In the book of Daniel, Daniel said, “I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things”, and in chapter seven and verse seventeen of his book Daniel shared how the one who stood by said, “these great beasts, which are four, are four kings” where we read,
These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.
The verse reads, “These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, …” Daniel began with the words, “these great beasts” or “these large and massive animals”, “which are four” which means “that exist as four of them” ,“are four kings” or “exist as four royal rulers and leaders”. Daniel shared how the “one who stood by” said the “four massive animals” existed as “four” royal rulers and leaders.
The verse goes on to say, “… which shall arise out of the earth.” Daniel continued with the words, “which shall arise” or “that will be set up, established and appointed”, “out of the earth” which means “from the region, district, territory and world”. Daniel shared how the “one who stood by” told him the “four kings” would rise up in power from the world.
When we think through the words in this verse, we discover through Daniel that the “four beasts” that he observed were “four royal rulers” who were set up in the world. Although we have history to show us this was the “Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Greek and Roman” empires, we shall see how Daniel is instructed in these things in our future verses. Let us keep in mind that other than the “Babylonian and Medo-Persian” empires, the other two were in the future for him. God is omniscient, and He is omnipresent. He dwells in the past, present and future at the same time, and when He shares these world leaders and empires through these visions, it’s because He knew they would appear. All of these kingdoms lead to God sending His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of everyone, and when He raised Him from the dead after three days, all who put their faith and trust in Him will be forgiven of their sins, granted everlasting life and equipped with His Holy Spirit who will continually guide them into all truth regardless of who rules and reigns in the world.
Next time Daniel shares how the one who stood by says, “the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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