“O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge…Howbeit he meaneth not so [to fulfill my will], neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few…And it shall come to pass in that day, that [my will shall be fulfilled that] the remnant…shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God.” (Isaiah 20)
“The Assyrian”, is the god Asshur, whose spirit, transplanted into a pre-flood hybrid, passed through the flood and requires a human body to manifest himself. Beginning with Shem’s son who took on his name when he rejected his father’s God YHVH (see relevant post) as the architect of great post-flood revived cities like Babylon and Ninevah moves from one self-and- power-obsessed human being to another as empires rise and fall, remaining active and present in world politics through key leaders.
Beginning with Nimrod, the relationship between the kings of Assyria and Babylon / the Chaldees had traditionally been close, with the royal families linked by marriage. Shalmaneser III of Assyria (858-824 BC) and Marduk-zakir-šumi I of Babylon are depicted as equal partners on the front of Shalmaneser’s throne base from his palace at Kalhu.
So when the Assyrian Empire decayed from within, the guiding spirit of the sacral king naturally moved over to fresh meat in the Neo-Babylonian Empire, AKA the Chaldees.
“Zedekiah…did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD his God…Moreover all the chief of the priests, and the people, transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen…Therefore [in judgment] he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees.” (II Chronicles 36:11-17)
“Thou, O king [Nebuchadnezzar], art a king of kings…”
The title king of kings, used even in the 20th century by the shahs of Iran, defines a top authority in a pyramidal system exercising power over an empire of semi-autonomous nations with their own heads of state.
Unfortunately, the cosmopolitan culture and wealth of the Babylonians lured the majority of Jews into staying a diaspora, and only a small minority returned to Jerusalem when the opportunity was given.
“And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior [in political autocracy] to thee [Persia]
During which the religious revival produced the legalistic Pharisees in which salvation is by “works of righteousness which we have done”, rejecting God’s mercy.
and another third kingdom of brass [Greece], which shall bear rule over all the earth.
334 BC “Until the internet age, Alexander the Great was probably the most famous human being who ever lived…inspired not just Caesar…[but] Napoleon, Hitler and other would-be world conquerors from the West.” He was also noted for instituting a new system of taxation, while those who supported his rise to power were exempted from taxation. Who benefits from, and who is oppressed by taxation is a key element in discerning between the good and the bad.
“….his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven…even for others beside those…”
“the king of the south...one of his [Alexander’s] princes…shall be strong…and have dominion.”
Geographically, the south can only be Ptolemy’s Egypt.
The north starts with Greek Seleucid Asia Minor, modern Turkey, where “in Pergamos…Satan’s seat is: and…Satan dwelleth.” (Revelation 2:12-13).
Hellenism presented a unique challenged to the Jews of the Levant and their culture. Devoid of some of the more unacceptable pagan aspects of the Mesopotamian nations, its universality enticed Jews who wished to elevate their standing in the Greek-Seleucid Empire. Many Jews learned Greek and adapted Judaism with Greek philosophy and culture, some even surgically reversed their circumcision to blend in while participating nude in the internationally famous games and abandoning their Jewish identity by taking Greek first names. These outrages against YHVH’s covenant with Israel led to chastisement.
To consolidate his power Antiochus outlawed Judaism’s essentials – the rite of circumcision, the study of Torah, and the keeping of kashrut (Jewish dietary laws). In the Jews’ Holy Temple, he placed a statue of Zeus / Satan the supreme god he claimed was manifest in his own royal being — and he was undoubtedly correct, with Satan sharing space but elbowing out the Assyrian. He sacrificed swine on the altar. He stripped the Temple of its sacred gold vessels and stole the silver and gold coin. These actions so outraged the Jews that they fought back, facing great tribulation and death to emerge once again as preserving God’s heritage.
Unfortunately, the Maccabees revival was used to place themselves in power, displacing the Levitical and Messianic lineages.
“And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron [Rome]…as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise…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 [hybrid humans and immortal spirits]…
Based on the premise of this post, and the previous foundational posts describing how demon possession as hybridization is a very real phenomena, the last demonstration of the fourth and last kingdom does not require genetic hybridization. Consistent with “coming to pass” as detailed in the relevant post, historic events throughout the last empire’s era do not require genetic hybrids to establish “the last days”, although it is this author’s conviction that in our current era this is being scientifically developed.
“And in the end of years…”
The “end of years” can only be the end of Daniel’s prophetic 70 weeks determined upon Israel, i.e. the decades coming up to the birth of Jesus the Christ.
“they shall join themselves together; for the king’s daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north”
With the benefit of hindsight we know that the southern ruler was the famous Pharaoh Cleopatra VII from the Greek Ptolemaic Dynasty who sought to strengthen her weakening hold on the family legacy by forging an alliance with the rising star Julius Caesar of Rome.
Like Helen of Troy, Cleo was a prize for any aspiring ruler grooming personal relationships with the gods, the product of generational incest harboring and maximizing the traits / genes of the Egyptian version of the same gods from whom the Julian clan proudly claimed descent. Cleo bore Caesar his only begotten (i.e. acknowledged heir) son in 47 BC, anticipating he would grow up to become sole ruler of the now conjoined Eastern and Western Empires into one.
Caesar’s assassination in 44 BC did not end Cleo’s plans. She succeeded in winning the support of Marc Antony, who, as Julius Caesar’s favorite general in the civil war, was Caesar’s most likely heir. With his considerable support in the Senate and the Army, and with Cleo’s substantial financial support from wealthy Egypt he would certainly make himself Caesar’s successor. Marc used his political connections to declare Cleo’s son as Julius Caesar’s legitimate heir and King of Kings. Adding insult to injury, despite being married to Octavian’s sister and the illegality of Roman marriages to non-Romans, Marc contracted an Egyptian marriage with Cleo, even fathering three children with her.
You got to admit there is more drama in ancient history than in modern soap operas.
Certainly the inexperienced 19 year old Octavian was no rival, but in the end it depends on God’s backing in the game.
World war waged for the next ten years until the Battle of Actium marked a seismic shift in the history of the Ancient Mediterranean. The ships of Mark Antony and Cleopatra outnumbered Octavian’s fleet…[but] Before the battle, Antony had to burn many of his warships due to a deadly disease decimating his crews.
The “inexperienced young” Roman conqueror of the Greek empire, Octavian, nearly doubled the size of the empire, adding territories in Europe and Asia Minor and securing alliances that gave him effective rule from Britain to India. He spent much of his time outside of Rome, consolidating power in the provinces and instituting a new system of taxation, classic ID of the Assyrian.
As a final flourish, Republican Octavian assumed the title / attribute Augustus, which means “divine”. He and his successors to this title were claiming to be god incarnate.
In 31 BCE, King Herod allied his kingdom of Judea with Rome. Its geographical port to the wealth of the Middle East and assistance in defending the Western frontier against the Mesopotamian nations benefitted Rome’s ambitions and in return the Roman Empire’s support enabled Herod to maintain Judea’s autonomy against hostile neighbors.
This should be a recognizable geopolitical alliance – as well as its ultimate end.
“a stone was cut out without hands [unlike the metal images which had to be made by a higher order being], which smote the image…Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold [all four empires, obviously still in existence in some shape] broken to pieces together…and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them:
and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain [joining heaven to earth], and filled the whole earth.” (Daniel 2:37-45)
This is obviously one of Jesus’ supporting scriptures as Daniel’s 70 Weeks came to an end and Jesus was prepared to take over.
“the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority?
“Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures?”
Now that’s downright snarky. Jesus is being provocative, picking a fight with these arrogant academics.
“The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become [replacing] the [previous] head [the Assyrian].
Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits [of God’s Spirit] thereof.
And whosoever shall
- [instead of joining this stone to be built up with it]
- fall on this stone [the same as ‘fall on his sword’] shall be broken [he’s warning that resistance is suicide]
- but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.
Jesus is simply repeating Daniel’s prophecy and extrapolating to them the inevitable crushing of each kingdom’s rulers who stopped carrying out God’s will for the earth.
“And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them.” (Matthew 21:23-46)
Because instead of opposing Rome, they had collaborated.
The kingdoms Daniel predicted would come into being are still in play. Doesn’t it just make sense to take seriously his prophecies, study them out and connect them to current world history?
The United States has a “special relationship” with the state of Israel, characterized by sending Israel $3.8 billion in aid and an additional $8 billion in loan guarantees every year because Israel has played an invaluable role in helping the United States dominate the Middle East.
In response, the fragmented and fractious Islamic nations have gathered together under a leader who can unify them as a renewed Empire.
“Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek…And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land…thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders.” (Micah 5)
Kingdom Come 