Beast of Revelation.pdf - Friends of the Sabbath Australia

Chapter 2
Within hours, Cyrus’army totally overran the city. The Euphrates
River, which flowed into Babylon underneath mammoth gates, had
been diverted by a canal several hours earlier. And so, in the dark,
predawn hours, Persian troops waded into the city through the mostly
drained riverbed. Isaiah had prophesied Cyrus’ amazing victory
almost two centuries earlier (Is. 45:1–4)! Before sunrise, Babylon lay
conquered and King Belshazzar had been executed.
Setting the Stage
That evening and the next day, Daniel’s mind must inevitably
have wandered back to events from some 65 years earlier. In 604
B.C., the Chaldean army under Nebuchadnezzar had swept into
Judah and captured the city of Jerusalem, reducing Judah to a tributary
state. Many children of prominent Jewish families, including
Daniel himself, were taken captive to Babylon. During the decades
that followed, Daniel rose to high positions in the Babylonian government
(Dan. 2:48; 5:29). The God of Israel, whom he continued to
serve faithfully, gave him many visions and interpretations of visions,
which he recorded in the book of the Bible bearing his name.
Let’s look carefully at the prophetic outline of world events
that God inspired him to record. As will become obvious, the
Bible interprets itself, and Daniel is pivotal to understanding the
book of Revelation and other end-time prophecy.
In Daniel 2, Nebuchadnezzar had a troubling dream that he
wanted his court magicians and astrologers to explain to him. But
before he would hear their interpretation of it, he required them to
first tell him what he had dreamed. Of course, they could not.
Finally Daniel came to the king and explained that there is a God in
heaven who reveals secrets and would reveal not only the dream
itself, but the interpretation as well (v. 28).
Daniel then explained that the dream was of a great image rising
above the plains of Shinar. This mammoth human form had a
head of gold, arms and chest of silver, belly and thighs of bronze,
legs of iron and feet of iron mixed with ceramic clay (vv. 31–33).
Finally, in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, a great stone of supernatural
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