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"This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation of it before the king. You, O king, are king of kings, to whom the Elah of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory; and wherever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens has he given into your hand, and has made you to rule over them all: you are the head of gold. And after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to you; and another third kingdom of bronze, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron, because iron breaks in pieces and subdues all things; and as iron that crushes all these, shall it break in pieces and crush. And whereas you saw the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, because you saw the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. And whereas you saw the iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men; but they shall not cling one to another, even as iron does not mingle with clay. And in the days of those kings shall the Elah of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall the sovereignty of it be left to another people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Because you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great Elah has made known to the king what shall come to pass after this: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation of it sure." (Daniel 2:36–45).

"Now the queen by reason of the words of the king and his rulers came into the banquet house: the queen spoke and said, O king, live forever; let not your thoughts trouble you, nor let your countenance be changed: there is a man in your kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy elohim; and in the days of your father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the elohim, were found in him; and the king Nebuchadnezzar your father, the king, I say, your father, made him master of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and soothsayers; because an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and showing of dark sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation.

"Then was Daniel brought in before the king. The king spoke and said to Daniel, Are you that Daniel, who are of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Judah? I have heard of you, that the spirit of the elohim is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. And now the wise men, the enchanters, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing, and make known to me the interpretation of it; but they could not show the interpretation of the thing. But I have heard of you, that you can give interpretations, and dissolve doubts: now if you can read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation of it, you shalt be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about your neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.

"Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let your gifts be to yourself, and give your rewards to another; nevertheless I will read the writing to the king, and make known to him the interpretation. O you king, the Most High Elah gave Nebuchadnezzar your father the kingdom, and greatness, and glory, and majesty: and because of the greatness that he gave him, all the peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him: whom he would he killed, and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he raised up, and whom he would he put down. But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him: and he was driven from the sons of men, and his heart was made like beasts’, and his dwelling was with the wild asses; he was fed with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; until he knew that the Most High Elah rules in the kingdom of men, and that he sets up over it whomever he will. And you his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, but have lifted up yourself against the Elah of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before you, and you and your rulers, your wives and your concubines, have drunk wine from them; and you have praised the elohim of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know; and the Elah in whose hand your breath is, and whose are all your ways, have you not glorified: then was the part of the hand sent from before him, and this writing was inscribed.

"And this is the writing that was inscribed: mene, mene, tekel, upharsin. This is the interpretation of the thing: mene; Elah has numbered your kingdom, and brought it to an end. tekel, you are weighed in the balances, and are found wanting. peres; your kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians." (Daniel 5:10–28).

"And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and Babylon the great was remembered in the sight of Yahweh, to give to her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found." (Revelation 16:19–20).

In our time the significance of news reports that appear in the media cannot be understood by worldly people. People sense that something is wrong in this modern world. They sense that the world is adrift and there seems to be no stopping the decline as this world continues to skid downward along the slippery slope toward oblivion. The average individual senses that something is definitely wrong, but they cannot comprehend or interpret the meaning of what is going on all around them.

The reason for this perplexity among the people of the world is that worldly religion does not accept, nor do they understand, the vital importance of Bible prophecy. "And there shall be signs in sun and moon and stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, in perplexity for the roaring of the sea and the billows; men fainting for fear, and for expectation of the things which are coming on the world: for the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these things begin to come to pass, look up, and lift up your heads; because your redemption draws near." (Luke 21:25–28).

The Metallic Image Dream

When we consider the prophecy of Daniel chapter 2, it becomes apparent that the dream featuring the metallic image was intended to show a progression of world-ruling empires leading down to the Second Coming of Yahshua the Messiah. The prophet Daniel, in his dream interpretation, tells King Nebuchadnezzar that he represents the head of gold (verse 38).

Let us understand that the head serves as the part of the body that does the thinking; therefore, we must conclude that the confused thinking process of the world ruling empires will continue right down to the last days. This golden head of thinking is concerned with economics and money. Right up to the end of the age, the system of Babylon of Revelation 18 continues to concentrate its attention upon wealth—material possessions. Notice Revelation 18:12. "…Merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stone, and pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet; and all citron wood, and every vessel of ivory, and every vessel made of most precious wood, and of copper, and iron, and marble…" Gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls are still in worldwide use today to symbolize wealth and material possessions.

Babylon Means Confusion

1 Corinthians 14:33 reads, "for Yahweh is not an Elohim of confusion, but of peace." In this verse, the term for peace in the Greek text is eirene which would translate the Hebrew term shalom. When we consider the Hebrew term shalom, #7965 in the Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible’s Hebrew and Chaldee dictionary, we find that it is derived from the root, #7999, shalam, which means "to be safe…fig. to be (caus. make) completed." The word shalom then has the connotation of being complete and absolute without being fragmented. Babylon, on the other hand, was where Yahweh confused the languages, and therefore, it has the connotation of confusion since the people of the earth were divided (Genesis 11).

Confusion means "(a) a state of disorder (b) bewilderment…(d) failure to distinguish between things."

In order for this world to be changed to conform to Biblical principles of righteousness, the thinking process of each individual on earth must be changed. In order for a correct and proper change to take place it will require a total change of the psyche, the innermost soul of the person. This requires a complete change of heart, of attitude, and of mind. Before anyone from this Babylonish system can ever become a member of the Kingdom of Yahweh, he or she must accomplish a complete change of direction. The entire human race cannot make such a profound change; therefore, most people cannot be accepted into Yahweh’s Kingdom age.

An Example of Babylon

As this section of the "Prophetic Trends" is being written, another day of infamy has occurred! On the morning of September 11, a highjacked American Airlines plane was deliberately flown at high speed into the New York City World Trade Center Tower One. The building immediately caught on fire. About 20 minutes later another hijacked plane was flown directly into Tower Two of the Trade Center. It too burst into flames. Then, just about half an hour later, a third highjacked plane was deliberately crashed into the Pentagon building outside Washington, D.C.

As the editor watched the unfolding scenes on television, it was a day filled with horrific sights. To see these planes used as bombs, while humans inside committed suicide in the act, and many other humans died, brought a feeling of rage, and revulsion. Then the news media released word that a fourth highjacked plane had been deliberately flown into the ground near Somerset, Pennsylvania. Apparently this plane was intended to be crashed into Camp David or some other target in the Washingon, D.C. area.

"And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come forth, my people, out of her, that you have no fellowship with her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues: for her sins have reached even to heaven, and Yahweh has remembered her iniquities." (Revelation 18:2–5).

Some of the prophecies of Babylon in the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament) are intended to be understood in their literal sense. The prophet uses similar language in Jeremiah 51:6–7, "Flee out of the middle of Babylon, and save every man his life; be not cut off in her iniquity: for it is the time of Yahweh’s vengeance; he will render to her a recompense. Babylon has been a golden cup in Yahweh’s hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunk of her wine; therefore the nations are mad."

However, the prophecy of Revelation 18:3–4, is intended to be understood in a spiritual sense. Soon Yahweh’s Kingdom will reign supreme on earth in the form of His Son, Yahshua the Messiah. "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." (Daniel 7:21–22).

"And the seventh angel sounded; and there followed great voices in heaven, and they said, the kingdom of the world is become the kingdom of our Yahweh, and of his Messiah: and he shall reign forever and ever." (Revelation 11:15).

An invitation has been extended for all humans to be in that coming Kingdom. Will you be there? In order to be accepted you must prove to Almighty Yahweh that you will live the Kingdom way of life. Why not begin to do so right now?