Value of Israeli Stock Reaches Record High!

It would seem that some Stock in Israel is making a huge surge in value. The time to investigate and buy into it is now! Unlike the stock market disclaimers formulated by some sophisticated lawyers on Wall Street, it would be fairly reasonable to say that where Prophecy is concerned that “past performance is indeed indicative of future performance.” That is, if the Scriptures give utterance to prophetic prediction and that prediction comes true then some degree of credibility may be given it. If more and more prophetic predictions are given and still more come true then the value of Scriptural Stock goes up. If, of course, the reverse is true then the value of that stock goes down. Lets examine the Scriptural stock of the Jews and see if it is worth the paper that it is written on.

Lets start by examining one of the more extensive Prophetic Books of the Old Testament. We begin at the Book of Daniel. According to the Jewish Scriptures Daniel is a young Jew that is taken captive along with his nation by the conquering armies of Babylon. In the first Chapter of Daniel we find that Daniel is living in a school specially designed to teach the best students the mysteries of science and the ways of the Babylonian Kingdom. Daniel and other young Jews are being indoctrinated into the Babylonian ways by authority of King Nebuchadnezzer. They are even given new Babylonian names by the king. After three years of instruction and indoctrination Daniel is taken before the King and his knowledge is tested. Scripture says that Daniel and his Hebrew friends were found “ten times wiser than all the wise men of Babylon.” (Dan1:20). From henceforth Daniel and his comrades are labeled among the wisest men of the Babylonian kingdom.

In the second chapter of the Book of Daniel, we find one of the most dramatic and straightforward prophecies in the Scriptures regarding the successive coming kingdoms upon the Earth. Here, Scripture predicts the rise and fall of powerful earthly nations, beginning in Babylon's day and supposedly all the way to the end of time.

In Daniel 2:1, King Nebuchadnezzer has a dream. The dream is so intense that he wakes up completely startled, his heart racing. However, for some strange reason he can not remember what he had dreamed. He is agitated and troubled. Something is telling him that this dream is of vital importance and so he calls for his magicians and astrologers and demands to know what he had dreamed, and the interpretation of that dream. Of course this is completely impossible, and as the so-called wise men discussed this, the king became aware that he had a bunch of worthless pretenders in his midst: men who claimed to know spiritual secrets who were now shown to be no more than complete frauds when tested by the King. Enraged King Nebuchadnezzer decides to kill them all (verse 12). The captain of his army then gathered these men together, and then they came to get Daniel because Daniel was also numbered as one of the wise men. Daniel was surprised at such a hasty decree by the king and he quickly went to ask of the King for time to consider the king’s dream (verse 16). The King grants Daniel the time and Daniel goes home to pray to God for wisdom. As Daniel prays, God apparently reveals the king’s entire vision to him during the night (verse 19), after which Daniel goes back to the king to show him what God has revealed.

Now we pick up the story with Daniel standing in the presence of King Nebuchadnezzer in verses 26-27, "The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof?" Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king?" Here Daniel pokes fun and speaks lightly of the king's astrologers and soothsayers, revealing their inability and ways as pure foolishness. In verses 28-29 Daniel then gives credit to God. "But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these; As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and He that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass."

Note that Daniel says this vision is for "latter days." Daniel now reveals the dream and its meaning to the king:

Verses 31-36, "Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken into pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king."

Notice that Daniel says “we” will tell the interpretation. Here Daniel is clearly stating that this knowledge that he has is from God and the credit is due to God and His Providence. Daniel is humble and takes no credit to himself for what God has revealed. Next the Scriptures interpret the dream and tell us what the head of gold. symbolizes? Verses 37-38, "Thou, o king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of Gold"

Daniel says that Nebuchadnezzer and the Babylonian Kingdom is the first kingdom symbolized in the vision; the kingdom of Gold. In examining this prophecy we must ask did Babylon exist and during what period? Any encyclopedia will give us the answer of this question as a fact of history. Clearly Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian kingdom ruled from 605 B.C to 538 B.C. It is recorded as being a kingdom filled and adorned with gold. Many of its buildings and temples glistened with the rare metal and radiated the rays of the sun in honor of the pagan sun god. The recorded history indicates that the Scriptures are at least accurate in naming Babylon as a real kingdom and Nebuchadnezzer a real King. So it is reasonable to assume that Daniel is a real person who lived in a real kingdom some 2500 years ago in a place called Babylon.

As Daniel continues we ask, so what do the breast and arms of silver represent? Daniel 2: 39 (first half), "And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee." The Breast and arms of silver represent a kingdom that will arise after Babylon.

Examining the historical record we find that the Kingdom that conquered Babylon was Medo-Persia. Medo-Persia overthrew Babylon in 538 B.C. and ruled until 331 B.C. Nearly all encyclopedias agree that Babylon was overthrown by Medo-Persia. In fact, we will examine a little later another Prophecy of the Jewish Scriptures whereby the name of the general that conquered Babylon was given by a Jewish Prophet and the unique method used to defeat Babylon was revealed some 120 years in advance of the historical event. Like silver is inferior to gold, Medo-Persia was inferior to Babylon. It was seen that the Medes and the Persians were lesser in riches and abundance among the people in comparison to the Babylonians. Upon conquering Babylon this condition did not improve.

Next, in the vision are the belly and thighs of brass. Verse 39 (last part), "and another third kingdom of brass, … shall bear rule over all the earth." History records that the third kingdom to rule the then known world was Greece. The historic record shows that under Alexander the Great, the Greeks quickly conquered Medo-Persia in 331 B.C. with a vastly extended empire and ruled until 168 B.C. As brass is inferior to silver so the kingdom of Greece, being stretched thin across the continents of Asia, Europe and north Africa, was inferior in the quality of life sustainable for the people to that of the Medes and Persians.

Next, we examine Daniel’s fourth prediction one that speaks of the metal iron. Verse 40, "And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise."

The fourth earthly kingdom found in the vision was Rome. It is a clear fact of History, acknowledged in any encyclopedia that Rome defeated Greece and ruled from 168 B. C. to 476 AD Rome was a powerful kingdom that for over 600 years ruled the world. Rome made use of iron in shields, swords and all manner of implements for warfare. In fact Rome is still known by historians as the Iron Kingdom. As Iron is inferior to Brass the Roman kingdom took riches and luxury for itself to the ruling class and left for the populace a state barely above poverty for the masses in a vastly extended empire that stretched from Asia Minor all the way to the British Isles.

In perfect fulfillment, predicted hundreds of years in advance, a Jewish Prophet by the name of Daniel foretold the rise and fall of world empires some 2500 years ago. We can look back and see today that there have only been these four world controlling kingdoms over God’s people since the days of Babylon ruling over the Jews and the tribes of the then known world. But now the prophecy gets even more amazing, and it would seem that God provides even more detail regarding events much further into the future well beyond the days of Daniel’s prophecy.

Verses 41-42, "And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of iron, forasmuch as thou sawest 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."

God apparently says through His Jewish Prophet Daniel that Rome, the fourth kingdom, will be divided. He does not reveal another conquering Kingdom but rather divisions of the Roman Empire. Like the feet and toes, some divisions being weak and some being strong. History confirms all of this; for when Rome fell in 476 A.D. it did not fall to another conquering world kingdom, but rather it fell apart from within by the Barbarian tribes that came from within the empire. It broke apart in civil war. Like the “toes” mentioned in verse 42, Rome divided into exactly ten smaller kingdoms!

Encyclopedias also confirm the following divisions to have occurred and many are still represented by the European nations existing today: The ALAMANNI (German), VISIGOTHS (Spanish), FRANKS (French), SUEVI (Portuguese), BURGUNDIANS (Swiss-Austrian), ANGLO SAXONS (English), LOMBARDS (Italian) and the HERULI, VANDALS, and OSTRO-GOTHS. Ten divisions that ultimately merge into the Holy Roman Empire.

Clearly this is an amazing fulfillment of prophecy predicted almost 1000 years ahead of time and yet upon further consideration it gets even more dramatic in precision!

Verse 43, "And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay."

Here God predicts that these kingdoms would intermarry in an attempt to reunite the kingdoms, but never do they unite. Looking back at history and seeing how many kings and queens throughout the ages have tried to prove God wrong and unite the European nations by marriage, we are amazed at the stunning precision of this prophecy. Looking back we can also plainly see the fulfillment of this prophecy in Charlemagne, the Kisers, Hitler, Stalin, Napoleon, and others all who tried to unite Europe by conquest. Yet all these men, with their mighty armies were stopped dead by seven words found in the Jewish Scriptures. "They shall not cleave one to another." It is an historical fact that the divisions of Europe have never been brought back together into one kingdom since the collapse of the Roman Empire over fifteen centuries ago; and, according to the Scriptures they never will be reunited under one flag.

It would seem that God in this prophecy has indeed given some evidence that perhaps He has given the Jews a special message. Perhaps the words given in scripture are inspired? The fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy would make it seem so. We will examine in the next chapter further prophecies in Daniel that supplement the prophecies just discussed. For now though let us continue with the details of Daniel Ch2 that show that God is in control and apparently has a divine plan. In verses 44-45 we are told what this plan is:

Verses 44-45, "And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold: the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure."

Through Daniel, a humble and devout Jew held in Babylonian captivity some 2500 years ago, God reveals that in the days of these kings (the divisions of Europe), He will set up His kingdom, a Kingdom which will stand forever! According to Scripture everything seems to be in place. It would seem that the next world kingdom foretold will be God's! Could it be that He will be coming soon; sooner than we might think?

The inspired record, if you would now consider it to be inspired, tells how the great king of Babylon was humbled by the words spoken by the young Hebrew captive in his court. Nebuchadnezzer then acknowledged that all that Daniel had revealed by his God concerning the dream and its interpretation were absolutely true.

Dan2:46-47 “Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him. The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret. Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon.”

Here we see that what had taken place was so remarkable that a pagan king with all his pride and power are stopped dead in his tracks by the mysterious ways that the God of Heaven chose to reveal Himself. The pagan king Nebuchadnezzer so in awe of the preference that God shows to Daniel by giving him the vision and its interpretation speaks praises to the “God of gods” and honors His servant Daniel to an exalted position within the King’s Empire! Apparently there was much truth in what God had foretold through Daniel. Truth that God ultimately uses to turn this fierce pagan king into a follower of the True God of Israel as we are informed in Daniel Chapter 4. An honest look at these prophecies and the recorded history shows that there was at least one Jew who got something right.