time to interpret the dream. The desperate king might have thought that this was the closest thing to positive in the whole episode, so he obliged.
Daniel and his companions prayed and, sure enough God revealed the dream and the meaning to Daniel by giving the young captive the same dream that same night. Verses 20 through 23 records Daniel's praise to God for the revelation.
Daniel Interprets the Dream
The next morning, Daniel was escorted to the palace by Arioch, the kings executioner. We can imagine that Arioch must have been a bit relieved that he did not have to take so many illustrious lives in the Babylonian kingdom. That would be terrible.
He took a little praise for himself as he presented Daniel to the king, saying he had found
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someone who was able to tell the king what his dream meant.
When Nebuchadnezzar asked Daniel if he was able to tell him the dream and interpret, this is what Daniel said... I'll let you read his words Daniel chapter 2:27-35.
"No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner
can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, 28 but
there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King
Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come. Your dream and the
visions that passed through your mind as you lay on your bed are these:
29 "As you were lying there, O king, your mind turned to things
to come, and the revealer of mysteries showed you what is going to
happen. 30 As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me,
not because I have greater wisdom than other living men, but so that you,
O king, may know the interpretation and that you may understand what went
through your mind.
31 "You looked, O king, and there before you stood a large
statue-an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. 32 The
head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of
silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs
of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. 34
While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but
not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and
smashed them. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the
bronze, the silver and the gold were broken to pieces at the same time and
became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them
away without leaving a trace. But the rock that
struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.
World History Forecast
You may be saying, what a strange dream. In fact, some people who do not attach any importance to dreams might call it some sort of nightmare. But before you do...
Take note that history has confirmed not only the rise and fall of all these world kingdoms, BUT in the EXACT sequence as predicted hundreds of years before they occurred. Isn't that an amazing world history forecast of events?
Incredibly enough, not a single prophecy given in the Bible has fallen through. All those predictions, from where Jesus was to be born, to how he would die; from the destruction of Tyre (including the fact that that great city will never be rebuilt) - all those predictions have been right on target. Which brings us to this next most important point given in this dream...
A New World Order
We should not miss the most important part of the dream given in this second chapter of the book of Daniel. Watch the drama beginning at verse 34 (and highlighted in red above).
The coming of a new world order, a new age, a new era, a new world power is depicted by a stone striking the image on its feet. NOTE: the stone did not originate from human hands.
As a result, the image was completely destroyed and the dust completely swept away. And notice the last part of verse 35! "But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth."
Daniel delivered the dream and its interpretation that God had revealed to him. Nebuchadnezzar realized that his kingdom was represented by magnificent gold. The mysteries of ancient Babylon still amaze us today.
One thing that did not go quite too well with the king, though, was the fact that there would be a successor. (You could see how he tried to turn the hand of fate in Chapter 3 of the book of Daniel).
Read the rest of the chapter to see the interpretation that Daniel gave to Nebuchadnezzar. You will see that the division of the Roman kingdom in to ten weaker kingdoms (some of which remain today as nations of Europe) is represented by the feet and toes of immiscible iron and clay.
This means that these kingdoms will be divided - unable to unite as a single world monarchy.
History tells us of the inter-marrying of monarch among the kingdoms of Europe over the centuries, but today Spain, Britain, France, Portugal, and others - all of which resulted from the original Roman Empire - are separate states.
The efforts of Napoleon, Charlemagne, and other leaders failed in their fight for creating a united monarchy. And to this day, we do not have a single united world kingdom or power.
But the mysterious stone...
44 "In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set
up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another
people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it
will itself endure forever. 45 This is the meaning of the
vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands-a rock
that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to
pieces.
"The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future.
The dream is true and the interpretation is trustworthy."
Friend, this is where heaven's hope shines through for you. Just look at this prediction.
"In the times of these kings..."
This means, while there are separate nations and governments and kingdoms in this world today (as we know it), "the God of heaven will set up a kingdom and bring them to an end."
This is indicated by the stone growing into a huge mountain that filled the whole earth. God has revealed that He is about to set up His own kingdom on earth - putting an end to world governments, as we know it.
Do you picture it?
This end time prophecy is certain. "The dream is true and the interpretation is trustworthy." - Daniel 2:45.
Now, no one will watch the sand fall in an hour glass down to the last bit and expect it to stop except by outside interference. Similarly, not even the professional skeptic should be able to watch the fulfillment of all the rest of the prophecy - from 603 B.C. right down to our day - and then say this is not going to happen.
If anyone finds it hard to believe that the next single world government will NOT be set up by humans, NOR will it be run by humans, then read the world history forecast again.
Here is more shocking news. This permanent kingdom that God Himself will establish at the second coming of Christ is so important, that the same sequence of kingdoms was given to Daniel again in another vision in chapter 7; this time represented by some strange beasts.
God considered this message so important that it is reiterated several times in scripture, including in the book of Revelation.
Hey friend, a new world order is on the horizon; and you don't need a Hubble to see it.
Finally, we will have a really United Kingdom of the World. Finally, there will be real and lasting peace in the world. The Bible says that the solution to mankind's problems is out of this world. As scientific-minded individuals, such considerations (sometimes) may not stack well with our independent thinking.
In fact, end time prophecy has never been popular with scientists - maybe, except Sir Isaac Newton. We cannot say when Jesus will come...
"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour." - Matthew 25:13
But we do know that,
"the dream is true and the interpretation is trustworthy." - Daniel 2:25
So remember what Jesus said,
"Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done." - Revelation 22:12
And determine to keep heaven's hope alive in your heart, my friend.