In the book of Daniel, Daniel said, “I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, broke in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet. And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows. I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them. Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom”, and in chapter seven and verse twenty-three of his book Daniel said, “until the Ancient of days came” where we read,
Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.
The verse reads, “Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, …” Daniel began with the words, “thus he said” or “therefore, then and on this account he, the one who stood by Daniel, uttered, declared and proclaimed”, “the fourth beast” which means “the fourth large animal” “shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth” or “will exist as the royal rule and reign in the world”, “which shall be diverse” which means “that will exist as altered and different” “from all kingdoms” or “separate and apart from each, every and the whole royal rules and reigns”. Daniel shared how the “one who stood by” told him that the “fourth non-descriptive” animal represented the “fourth” royal rule and reign or empire that will arise in the world and will be different from all the others.
The verse continues, “… and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.” Daniel added the words, “and shall devour” or “and will eat, consume and devastate” “the whole earth” which means “the entire world”, “and shall tread it down” or “and will trample the world”, “and break it in pieces” which means “and shatter and crush the world into particles”. Daniel said the “fourth beast” or “royal ruler” would consume the entire world, trample it and crush it into particles.
When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn through Daniel about this “fourth” ruling empire that shall arise in the world. Not only will his “kingdom” be different from all the others before, but it will have world dominance and crush the entire world beneath it. This final world dominating empire will have power over the world until “the Ancient One” arrives, and God is well aware of its time and function. Let us remember that God rules over all kingdoms and rulers in the world, and when Jesus came to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was raised from the dead after three days, He made access for everyone who puts their faith and trust in Him as their “Savior and Lord” to be forgiven of their sins, granted everlasting life and to be equipped with His Holy Spirit so they may have confidence He has everything in control even when the most powerful kingdoms and empires arise in the world.
Next time Daniel says, “the ten horns … are ten kings that shall arise”, 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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