Austin Bible Church
International Insecurity
The first principle in the rise and fall of nations is international insecurity. Although Satan is said to be the prince of this world in John 12:31, he really does a very poor job of controlling it. Things get out of hand through the operation of man’s old sin nature collectively and individually.
""Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out." (John 12:31, NASB)
In Daniel 7:1-2, “the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea” refers to God’s influence over the rise and fall of nations. These are disturbing influences upon which Satan has no control. When God wants to phase out a nation, He can do it quickly, and there is nothing anyone can do about it. The nations of the world are very insecure today.
"In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel saw a dream and visions in his mind as he lay on his bed; then he wrote the dream down and related the following summary of it. Daniel said, "I was looking in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea." (Daniel 7:1-2, NASB)
“The waters” in Revelation 17:15 and the “seas” in Isaiah 17:2 refer to nations.
"And he said to me, "The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues." (Revelation 17:15, NASB)
"Alas, the uproar of many peoples Who roar like the roaring of the seas, And the rumbling of nations Who rush on like the rumbling of mighty waters!" (Isaiah 17:12, NASB)
National Personality
The second principle in the rise and fall of nations is the principle of national personality. In Daniel 7:3-4, “a lion” refers to Babylon named because of the rapidity of its conquests. Although Assyria had been victorious for nearly 400 years, they were conquered in 90 days. The “wings of an eagle” denotes rapidity of conquest - the First Wind. Babylon conquered the world in 25 years (625-600 BC). “Wings were plucked” refers to Nebuchadnezzar’s insanity for seven years. “It was lifted up from the ground” refers to his restoration to sanity. “A human mind also was given to it” refers to his conversion.
""And four great beasts were coming up from the sea, different from one another. "The first was like a lion and had the wings of an eagle. I kept looking until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man; a human mind also was given to it." (Daniel 7:3-4, NASB)
In Daniel 7:5, “resembling a bear” refers to the Medes and the Persians - the Second Wind. They were great ponderous powers that lasted 200 years. Two million Persian soldiers under Xerxes drank Greek lakes dry. “It was raised up on one side” means the Persian element was stronger than the Median element. “Three ribs” refers to the beginning of the Persian Empire. One rib refers to the Medes, one rib refers to the empire of Lydia, and one rib refers to the Babylon Empire. “Devour much meat” refers to the 200 years of Persian domination, in which there was much warfare, tremendous number of conquests, and also many civil wars. During this time was the Golden Age of Israel (516-323 BC). There was no military interference with Israel resulting in great economic and spiritual peace.
""And behold, another beast, a second one, resembling a bear. And it was raised up on one side, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth; and thus they said to it, 'Arise, devour much meat!'" (Daniel 7:5, NASB)
In Daniel 7:6, “a leopard” refers to Greece - the Third Wind. Under Alexander the Great, the Macedonians conquered by hitting fast and moving on. Conquering began with Greece having 30,000 people and Persia having 4 million under arms. In 12 years, they conquered the world, by winning four great battles. “Four wings of a bird” refers to these four battles. They are; 1) the Battle of Granicus (334 BC) where Asia Minor was conquered, 2) the Battle of Issus (333 BC) where the Mediterranean coast as far as Egypt was taken, 3) the Battle of Gaugamela (331 BC) is also called the battle of Arbela where the Old Chaldean Empire was conquered including Mesopotamia, and 4) the Battle of the Persian Gate (330 BC) where Alexander defeated the Persian army after being ambushed.
""After this I kept looking, and behold, another one, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird; the beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it." (Daniel 7:6, NASB)
The Macedonians controlled the Hindu Cush which is a mountain range with passes which open up travel to India, Afghanistan, China and Mongolia. Only Alexander the Great has ever accomplished this. Alexander the Great formulated the Koine Greek language used as the New Testament Greek. Koine Greek was used extensively for 1000 years (500 BC to 500 AD).
In Daniel 7:6, “four heads” refers to the four generals who each received a fourth of the Grecian Empire when Alexander died. The four generals were; Seleucus in Syria, Ptolemy in Egypt, Cassander in Thrace, Macedonia, and Greece, and Lysimachus in Asia Minor. Cassander was a stupid general who killed Roxanne, Alexander’s wife, he killed Hercules, Alexander’s son, and he killed Alexander the Great’s mother.
The Roman Empire was the Fourth Wind. The Roman Empire is the turning point of ancient and modern history. All of the rivers of ancient civilizations flow into the lake of the Roman Empire and all the rivers of modern civilization flow out of the lake of the Roman Empire.
The beginning of the second vision is so different from the others. Rome began as a little village on the bank of the Tiber, then became a city-state, then a nation, then a great world empire. Rome gave the world a respect for law and administration - Divine Institution No. 4 - Nationalism. Greeks were known for their culture, Persians for their science, and Romans for their code of law.
Characteristics of the Roman Empire can be found in Daniel 7:7. “Dreadful” refers to the start of conquests in 264 BC and describes the way they conquered. Over 1 million died in the dreadful Punic wars alone. From 264 to 146 BC, they conquered Carthage, Egypt, Macedonia, and Syria. They called themselves Senātus Populusque Rōmānus (SPQR) which is Latin for The Senate and People of Rome.
""After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrifying and extremely strong; and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns." (Daniel 7:7, NASB)
In Daniel 7:7 “terrifying” refers to the many rich who were killed in this period, leaving only the middle class and poor. In 146 BC, the Knights (middle class Romans) took over and there was some stabilization. However, a mob of 1 million people, poor, dangerous, and ragged came out of the Punic wars and the tail began to wag the dog.
The Knights were capitalistic at first, but switched to a dualism with a socialistic-capitalistic system. It is the middle class that always keeps a nation stabilized by operating under free enterprise and capitalism. Later, the mob took over from the Knights. Who had sustained the mob? The middle class through Socialism.
As long as the middle class was able to pay the bills and feed the mob, the civilization survived. Eventually, the middle class reached a point where they were unable to do so. For example, they destroyed their currency by going off of the Gold Standard. How? When Alexander the Great defeated the Persians, the equivalent of 200 billion dollars of hoarded gold was poured into the world’s economy. But the Romans traded this gold for peacock feathers and other luxuries from the Orient (China) and also India.
Then they issued paper money which was not tied to a gold standard. Finally, the mobs and socialism destroyed Rome. It would have been destroyed sooner, except that Bible doctrine became the great stabilizing factor during the Antonine Caesars (96-192 AD). The mobs should never be catered to, or the lower classes.
How was the destruction of the Roman Empire averted? By Julius Caesar who was a genius of organization and a dictator. He ruled from July 28, 46 BC to March 15, 44 BC. He was influential for about five years before his assassination. The spiritual emphasis here is that Jesus Christ was born in “the fullness of time.” Religion was bankrupt. Gal. 4:4.
"But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law," (Galatians 4:4, NASB)
The Antonine Caesar era was the greatest period of world peace the world has ever known apart from the future Millennium. In Daniel 7:7, “extremely strong” refers to the strength given by law and order, good communication, the genius of Julius Caesar, the birth of the Lord, and the dissemination of the Word of God and teaching of Bible doctrine.
In Daniel 7:7, “it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet” refers to the civil wars in the Roman Empire and the grinding up of the people in these civil wars. There was moral decay and political decay. The two parties fought it out in civil wars resulting in widespread slavery. In the Spartacus Revolt, 1,000 slaves were crucified at one time on the roads leading into the Roman Empire. Reform was tried, but the reformers were assassinated. The principle here is that the greatest of reformers cannot save a nation. The greatest of legislation cannot save a nation. The greatest of armies cannot save a nation.
There is no hope for a nation’s recovery from degeneracy and apostacy apart from evangelism and Bible doctrine. This becomes evident when unbelievers return to the rule of law and the Laws of Divine Establishment, a significant number of unbelievers turn to God and Jesus Christ as their Savior, and a significant number of believers return to fellowship with the Lord leading to the intake and application of Bible doctrine in their spiritual lives. God will then restore the nation.