Tag: babylon

HANDWRITING ON THE WALL

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Most know the story of the handwriting on the wall in Daniel 5. Belshazzar was the king of Babylon in Daniel 5. He is called the son of Nebuchadnezzar in 5:22 but historical records say that he was the son of Nabonidus (556-539 BC). The Hebrew word for “son” is bar: Son, heir, pure, clean. There is no physical lineage back to. Nebuchadnezzar although some say that Belshazzar was a son in law to Nebuchadnezzar, or maybe it just means he was an heir to the throne following Nebuchadnezzar. Belshazzar actually co-reigned with his father Nabonidus but appears to be the one in charge.

The story begins with a feast. Daniel 5:1 Belshazzar the king held a great feast for a thousand of his nobles, and he was drinking wine in the presence of the thousand. 2 While he tasted the wine, Belshazzar gave orders to bring the gold and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives, and his concubines could drink out of them. 3 Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God which was in Jerusalem; and the king and his nobles, his wives, and his concubines drank out of them. 4 They drank the wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone.” In other words, they were having a drunken feast! They praised their god idols that were made out of gold, etc. They drank wine out of the gold vessels taken from the temple in Jerusalem when King Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in 586 BC. You can see why God is going to destroy Babylon b/c of their arrogance and blasphemy of the one true God Yahweh.

Daniel 5:5 Suddenly the fingers of a human hand emerged and began writing opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace, and the king saw the back of the hand that did the writing. 6 Then the king’s face became pale and his thoughts alarmed him, and his hip joints loosened and his knees began knocking together.” Sorry but I just have to thrown this image of a boy whose knees knocked in fear. Belshazzar had to look something like this:

None of his diviners or sorcerers could interpret the handwriting. Daniel 5:9 Then King Belshazzar was greatly alarmed, his face grew even more pale, and his nobles were perplexed.” The queen reminded him of how Daniel had interpreted the vision of the statue for Nebuchadnezzar, so Daniel was summoned. The king offered to make Daniel third in the kingdom if he could interpret the handwriting, but Daniel refused any reward. Daniel reminded the king of how the great Nebuchanezzaar was humbled by God to live like an animal b/c of his pride (Daniel 4). He told Belshezzar: Daniel 5:22 Yet you, his [v]son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this, 23 but you have risen up against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your nobles, your wives, and your concubines have been drinking wine out of them; and you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see, nor hear, nor understand. But the God in whose hand are your life-breath and all your ways, you have not glorified.”

Daniel then gave the interpretation: Daniel 5:26 This is the interpretation of the message: ‘Mene’—God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it. 27 ‘Tekel’—you have been weighed on the scales and found deficient. 28 ‘Peres’—your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.” Daniel was promoted to being third in the kingdom but that didn’t last long!

Daniel 5:30 That same night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed. 31 So Darius the Mede received the kingdom at about the age of sixty-two.” There is no historical records of a Darius the Mede, but we trust God’s word that he did exist in history. Many times there is no historical record of some event or person in the Bible, only later to find archaeological evidence that proves that the Bible was accurate. Such was the case with the discovery of archaeological proof of the existence of the Hittites. Darius is mentioned again in Daniel 9:1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of Median descent, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans. The Medes had actually joined Babylon to defeat the Assyrians in 612 BC. Whoever this Darius was, he had a major part in defeating the Babylonians and took over their kingdom in 539 BC. Cyrus the Great, the king of Persia, is given credit for conquering Babylon in 539 BC according to history. Both the Babylonian Chronicles and the Cyrus Cylinder describe Babylon being taken “without battle”. “King Cyrus the Great diverted the Euphrates River to conquer Babylon. He dug trenches upstream to create a reservoir, which lowered the water level in the city. Cyrus’ soldiers waded into the river at night. They marched up the riverbed to Babylon’s gates, which were left open. The Persians took the city with little resistance. The Babylonians were partying and had left the gates open and unguarded. The Babylonians also felt so secure that they didn’t expect an attack.” (AI) That matches the story in Daniel 5 of the feast that night. History says that Belshazzar was killed and Nabonidus was captured and exiled.

“The Cyrus cylinder: clay cylinder; a Babylonian account of the conquest of Babylon by Cyrus in 539 BC, of his restoration to various temples of statues removed by Nabonidus, the previous king of Babylon, and of his own work at Babylon.” (From theBritishmuseum.org). Cyrus is the king that Isaiah the prophet predicted would defeat the Babylonians and allow the Jews to return to the holy land. He predicted Cyrus by name over 100 years before Cyrus was even born! Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel had all predicted the fall of Babylon due to her idolatry, cruelty, and arrogant blasphemy of Yahweh.

The Nabonidus Chronicle. ” The Babylonian Chronicles (consisting of 45 tablets), specifically the “Nabonidus Chronicle,” provide a detailed account of the fall of Babylon, describing its conquest by the Persian king Cyrus the Great without a battle, and are considered a primary source for this historical event.” 

That’s a lot of history! The story in Daniel 5 reinforces that “pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18). Nebuchadnezzar died before Belshazzar was born, so Belshazzar did not actually see Nebuchadnezzar becoming like an animal due to his pride, but Daniel said that Belshazzar knew about it. Daniel 5:22 Yet you, his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this.” History repeats itself unless we learn from the mistakes of the past and correct them. Pride makes some rulers think their kingdoms are invincible even though they read of earlier rulers falling even though they thought their kingdoms were invincible. We read about the fall of the Roman Empire, but we don’t really think that the U.S. could fall one day. From AI: “The fall of the Roman Empire was caused by a combination of factors including political instability, economic decline, overexpansion, military overspending, barbarian invasions, civil wars, corruption within the government, and a weakening Roman army; with the most significant factor being the constant pressure from Germanic tribes migrating into the empire’s borders, leading to numerous invasions and weakening the empire’s defenses.” We find several of those same facors in our country, do we not? Government overspending has created a deficit that might bankrupt our country (don’t think that could not happen). We have political instability in my opinion and are deeply divided politically. We have government corruption and wasteful spending. We have the constant threat of terrorists. We have violence as evidence by the many shootings. We have moral decline and a rejection of the Bible’s definition of sin and the approval of homosexuality (the LGBQT movement). We have the breakdown of the family unit with over 50% divorce rate and with homosexual marriages.

Can you pray this prayer with me? “God, please help our country return to You and to Your word. Whatever it takes, humble us before it is too late. Give us leaders who will not just make America great militarily and economically, but will lead us back to You. Forgive us for forsaking Your word and our Judeo-Christian roots. We still have so many resources that can be used to do Your work all over the world, so it would be sad to see America fall or lose those resources. Give us a grass roots revival like the first and second great awakening. Purge out the churches that no longer hold fast to your word. Thank for you the material blessings that you have given so many of us. Thank you for the remnant of conservative Christians who still hold fast to Your word. Thank you for sending your Son to die for our sins, providing eternal life no matter what happens in our country or in the world. Amen. ”

CAN YOU SPELL NEBUCHADNEZZAR?

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He was one of the greatest kings ever in terms of his power and of his kingdom of Babylon. He reigned for 43 years (605 – 562 BC). He is know for his construction projects such as the Hanging Gardens of Babylon (supposedly one of the 7 wonders of the world). He was a warrior-king who defeated the Egyptians (605 BC) and the Assyrians (612 BC). God used him to. destroy Jerusalem and the temple in 586 BC. His name is used 88 times in the Bible! God used him to judge the evil nations surrounding Judah as was predicted by the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. God had already used the Assyrians to take the northern kingdom of Israel capative and destroy the capital Samaria in 722 BC. God used even pagan nations to judge other nations. That really bothered Habakkuk the prophet. Habakkuk questioned God, “I know Judah needs to be punished for her sins but how can you, God, use such a pagan evil nation like Babylon to punish her?” God told him that in due time Babylon would also be judged for her sins, and she was when Cyrus and the Persians conquered Babylon in 539 BC, which was predicted by the prophets. Daniel 2:20-22 says, “He removes kings and raises up kings”. Judah would remain in captivity in Babylon for 70 years before Cyrus allowed them to return to rebuild the temple in 536 BC.

A closer look at Daniel 4. I don’t think I ever noticed that much of Daniel 4 is written in the. first person. “I, Nebuchadnezzar” is used often (4:4, 18, 34, 37), and a lot of “I, me, my”. Most of this chapter is Nebuchadnezzar telling his own story of his own belief in the God of Daniel and Judah! This is his personal testimony! Daniel 4 begins: “Nebuchadnezzar the king to all the peoples, nations, and populations of all languages who live in all the earth: “May your peace be great! 2 I am pleased to declare the signs and miracles that the Most High God has done for me. 3 How great are His signs and how mighty are His miracles! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and His dominion is from generation to generation.” That would be his conclusion after the 7 years of madness and living like an animal. He then in 4:1-18, in 1st person, tells about his dream of a great tree cut down to a stump and the stump being given an animal’s mind for 7 period of tme to humble him. His magicians could not interpret the dream, so Daniel came and interpreted it for him. Daniel had earlier interpreted his vision of the statue in Daniel 2, so the king had confidence in Daniel’ ability to interpret dreams.

4:19 “Then Daniel, whose name is Belteshazzar, was appalled for a while as his thoughts alarmed him.” Imagine telling the king of the then known world that he is about to become like an animal for 7 years! Daniel told him that the tree was the king and the stump was that he would be cut down and humbled to live like an animal for 7 periods (probably 7 years) until he would recognize that the Most High (i.e. Yahweh the God of Judah) is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes. A stump, if not dug up and its roots destroyed, can grow into a tree again and Daniel told the king that he could regain his reign over his kingdom if he humbled himself. Daniel advised him: “wipe away your sin by doing righteousness, and your wrongdoings by showing mercy to the poor, in case there may be a prolonging of your prosperity.” (4:27)

Nebuchadnezzar did not heed the warning of the dream for a year. 4: 29 Twelve months later he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon. 30 The king began speaking and was saying, ‘Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the honor of my majesty?’ “Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18). While he was still saying this, a voice told him that he was about to lose his sovereignty and that he would live like an animal for 7 periods until he recognized that it was Yahweh who had made him great. 4:33 Immediately the word concerning Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled; and he was driven away from mankind and began eating grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.”
Notice that 4:34-37 goes back to 1st person. 4:34 “But at the end of that period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever; for His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
and His kingdom endures from generation to generation. 4:36 At that time my reason returned to me. And my majesty and splendor were restored to me for the honor of my kingdom, and my state counselors and my nobles began seeking me out; so I was reestablished in my sovereignty, and surpassing greatness was added to me. 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt, and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just; and He is able to humble those who walk in pride.” He learned his lesson the hard way! But he did learn his lesson and gave God the glory for his greatness as king of Babylon. He resumed his sovereignty and completed his 43 year reign. Did he quit worshipping the god Marduk, the patron deity of Babylon, after this? Did he have faith in the one true God, Yahweh? Did he ever lose that faith in God? Did he repent of his cruelty to Judah and the kings of Judah? Did he repent of his cruelty to many nations? Did he repent of making the golden image and requiring everyone to bow down and worship the image and the king (Daniel 3). Did he repent of throwing the 3 Hebrew lads in the fire? After that incident, he did make a decree that anyone who blasphemed the god of the Hebrews would be punished, but there is not mention of his person faith in their god. I wish we knew how his story ended.

On a side note, a lot of the book of Daniel is written by Daniel using the 1st person, “I Daniel ….”. There is a short video, “My name is Daniel and this is my story” by Holy Tales on youtube if you want to watch it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJc9_Yctz3c Here is a great 12 minute video on Nebuchadnezzar that include a discussioin of Daniel 4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVDYObRu3HM&list=PLQmuFy0bsDto74obQhimrlIb-89175SaV&index=10

As Nebuchadnezzar concluded, God is “able to humble those who walk in pride.” Here is a site that gives verses in the Bible that warn against the sin of pride. https://www.biblestudytools.com/topical-verses/bible-verses-about-pride/

It is so easy for us to be prideful. Most of us have nice homes, good jobs, good money, good retirement, good insurance. We have worked for years and by great effort have achieved a certain level of success. It is so easy to go out on the porch and say, “Look at all that I have achieved; look at my possessions”. It might be then that God strikes us with something bad to humble us! Give God the glory for any success we achieve in life!

Does God still work among nations, to raise up kings and remove them when He wants to? We know he did that with the 4 kingdoms of the statue in Daniel 2 (Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome). That led to the establishment of His church kingdom in the days of the Roman Empire, and of Jesus beginning his reign over that church kingdom (Daniel 7:13) and over all the kingdoms of the world (Revelation 11:15). God’s plan of redemption was wrapped up in 70 AD with the destruction of the temple and the fulfillment of all Old Testament prophecy (Luke 21:22). Did God have a specific plan for nations after 70 AD? Or did he just leave the fate of nations to the freewill of men? Did he leave it mainly to free will and then just intervened occasionally? We don’t know and there are no true prophets who can tell us how God is involved in nations? There is no prophet of God that can tell us why God allowed Hitler to do what he did, or Stalin.

9th-century-BC depiction of the Statue of Marduk, with his servant dragon Mušḫuššu. This was Marduk’s main cult image in Babylon. From wikipedia.

ISAIAH 41-46 God challenges the gods of idols to predict the future

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A CHALLENGE TO THE GODS OF IDOLATRY TO PREDICT THE FUTURE

Isaiah 41:21-29 Isaiah is challenging the pagan gods directly. “Set forth your case”, i.e. defend your existence and reality as if on trial in a courtroom. “Bring your proofs”: what proof do you have that you really are gods? Hinduism, for example, is filled with idols and gods. (AI) “The Hindu trinityThe three gods of the Hindu trinity are Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva: 1) Brahma: The god of creation. 2) Vishnu: The god of preservation, and the supreme deity in Vaishnavism. Vishnu is often depicted sleeping on the serpent Adishesha, a personification of time, while floating on the ocean of milk, Kshira Sagara. 3) Shiva: The god of destruction, who destroys the universe in order to recreate it. Many other gods that they worship to get special blessings: Durga: The goddess of war. Kali: The goddess of time and destruction, and the divine mother. Lakshmi: The goddess of wealth, fortune, and prosperity, and the consort of Vishnu. Indra: The king of the devas and Svarga, and the god of the thunderbolt. Saraswati: The goddess of wisdom. Parvati: The goddess of power. Thousands of other gods.They have the Vedas: (AI) “The oldest and most authoritative Hindu texts, which Hindus believe were revealed by God and not created by humans. The Vedas were passed down orally for generations before being written down.” The Vedas are full of myths: (AI) “Myths found in the Vedas include the creation story of the “Cosmic Man” (Purusha) where the universe is created from the different parts of his body, the story of the earth goddess Prithivi being impregnated by the sky god Dyaus to produce rain, and the myth of the primordial sacrifice where the different social classes (Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras) are born from different parts of Purusha’s body; most of these myths are found in the Rig Veda, the oldest Vedic text.” Hinduism has legendar creatures: Navagunjara: A creature made up of nine different animals. Panchamukhi Hanuman: Hanuman took on a five-faced form to kill Ahiravana. Reachisey: A mythical animal with the head of a lion, the trunk of an elephant, and the body of a dragon. Hinduism has mytholoical stories: The Ramayana: Rama is exiled with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana, but is forced to rescue Sita from the clutches of the king of Lanka, Ravana. Other myths and legends in Hinduism: Mahabalipuram and the God who Sunk Temples. Amritam and the Nectar of Immortality. Lord Rama and his Army of Monkeys. Shesha Naga: The Earthquake-Producing Snake. Vish Kanyas: The Squad of Venomous Female Assassins. Then there is Krishna: Often called Lord Krishna, he is one of the most widely worshiped and popular Hindu deities. Krishna is the eighth avatar (or incarnation) of Vishnu. He was deified in the 5th century and since then has also been worshiped as the supreme god himself. Krishna is the Hindu god of compassion, protection, and love.

Isaiah would challenge all the gods of Hinduism (as well as all the other gods of the pagan world religions): Bring your proof that you really exist, that these myths and legends actually happened in history. So what is the main proof that he challenges them to bring? 41:22 Let them bring them, and tell us what is to happen. Tell us the former things, what they are, that we may consider them, that we may know their outcome; or declare to us the things to come. 23 Tell us what is to come hereafter, that we may know that you are gods; do good, or do harm, that we may be dismayed and terrified. 24 Behold, you are nothing, and your work is less than nothing; an abomination is he who chooses you.” Hinduism has no proof of predictons of the future being fulfilled with 100% accuracy. That was God’s way of proving that He is the one true God of the world, that His prophets were speaking His words, and that their writings were inspired by God. 2 Peter 1:19 “And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

Then Isaiah gives an example of accurately predicting the future. He predicts that: 40:25 “I stirred up one from the north, and he has come, from the rising of the sun, and he shall call upon my name; he shall trample on rulers as on mortar, as the potter treads clay. 26 Who declared it from the beginning, that we might know, and beforehand, that we might say, “He is right”? There was none who declared it, none who proclaimed, none who heard your words.” The “one from the north” is Cyrus, King of Persia. Cyrus the Great ruled Persia from 559–530 BC. He is also the “one from the east” in 41:2 Who stirred up one from the east whom victory meets at every step? He gives up nations before him, so that he tramples kings underfoot; he makes them like dust with his sword, like driven stubble with his bow.” Persia was to the northeast of Palestine. Daniel 5 tells of the handwriting on the wall that foretold the fall of Belshazzar’s Babylonian kingdom. Daniel 5:30 That very night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed. 31  And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.” Darius I ruled the Medo-Persian Empire from 522-486 BC, so he could not be the man mentioned here in 539 BC.(AI) “Darius the Mede is mentioned in the Book of Daniel as King of Babylon between Belshazzar and Cyrus the Great, but he is not known to secular history and there is no space in the historical timeline between those two verified rulers.” We leave that debate to scholars. Here is an article that gives 2 options to explain this: https://www.evidenceunseen.com/bible-difficulties-2/ot-difficulties/daniel-amos/dan-531-who-is-darius-the-mede/ It was Cyrus the Persian who took the city of Babylon. (AI) “The Babylonians had prepared themselves for a siege but the Persians diverted the river Euphrates to get into the city. Babylon was surrendered to Cyrus without a fight. Cyrus gave battle against the army of Akkad (Babylon). He defeated them and slaughtered the people.” Cyrus is the king who, after defeating the Babylonians in 539 BC, allowed the Israelites in Babylonian captivity to return to rebuild the temple that Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed in 586 BC. Ezra 1:1 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing:” It then goes on to say that he allowed the Jews to return and for the Babylonians to give them silver, gold, and all the supplies they needed for the long trip and to rebuild the temple.

The amazing thing about this prediction about Cyrus is that is was made about 150 years before it would be fulfilled, about 100 years before Cyrus was even born! You can see why Isaiah 41:25 says that the prediction concerning Cyrus was a great proof that YHWH was the one true God, as oposed to the false pagan gods who could not predict the future (the challenge Isaiah gave to them). You can see why the “liberals” say that Isaiah could not possibly have predicted this since they believe no one can predict the future with 100% accuracy. Here is a good discussion of the topic. https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/75073/what-evidence-is-used-to-support-the-claim-that-isaiah-was-written-before-the-re Basically, the Jews accepted the full book of Isaiah as the product of the prophet Isaiah in the 8th century BC. They were the ones entrusted by God with collecting the inspired scrolls in the old testament. Romans 3:1 Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? 2 Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God.” (AI) The entire Book of Isaiah, including chapters 40-66, is considered part of the Jewish scriptures. While the entire book is included, scholars often divide Isaiah into sections like “Proto-Isaiah” (chapters 1-39) and “Deutero-Isaiah” (chapters 40-66) based on stylistic differences and potential authorship variations.” You can see why they might question the authorship of chapters 40-66 since they would not believe that Isaiah 53 is predicting Jesus the Messiah. So, did the Jews believe that Isaiah’s prediction about Cyrus was written before Cyrus was born? (AI) Yes, Jews traditionally believe that the prophet Isaiah predicted the rise of Cyrus, the Persian king who allowed the Jews to return from exile in Babylon, even mentioning him by name in his prophecies, which are considered to have been written significantly before Cyrus’s time; this is seen as a remarkable example of biblical prophecy coming true.” Our best proof that Isaiah did predict about a future Cyrus is that the Jews accepted that to be true. “This prophecy is seen as a powerful testament to God’s sovereignty and ability to guide history through his chosen instruments.” (AI) “There are multiple theories about the authorship of the Book of Isaiah, with some scholars believing that it was written by 3 authors: 1) Proto-Isaiah: Chapters 1–39, written by the original Isaiah. 2) Deutero-Isaiah: Chapters 40–55, written by an anonymous author during the exile. 3) Trito-Isaiah: Chapters 56–66, written by an anonymous author after the exile. Why would the liberals claim 3 authors? (AI) “Many scholars believe the Book of Isaiah was written by multiple authors due to noticeable differences in writing style, historical context, and the time period covered within the text, suggesting that various prophets or editors added to the original work of Isaiah over a significant span of time, particularly with the “Deutero-Isaiah” theory highlighting a distinct section likely written during the Babylonian exile, significantly later than Isaiah’s life.” But the bottom line is that they won’t accept that Isaiah could predict the future with such accuracy! They deny the miraculous prediction of the future by God’s prophets. They start with the assumption that such is just not possible in the natural and scientific realsm (naturalism), and then try to find proof of their assumption, such as “differences in writing style” in the different sections of Isaiah. This called circular reasoning: Circular reasoning is a logical fallacy that occurs when an argument assumes its conclusion is true and uses it as evidence to support itself. “Certain chapters focus more heavily on themes like redemption and restoration, which could reflect a later perspective on the Babylonian exile”. Of course that is true, but so what. The last part of the book (ch 40-66) focuses on the hope of Israel, both the return from Babylonian captivity and the Messianic hope. BTW the Great Isaiah Scroll, a complete Hebrew copy of Isaiah, was found in the Dead Sea Scrolls (discovered in 1947 AD). “The Great Isaiah Scroll, also known as 1QIsa, is dated to around 100 BCE.  The scroll’s date has been determined using radiocarbon dating and palaeographic/scribal dating. The scroll was discovered in 1947 in Cave 1 at Qumran.” This was collected by Jews and is one complete book of Isaiah, all 66 chapters, with no indication of any divisions due to different authors. Again, I’ll go with the Jews on this instead of the naturalists who are looking for reasons to deny the miracles of the Bible!

Before we close the predictions of Cyrus, let’s go to the other verses in Isaiah that predict Cyrus. Isaiah 44:24 “Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: “I am the Lord, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself, 25 who frustrates the signs of liars and makes fools of diviners, who turns wise men back and makes their knowledge foolish, 26 who confirms the word of his servant and fulfills the counsel of his messengers, who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited,’ and of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be built, and I will raise up their ruins’; 27 who says to the deep, ‘Be dry; I will dry up your rivers’;28 who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd, and he shall fulfill all my purpose’; saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built, and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.’”

Again, the prediction of Cyrus, the return from Babylon in 536 BC, and the rebuilding of the temple “confirms the word of His (God’s) servant and fulfills the counsel of His messengers”. But that’s not all! 45:1 “Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed:
2 “I will go before you and level the exalted places, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron, 3 I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places,
that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who call you by your name.” Did you notice, “who call you by your name”? First of all, this prophecy predicts a future destruction and “ruins” of the temple. The temple was destroyed in 586 BC, so this prediction is made over 100 years before the temple is destroyed. Any prediction made by Isaiah in 700 BC of a destruction of the temple to be fulfilled in 586 BC would be blasphemy to the Jews, but Isaiah made it. Then it predicts a “raising up” of the ruins of the destroyed temple, made possible by King Cyrus which necessitates the return of the Jews from Babylon as part of the prediction. . That prediction was fulfilled in 536 BC, over 160 years before it happened, 100 years before Cyrus was born. That’s impressive. But get this! He then “calls you by your name” (45:3). Just to predict the destruction of the temple and the return to rebuild it to be fulfilled 100-160 years in the future is amazing. But to name the king who will allow them to return? To actually call him by name 100 years before he is born!!!!!!!!!! No wonder the liberals reject these predictions of Isaiah.

One last prediction made by Isaiah about Cyrus is Isaiah 46:8 “Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors, 9   remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, 10 declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’ 11 calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.” This “bird from the east” must again refer to Cyrus. God predicted about Cryus and God would “accomplish His purposes for raising up Cyrus”, thus proving He is God by fulfilling prophecy (again).

We could give many examples of fulfilled prophecies of the Bible to prove that the God who inspired his messengers the prophets to make those predictions is the one true God, YHWH (also confirming the messengers to be inspired, 44:26). Isaiah himself in the first part of the book (ch 1-39) predicted the fall of Assyria to the Babylonians (612 BC, 90 years in the future) and the fall of Babylon to the Medes (Isaiah 13:17 Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them) and Persians (539 BC, 160 years in the future). We can go to Jeremiah who predicts the rise of the Medes and the fall of Babylon to the Medes (Jeremiah 50 and 51). We can go to Daniel who predicts the kingdoms in order of Babylon, Medo-Persians, Grecians, and Rome in Daniel 2. The prediction about the Grecian kingdom was made over 200 years before it happened, and the Roman prediction was 500 years in the future. . He even names the Medo-Persian and the Grecian kingdoms in Daniel 7,8. He even says that the Grecian kingdom will have a conspicuous horn (Alexander the Great) and that horn will be broken into 4 lesser kingdoms (the Grecian kingdom was divided among his 4 generals after his death). That prediction was made over 200 years before Alexander the Great conquered Persia in 336 BC and before his death in 323 BC. The prediction about the horn and its breaking up into 4 kingdoms is just an amazing prediction that the liberals say could not be predicted (same logic used as on Isaiah’s predictions).

Ezekiel 26 predicts the siege of Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar with its towers and walls broken down and cast into the sea (Tyre lies on the east coast of the Mediterranian Sea. Some have questioned the accuracy of this prophecy b/c Nebuchadnezzar did not destroy the city and throw it in the sea. We think it was accurate but divided into two predictions. Tyre is divided into two sections: part of it is on the mainland, and part of it is an island.At one point, Nebuchadnezzar had plundered the mainland part of Tyre. Quite a while later, Alexander conquered island Tyre. But how did that happen? Basically, there is a natural “land bridge” between island Tyre and the mainland that is about three feet below the water. So Alexander had his men take the ruins from “Old Tyre” (on the mainland) and throw it into the sea so they could walk across! So it was fulfilled just as Ezekiel predicted. Here is an article that discusses all that. https://biblearchaeology.org/research/divided-kingdom/3304-ezekiel-26114-a-proof-text-for-inerrancy-or-fallibility-of-the-old-testament Amos 1:9-10 (800 BC) also predicts that Tyre’s fortresses would fall. Ezekiel 29:15 predicted that Egypt would never again be an empire ruling over other nations. At the Battle of Carchemish in 605 BC, Nebuchadnezzar inflicted a crushing defeat on an Egyptian army led by Pharaoh Necho II, and ensured that the Neo-Babylonian Empire would succeed the Neo-Assyrian Empire as the dominant power in the ancient Near East. Cyrus’ son Cambyses II conquered Egypt in 525 BCE. Cambyses’s conquest was the major achievement of his reign.  Ezekiel 25:1-17: Contains prophecies against Ammon, Moab, Edom, Philistia, Tyre, and Sidon, all of which were fulfilled by Babylon invading those nations.

Isaiah 44:6-7 gives the same challenge. 44:6 Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god. 7 Who is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and set it before me, since I appointed an ancient people. Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen.”

Isaiah 45:21 gives this same challenge to predict the future. “Declare and present your case; let them take counsel together! Who told this long ago? Who declared it of old? Was it not I, the Lord? And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me.”

Isaiah 48 has the same stuff. 48:3 “The former things I declared of old; they went out from my mouth, and I announced them; then suddenly I did them, and they came to pass. 4 Because I know that you are obstinate, and your neck is an iron sinew and your forehead brass, 5 I declared them to you from of old,
before they came to pass I announced them to you, lest you should say, ‘My idol did them, my carved image and my metal image commanded them.” An intesting added thought here. God predicted the future so that you could see that it was YHWH who made it come to pass, and not the idols.

Many other examples could be given, but I hope that these examples are sufficient. God “set forth his case (41:21) that He is the only one true God, proved by predicting the future with 100% accuracy. Of course we could add all the Messianic predictions. See my blog article “Isaiah Messianic Prophet” for the Messianic predictions given just by Isaiah along. Isaiah 42:1-3 and 45:1-5 are Messianic and covered in the blog article “Isaiah Messianic Prophet” so they are not included in this blog.

I hope you enjoyed this article.

AgainAA


DANIEL 1-6

On By nrfaughtLeave a comment

The first 6 chapters of Daniel are mainly historical with some great lessons. I will try to give a brief summary of each chapter and then some lessons from each chapter.

Introduction

Daniel was carried captive as a young boy to Babylon in the 1st deportation in 605 BC by Nebuchadnezzar during the reign of Jehoiakim, King of Judah. He lived the entire 70 years of captivity in Babylon as he deals with 2 kings of Babylon: Nebuchadnezzar (ch 1-4), and Belshazzar, the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar (ch 5, 7, 8) and after the fall of Babylon in 539 BC with Darius the Mede (ch 5, 6,9,11) and Cyrus the Great (559-530 BC) the Persian king (ch 10). Daniel as the author of this book was not questioned until Porphyry (260 AD) based on his belief that miracles like predicting the future like Daniel did in Daniel 2 were not possible and therefore he concluded that the book was written after the events “predicted” in Daniel had already occurred, probably by some Jew in 164 BC during the Maccabean period. The Jews were entrusted by God with collecting inspired prophetic writings (Romans 3:1-2) and accepted the book of Daniel into the OT canon. Many of Daniel’s predictions are fulfilled in 70 AD with the destruction of the temple by the Romans. That would negate Porphyry’s arguments since he said it was written in 164 BC.

Chapter 1

Daniel and his 3 friends are chosen for special training but refuse the choice food and wine (probably some meats unclean to the Jews). Daniel asked to be tested for 10 days without the food, and at the end their appearance was better than the other youths who had eaten the food. 1:17 these 4 boys were very intelligent, and Daniel could understand visions and dreams.

From Bible Fun For Kids

  1. Use the intelligence and gifts that God has given you to make the best of bad circumstances (captivity in Babylon). That allows God to use you to fulfill His plans, just as He did with Daniel.

2. Have your convictions and hold fast to them even when the world puts pressure on you to violate your conscience. That means you must have convictions on moral issues based on the Bible. Too many people really don’t care about what is right and wrong. They don’t stand for anything and they don’t stand up for anything. They compromise what few convictions they have under social pressure.

Chapter 2

The Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar had a terrifying dream. Wisely, he demanded that his “wise men” (2:2) tell him what the dream was and its interpretation or they would all be killed. They couldn’t, so he sent orders to kill all of them, which would have included Daniel and his 3 friends. Daniel asked the king for time. The mystery was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. Daniel told him exactly what he saw in the dream. See the picture of the statue. He gave God the glory for enabling him to interpret the dream. He said the statue represented 4 consecutive kingdoms, with Babylon being the head. In the days of the 4th kingdom (the legs of iron and feet of iron and clay), God would set up his kingdom that would endure forever (2:44,45). Nebuchadnezzar glorified God and promoted Daniel.

From Goodsalt images

  1. The amazing providence of God. God is giving Nebuchadnezzar this dream, and then using Daniel to interpret the dream and enhance his position in Babylon. Daniel will then work with Belshazzar, Darius, and Cyrus over the next 70 years of captivity to bring a remnant back from Babylon just as He had promised in Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. Sieze every opportunity to use your God-given gifts to help God work out His plans.

2. The amazing prophecies of God. Predicting the future was God’s way of proving His existence. Can you imagine trying to accurately predict the major world powers over the next 600 years? How does God allow freedom of will and yet control who the world powers will be? But He somehow does that! Isaiah challenges the false gods of Canaan to predict the future to prove they are real.

How do we identify these 4 kingdoms in the statue.

1) Daniel tells Nebuchadnezzar that Babylon is the head of gold (605-539 BC).

2) The Medo-Persians (539-331 BC) conquered Babylon in 539 BC and would be the chest of silver in the statue. Ch 8 will verify by name the Medo-Persians as the 2nd kingdom. They diverted the river flowing through Babylon and enterd secretly on the dry river bed and entered the city, conquering it as Belshazzaar (the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar) was hosting a fiest to honor the gods of wine and gold (Ch 5). It says that night Darius took the city.

3) Alexander the Great and the Greeks conquered the Persians in 331 BC and ruled the world till 168 BC. Ch 8 will verify the Grecian Empire by name as the thighs of bronze in the statue.

4) The Roman Empire (168BC-476AD) will be the legs of iron. We know this b/c Daniel 2:44-45 says that in this 4th empire that God would set up his kingdom. Jesus came preaching that the “kingdom of heaven is at hand” (the same kingdom predicted in Daniel 2:44-45). Mark 9:1 Jesus said that some of those listening to him would still be alive to see him coming in his kiingdom. Mt 16:18-19 Jesus told Peter, “upon this rock I will build my church…I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven”. Peter used those keys to open the kingdom to those 3,000 baptized in Acts 2 and they were added to the church, the spiritual body of Christ. The kingdom at hand was the church kingdom established in the book of Acts in the 1st century. Rome was the world power when Jesus said that, so Rome would have to be the 4th kingdom legs of iron that was ruling the world when that prediction was fulfilled.

A stone would crush all the kingdoms. That stone is Jesus. He did not physically destroy Rome or the other 3 kingdoms that no longer existed when he was on earth. His kingdom of Daniel 2:44-45 was a spiritual kingdom, the church. He said that his kingdom was “not of this world”. But Jesus did destroy the demonic princes that control all worldly kingdoms. This fulfilled Daniel 7:13 13 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. 14 And to him (Jesus) was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. .Revelation 11:15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” 

From wvbs world video bible school

Chapter 3

Nebuchadnezzar set up a golden image. At the sound of the music playing, anyone who did not bow down to worship the image would be thrown into a fiery furnace. Daniel’s 3 friends do not obey. They are brought before the king who gives them one last chance to obey. Their answer: “we don’t need to give you an answer; if it be so, God will deliver us from the fiery furnace; if not, we will not worship the image” (3:16-18). The king heated the fire 7 times and had them thrown in. The king was astounded when he saw 4 men in the fire, without harm, and told the 3 friends to come out. Their hair was not even singed! The king glorified God again, as in 2:46f.

From mcbi.org

  1. The amazing courage and convictions of these 3 boys. They are ready to die for their faith and convictions even if God chooses not to save them from the firre. Would I be willing to die for my faith just as many martyrs have done over the last 2,000 years? Will I compromise my faith in the one true God when pressured by our secular society that. worships many gods.

2. There is also a lesson here on answered prayer. “If you save us, God, that’s great. But if you don’t, that’s great also. Whatever your will is and whatever is best.” God can always answer that prayer “yes”. Jesus prayed that way. “if possible let this cup of suffering pass; if not, thy will be done”. Always leave your prayers totally content with however God grants or doesn’t grant your requests.

Chapter 4

Nebuchadnezzar had another frightful dream but the wise men could not interpret it. Daniel did. In the dream there was a great, high, strong tree, but a holy one said to chop down the tree leaving only the stump. The stump (a person) would live in the fields like an animal and lose his mind for 7 periods until he learns that the Most High God (of Israel) rules over all mankind, and bestows power on whomever he chooses to (4:25; 2:21). Daniel told the king that this tree/stump referred to him. He advised him to break away from his sins by showing mercy to the poor (apparently a big flaw with the king) (4:27). The king apparently did not repent, and 12 months later he was walking on his roof and said, “Is this not Babylon the great which I myself have built by the might of my power for the glory of my majesty?” A voice immediately said that the prediction of the dream would now come true. He ate grass like the cattle, and his hair grew like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws (4:33). At the end of the 7 periods, his reason returned to him and he praised God (again) (4:34,35).

  1. God is in control of the world. He appoints and removes rulers. He certainly did that as He fulfilled the predictons of the next 4 empires in the statue of ch 2. Perhaps He allows more freewill in kingdom formations after the Roman Empire, but He can certainly step in and appoint or remove rulers any time He wants to. We do wonder why He didn’t step in and miraculously stop Hitler and other tyrant dictators, which means that He allows freewill more after the Roman Empire.

2. The danger of pride and boasting. Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. James 4:6 “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” James warned about the “pride of life”. In America we are so blessed with material things. We can work hard and gain many material things as well as prestige and power. It is easy to be lifted up with pride and feel that we have done great things, and forget God. God told Israel: Deuteronomy 8:11 “Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, 12 lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, 13 and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, 15 who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock, 16 who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end. 17 Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ 18 You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth….

Chapter 5

Belshazzar 556-536 BC, the 5th king from Nebuchadnezzar (605-562 BC), held a drunken feast for 1000 of his nobles, brought out the gold vessels taken from the temple in Jerusalem in 586 BC, and praised the gods of gold, silver, etc. Suddenly a man’s fingers wrote on the wall, and his joints went slack and his knees began knocking. His wise men could not interpret the writing on the wall. The queen told him about Daniel who had a reputation for interpreting dreams, explaining enigmas, and solving difficult problems (5:12). Daniel was brought before the king. Daniel scolded the king. He said that Belshazzar knew how God had humbled Nebuchadnezzar to become like an animal, and yet Belshazzar had not humbled his heart (5:22) as evidenced by his actions at the feast. Daniel then told him what the words meant: MENE: God has numbered your kingdom and put it to an end; TEKEL: you have been weighed on the scales and found deficient; PERES: your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians. That night Belshazzar was slain and Darius the Mede was given the kingdom at the age of 62. Jewish sources say Darius the Mede was the uncle and father-in-law of Cyrus and Josephus says he was a “relative”. Cyrus subjected the Medes in 559 BC but appointed a ruler named Gubaru (Darius the Mede) to rule in Babylon (maybe not a king like Cyrus). Historical records say Gubaru (Darius) and Cyrus both had a part in conquering Babylon. This fits Daniel 5:30-31 which describes the fall of Babylon under its last king, Belshazzar to Darius the Mede when he was 62. Herodutus says that Cyrus diverted the Euphrates River so his men could walk under the bars extending down into the river as it flowed through the city and they caught the Babylonians in a drunken feast (as described in Belshazzar’s feast in Daniel 5 on the night the city fell.

Belshazzar was last king of Babylon (co-regent with Nabonidus) (556-539 BC). The story in ch 6 would have occurred in 539 BC, as the predicted 70 years of captivity was coming to an end (606-536 BC). Notice that Isaiah predicted that Cyrus would let the Jews return at the end of the 70 years (Is 44:28; 45:1), so there had to be a switch from Babylon as the world power to the Medes/Persians, and there was in 539 BC.

  1. Are we worshipping the gods of gold, silver, money, material possessions like Belshazzaar did? Maybe we don’t make golden images like Nebuchadnezzaar did, but do we have idols that we put before God in our affection, time, and money? Remember John’s words in 1 John 5:21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Covetousness or greed is a major sin in affluent American churches. Ephesians 5:5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater) has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

Chapter 6

Belshazzar was last king of Babylon (co-regent with Nabonidus) (556-539 BC). The story in ch 6 would have occurred in 539 BC, as the predicted 70 years of captivity was coming to an end (606-536 BC). Notice that Isaiah predicted that Cyrus would let the Jews return at the end of the 70 years (Is 44:28; 45:1), so there had to be a switch from Babylon as the world power to the Medes/Persians, and there was in 539 BC.

This story occurred between 539-536 BC after Darius the Mede (Gubaru) had taken the city of Babylon in the name of Cyrus the Great. Darius’ 120 satraps wanted to tried to find some wrongdoing in government affairs to accuse Daniel of, but could find nothing. So they attacked his religious devotion. They persuaded the king to issue a decree that, for 30 days, anyone who anyone who prayed to a god or man other than the king would be thrown in the lions’ den. Daniel knew about the decree, but continued to pray from an open roof chamber window toward Jerusalem 3 times every day. The satraps brought Daniel before the king, which distressed the king who did not want to kill Daniel. The king was forced to have Daniel cast into the lions’ den, and spent the night fasting, sleepless. He came to the den the next morning and said, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God been able to deliver you from the lions”? Daniel said, “O king, live forever! My God has sent an angel to shut the lions’ mouths”. The king was pleased and ordered Daniel’s accusers to be thrown into the lions’ den along with their families (6:24). The king then praised the God of Daniel. “So Daniel enjoyed success in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian” (6:28). We don’t know where or how Daniel died, but probably in Babylon since he did not return with the returnees.

The 2nd image is from Jessica Lassitter.

  1. If your enemies wanted to attack your religious devotion, would they be able to find spiritual habit you are doing regularly to attack you with? This happens overseas in persecuted countries all the time as believers are arrested for passing out Bibles, preaching, evangelizing, etc. Many of us would be afraid to pass out Bibles if we knew we were going to be arrested.

2. Give examples where even in the U.S. the government is taking away religous liberty and freedom. The baker in Texas who refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple was sued. You can’t choose to not rent your rental house to a gay couple. Will the government ever step in into our private Christian schools and force us to hire gay teachers or to have trans bathrooms? How will we handle all that?

3. God saved Daniel from martyrdom. He did not save Polycarp and many other martyrs who died in the Roman arenas or was burned at the stake (John Huss). Foxes Book of Martyrs tell of many such martyrs. Would I be willing to die for my faith? Daniel could have stopped praying each day and kept from being thrown into the lions’ den, but he didn’t.

That concludes the study of the historical part of Daniel, chapters 1-6. A 2nd blog will examine the visions and dreams in chapters 7-12.