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Where Do We Stand Series
Part 3
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Matthew 24:35-36 NKJV — “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.
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The Sun Rises
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If there is one thing that we are certain of is that the sun rises in the east. What we are unsure of is the longevity of our lives. The same can be said about regimes and the empires they rule. Since the fall of Adam and Eve and the expulsion from the Garden of Eden, the human race has had a limited time to achieve prominence and leave a legacy others can admire especially, if the legacy is honorable. For some reason, humanity has a knack for self destruction.
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Exodus 20:3-6 NKJV — “You shall have no other gods before Me. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
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The rejection of God and Jesus in our society is the main issue when investigating the fall of great kingdoms. Many argue, including leaders in the Christian church, that the Ten Commandments are part of the old covenant but Jesus never dismissed them and He is the New covenant which means that all scripture, old and new, are relevant to the world today.
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King Nebuchadnezzar
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The problem of idolatry was a lesson King Nebuchadnezzar had to learn the hard way. He looked at the kingdom he established and thought it was all done by his wisdom and cunning. Like any despot in history, he was pretty high on himself and when he surveyed the splendor of Babylon in a pride-filled boast, God made him come face to face with reality. He had been warned about his evil ways and cautioned about the consequences of his actions.
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Daniel 4:25-32 NKJV — They shall drive you from men, your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make you eat grass like oxen. They shall wet you with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses. And inasmuch as they gave the command to leave the stump and roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be assured to you, after you come to know that Heaven rules. Therefore, O king, let my advice be acceptable to you; break off your sins by being righteous, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor. Perhaps there may be a lengthening of your prosperity.” All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of the twelve months he was walking about the royal palace of Babylon. The king spoke, saying, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?” While the word was still in the king’s mouth, a voice fell from heaven: “King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you! And they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make you eat grass like oxen; and seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.”
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He learned a lesson – that God’s control of leaders and nations is the critical factor in world affairs. The words of the prophets, including Jesus Christ, teach us the critical lesson needed to understand why nations can suddenly collapse when all the signs say otherwise. The similarities between Ancient Babylon and the United States cannot be easily put aside.
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File /Archive
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A booming economy, low unemployment and the resurgence of a nation as a world frontrunner had many thinking that the United States had regained it’s swagger. Leaders behind the “renaissance” of America began to boast about their ingenuity and education for prosperity. Yet, God was not acknowledged or given a low insignificant thanks. Then the bottom fell out.
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Washington D.C. – USA
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The world came to a screeching halt. An invisible force was able to take the nations of the world hostage. No one was exempt from a virus that had a suspicious origin and devastated the leading economies of the world. Although the United States may have the ingredients to bounce back from the crisis, many other countries do not have that luxury. Nations look to the U.S. to take the lead and give them the blueprint on how to recover but not allowing God to direct and guide them would be a practice in futility.
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The Writing On The Wall
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Daniel 5:5 NKJV — In the same hour the fingers of a man’s hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.
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Maybe the nations and their leaders have overstayed their welcome? We, meaning the world, have an uncanny knack of missing the obvious signs and some can’t understand the writing on the wall. Such was the case of King Belshazzar, the son and heir of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Belshazzar’s feast, or the story of the writing on the wall, chapter 5 in the Book of Daniel, tells how Belshazzar held a great feast and drank from the vessels that had been looted in the destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem. A hand appeared and wrote on the wall. The terrified Belshazzar called for his wise men but they were unable to read the writing. The queen advised him to send for Daniel, renowned for his wisdom. Daniel had reminded Belshazzar that his father Nebuchadnezzar, when he became arrogant, was thrown down until he learned that God has sovereignty over the kingdom of men. Belshazzar had likewise blasphemed God and so God sent this hand. Daniel then read the message and interpreted it:
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Daniel 5:25-28 NKJV — “And this is the inscription that was written:
MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. “This is the interpretation of each word. MENE: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it; “TEKEL: You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting; “PERES: Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.”
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Daniel’s interpretation of the handwriting highlights another fundamental dimension in world affairs. It is God who judges the time an empire lives and when its time is over. A key is when the nation and its people are “found wanting.” In other terms, this is speaking of sin, breaking God’s laws and not acknowledging the God of creation.
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Babylon worshipped gods who neither saw, heard nor knew. They did not acknowledge the “God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways” Daniel 5:23 NKJV. Their problem was the same as virtually all other great nations that rose and fell through time: They did not worship the true God. They practiced what the Bible calls idolatry, worshipping as God that which is not God. The problem is still with us today.
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That night Belshazzar was killed and the Persians entered Babylon. As a power, Babylon ended. Absorbed into the Persian kingdom. It was over, like a thief in the night.
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The World Stage
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We now know the world can be stopped at any given moment. The United States, United Kingdom, Japan and the rest of the world may not survive the next catastrophic event. If, or should we say, when the collapse arrives, whom shall it be to lead us? Is the world ready for a charismatic leader with an invisible force behind him? An invisible danger we should be praying against so that we may not be deceived. “All things must pass” as someone once wrote, it just depends on how soon.
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In part 4 of our “Where Do We Stand?” series we will examine the coming events prophesied in God’s Holy Word and the importance of putting our trust in Jesus Christ.
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Revelation 13:7-9 NKJV — It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. If anyone has an ear, let him hear.
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