Brit-Am Biblical Commentaries

  The Book of 
 DANIEL 

Wisdom
and
Prophecy:

The Four Kingdoms
and the Fifth!


Daniel and the Awesome Statue of Different Substances

Daniel-2

Includes the text of Daniel 2, with some Brit-Am commentary, quotations from Classical Biblical Commentators (such as Saadia, Iben Ezra, Malbim) followed by extracts from contemporary Current Affairs articles describing how what the Commentaries describe is taking place today. This is under heading:

We Were Warned! "Eurabia" in The Book of DANIEL?
See below
Daniel 2
[Daniel 2:1] AND IN THE SECOND YEAR OF THE REIGN OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR NEBUCHADNEZZAR DREAMED DREAMS, WHEREWITH HIS SPIRIT WAS TROUBLED, AND HIS SLEEP BRAKE FROM HIM.

[Daniel 2:2] THEN THE KING COMMANDED TO CALL THE MAGICIANS, AND THE ASTROLOGERS, AND THE SORCERERS, AND THE CHALDEANS, FOR TO SHEW THE KING HIS DREAMS. SO THEY CAME AND STOOD BEFORE THE KING.

The King commanded that different "people in the know" should come before him. These days we would call them psychologists and the like.
<<THE MAGICIANS>>: Hebrew: "Chartumin". Rashi says they consulted the dead by speaking to human bones.
 Iben Ezra and "Metsudat Zion" say it means "Natural Scientists".
 AND THE ASTROLOGERS: Hebrew: "Ashafim" which Rashi also says means Astrologers though Iben Ezra says it means "Medical Doctors".
<<THE SORCERERS>>: Hebrew: "Machshafim". "Metsudat David" said they combined astronomical knowledge with a kind of witchcraft.
<<CHALDEANS>>: Hebrew "Casdim". This is the name of a nation (probably descended from "Chesed" son of Nahor, brother of Abraham Genesis 22:22) to which Nebuchadnezzar himself belonged but it was also the term for the practitioner of a type of Esoteric Science. The Commentators indicate they specialized in Astrology and Futurism in general.

[Daniel 2:3] AND THE KING SAID UNTO THEM, I HAVE DREAMED A DREAM, AND MY SPIRIT WAS TROUBLED TO KNOW THE DREAM.

[Daniel 2:4] THEN SPAKE THE CHALDEANS TO THE KING IN SYRIACK, O KING, LIVE FOR EVER: TELL THY SERVANTS THE DREAM, AND WE WILL SHEW THE INTERPRETATION.

<<CHALDEANS>>: We saw above how this name applied to a particular type of sorcerer. The term is used here as a general term for all the various soothsayers who came forward.
<<SYRIACK>>: Aramaic. Up unto now the Book of Daniel was written in Hebrew. From this verse and for the next several chapters the work uses Aramaic.

[Daniel 2:5] THE KING ANSWERED AND SAID TO THE CHALDEANS, THE THING IS GONE FROM ME: IF YE WILL NOT MAKE KNOWN UNTO ME THE DREAM, WITH THE INTERPRETATION THEREOF, YE SHALL BE CUT IN PIECES, AND YOUR HOUSES SHALL BE MADE A DUNGHILL.

[Daniel 2:6] BUT IF YE SHEW THE DREAM, AND THE INTERPRETATION THEREOF, YE SHALL RECEIVE OF ME GIFTS AND REWARDS AND GREAT HONOUR: THEREFORE SHEW ME THE DREAM, AND THE INTERPRETATION THEREOF.

[Daniel 2:7] THEY ANSWERED AGAIN AND SAID, LET THE KING TELL HIS SERVANTS THE DREAM, AND WE WILL SHEW THE INTERPRETATION OF IT.

[Daniel 2:8] THE KING ANSWERED AND SAID, I KNOW OF CERTAINTY THAT YE WOULD GAIN THE TIME, BECAUSE YE SEE THE THING IS GONE FROM ME.

[Daniel 2:9] BUT IF YE WILL NOT MAKE KNOWN UNTO ME THE DREAM, THERE IS BUT ONE DECREE FOR YOU FOR YE HAVE PREPARED LYING AND CORRUPT WORDS TO SPEAK BEFORE ME, TILL THE TIME BE CHANGED: THEREFORE TELL ME THE DREAM, AND I SHALL KNOW THAT YE CAN SHEW ME THE INTERPRETATION THEREOF.

Nebuchadnezzar demanded that the dream be revealed to him as well as its solution. This is the same scenario as that which occurred between Joseph and Pharaoh (Genesis chapter 41). The Hebrew text at the beginning of this chapter uses the same expressions as those concerning the dream of Pharaoh in Genesis to emphasize the similarity of the two events.

[Daniel 2:10] THE CHALDEANS ANSWERED BEFORE THE KING, AND SAID, THERE IS NOT A MAN UPON THE  EARTH THAT CAN SHEW THE KING'S MATTER: THEREFORE THERE IS NO KING, LORD, NOR RULER, THAT ASKED SUCH THINGS AT ANY MAGICIAN, OR ASTROLOGER, OR CHALDEAN.

[Daniel 2:11] AND IT IS A RARE THING THAT THE KING REQUIRETH, AND THERE IS NONE OTHER THAT CAN SHEW IT BEFORE THE KING, EXCEPT THE GODS, WHOSE DWELLING IS NOT WITH FLESH.           

[Daniel 2:12] FOR THIS CAUSE THE KING WAS ANGRY AND VERY FURIOUS, AND COMMANDED TO DESTROY ALL THE WISE MEN OF BABYLON.

[Daniel 2:13] AND THE DECREE WENT FORTH THAT THE WISE MEN SHOULD BE SLAIN; AND THEY SOUGHT DANIEL AND HIS FELLOWS TO BE SLAIN.

[Daniel 2:14] THEN DANIEL ANSWERED WITH COUNSEL AND WISDOM TO ARIOCH THE CAPTAIN OF THE KING'S GUARD, WHICH WAS GONE FORTH TO SLAY THE WISE MEN OF BABYLON.

[Daniel 2:15] HE ANSWERED AND SAID TO ARIOCH THE KING'S CAPTAIN, WHY IS THE DECREE SO HASTY FROM THE KING? THEN ARIOCH MADE THE THING KNOWN TO DANIEL.

[Daniel 2:16] THEN DANIEL WENT IN, AND DESIRED OF THE KING THAT HE WOULD GIVE HIM TIME, AND THAT HE WOULD SHEW THE KING THE INTERPRETATION.

[Daniel 2:17] THEN DANIEL WENT TO HIS HOUSE, AND MADE THE THING KNOWN TO HANANIAH, MISHAEL, AND AZARIAH, HIS COMPANIONS:     

[Daniel 2:18] THAT THEY WOULD DESIRE MERCIES OF THE GOD OF HEAVEN CONCERNING THIS SECRET; THAT DANIEL AND HIS FELLOWS SHOULD NOT PERISH WITH THE REST OF THE WISE MEN OF BABYLON.

[Daniel 2:19] THEN WAS THE SECRET REVEALED UNTO DANIEL IN A NIGHT VISION. THEN DANIEL BLESSED THE  GOD OF HEAVEN.

[Daniel 2:20] DANIEL ANSWERED AND SAID, BLESSED BE THE NAME OF GOD FOR EVER AND EVER: FOR WISDOM AND MIGHT ARE HIS:  

[Daniel 2:21] AND HE CHANGETH THE TIMES AND THE SEASONS: HE REMOVETH KINGS, AND SETTETH UP KINGS: HE GIVETH WISDOM UNTO THE WISE, AND KNOWLEDGE TO THEM THAT KNOW UNDERSTANDING:

This is a principle emphasized by the Sages. They who set themselves to know and understand will receive additional knowledge and understanding as a gift from above. 

[Daniel 2:22] HE REVEALETH THE DEEP AND SECRET THINGS: HE KNOWETH WHAT IS IN THE DARKNESS, AND THE LIGHT DWELLETH WITH HIM.

[Daniel 2:23] I THANK THEE, AND PRAISE THEE, O THOU GOD OF MY FATHERS, WHO HAST GIVEN ME WISDOM AND MIGHT, AND HAST MADE KNOWN UNTO ME NOW WHAT WE DESIRED OF THEE: FOR THOU HAST NOW MADE KNOWN UNTO US THE KING'S MATTER.                     

[Daniel 2:24] THEREFORE DANIEL WENT IN UNTO ARIOCH, WHOM THE KING HAD ORDAINED TO DESTROY THE WISE MEN OF BABYLON: HE WENT AND SAID THUS UNTO HIM; DESTROY NOT THE WISE MEN OF BABYLON: BRING ME IN BEFORE THE KING, AND I WILL SHEW UNTO THE KING THE INTERPRETATION.

[Daniel 2:25] THEN ARIOCH BROUGHT IN DANIEL BEFORE THE KING IN HASTE, AND SAID THUS UNTO HIM, I HAVE FOUND A MAN OF THE CAPTIVES OF JUDAH, THAT WILL MAKE KNOWN UNTO THE KING THE INTERPRETATION.

Daniel according to tradition (supported by Scriptural indications) was descended from the Ruling House of David. Even prior to his training in the Court of Babylon he and his companions would have been accustomed to "walk with kings" (Daniel 1:3).

[Daniel 2:26] 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 2:27] 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;               

[Daniel 2:28] 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;

<<THE LATTER DAYS>>:  Even though the dream was pertinent to the Time of Nebuchadnezzar and those who would follow him it had a primary meaning that would be followed in the End Times.
See our note on Prototypical Prophecy: Q. 2. What Are Prototypical Prophecies?

[Daniel 2:29] 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.         

[Daniel 2:30] BUT AS FOR ME, THIS SECRET IS NOT REVEALED TO ME FOR ANY WISDOM THAT I HAVE MORE     THAN ANY LIVING, BUT FOR THEIR SAKES THAT SHALL MAKE KNOWN THE INTERPRETATION TO THE KING, AND THAT THOU MIGHTEST KNOW THE THOUGHTS OF THY HEART.           

[Daniel 2:31] THOU, O KING, SAWEST, AND BEHOLD A GREAT IMAGE. THIS GREAT IMAGE, WHOSE BRIGHTNESS WAS EXCELLENT, STOOD BEFORE THEE; AND THE FORM THEREOF WAS TERRIBLE.              

[Daniel 2:32] THIS IMAGE'S HEAD WAS OF FINE GOLD, HIS BREAST AND HIS ARMS OF SILVER, HIS BELLY AND HIS THIGHS OF BRASS,

<<BRASS>>: Aramaic "Nachash" i.e. Hebrew "Nechoshet" often translated as copper but most likely usually meaning Bronze which is an alloy of copper and tin or of copper and lead or of copper with both tin and lead.

Remember our previous notes regarding Phoenicians and the tin trade:
http://www.britarch.ac.uk/ba/ba56/ba56feat.html
http://www.webmesh.co.uk/nice/arcnews.htm
<<The very earliest combination of tin and copper is found in Anatolia, but Near Eastern bronze contained less tin, in less standardised quantities, than was found in British bronze. Put simply, it was inferior bronze. In Britain, bronze was produced from the outset with an almost standard composition of 8 to 12 per cent tin, ensuring the optimum mix of qualities.>>

See also:
Queries on Archaeology Q. 4. What archaeological evidence do we have linking Ancient Israel with the west?
(a) Pre-Celtic and Celtic.

[Daniel 2:33] HIS LEGS OF IRON, HIS FEET PART OF IRON AND PART OF CLAY.                   

[Daniel 2:34] 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.

This Stone was first recalled in the blessing of Jacob to Joseph (Genesis 49:22-26).
BUT HIS BOW ABODE IN STRENGTH, AND THE ARMS OF HIS HANDS WERE MADE STRONG BY THE HANDS OF THE MIGHTY GOD OF JACOB; FROM THENCE IS THE SHEPHERD, THE STONE OF ISRAEL [Genesis 49:24]:
God shows Himself in this world through Judah and Joseph. This is what Scripture indicates even though it may be difficult for us to accept or understand how or why. We are a Holy People and have a corresponding obligation. Through Judah and Joseph will come world redemption.

[Daniel 2:35] THEN WAS THE IRON, THE CLAY, THE BRASS, THE SILVER, AND THE GOLD, BROKEN TO 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.           

[Daniel 2:36] THIS IS THE DREAM; AND WE WILL TELL THE INTERPRETATION THEREOF BEFORE THE KING.         

[Daniel 2:37] THOU, O KING, ART A KING OF KINGS: FOR THE GOD OF HEAVEN HATH GIVEN THEE A KINGDOM, POWER, AND STRENGTH, AND GLORY.             

[Daniel 2:38] 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 2:39] AND AFTER THEE SHALL ARISE ANOTHER KINGDOM INFERIOR TO THEE, AND ANOTHER THIRD KINGDOM OF BRASS, WHICH SHALL BEAR RULE OVER ALL THE EARTH.

<<AFTER THEE>>: Meaning after your offspring, Beltshazzar was the son of Nebuchadnezzar and he was replaced by the Persian King Cyrus. The Persians represent the Second Kingdom. The Third Kingdom was that of the Greeks founded by the Macedonian Alexander the Great.
Shmuel HaCohen and Yehudah Kiel produced a combined Commentary in the series that we often use, "Daat Mikra". They point out that there are different ways of counting these kingdoms. Some say the order should be Babylon, Media, Persia, Greece. [We however think that Media should be included with Persia since Media was never really the paramount world-power but usually secondary to others whether Babylon or Persia]. "Daat Mikra" also makes the point that Rome should perhaps be considered an extension of Greece. We shall see further on that Daniel makes reference to Rome by the term "Chittim":
"FOR THE SHIPS OF CHITTIM SHALL COME AGAINST HIM" [Daniel 11:30].
The Chittim (Kittim) were considered part of Javan who fathered Greece.
"AND THE SONS OF JAVAN; ELISHAH, AND TARSHISH, KITTIM, AND DODANIM" [Genesis 10:4].
The Kittim (Chittim)were also recalled in the Prophecy of Bilaam (Numbers 24:24) where the name Chittim is translated from Hebrew into Aramaic by Onkelos as Roma. So too in the Dead Sea Scrolls it appears that Roman Soldiers are referred to as Chittim. Other explanations however are also possible.
The Midrash (Breishit Rabah 41[42]a) counts the Four Kingdoms as Babylon, Media, Javan (Greece), Edom (Christian Europe). 
Brit-Am researches have indicated that Edomites were an important element in the Babylon Kingdom, in the Greek Empire (Alexander himself probably being of Edomite origin), and amongst the Romans. 
We explained this in our work, "Ephraim":
Concerning the Medes and Persians we cannot see but the possibility is worth looking into.

It was predicted that the descendants of Jacob (Israel) and Esau (Edom) would be constantly struggling with each other. We see from here that the struggle began at an early stage with Esau taking the initiative.
See the Brit-Am Commentary to the relevant chapter in Genesis:

[Genesis 25:22] AND THE CHILDREN STRUGGLED TOGETHER WITHIN HER; AND SHE SAID, IF IT BE SO, WHY AM I THUS? AND SHE WENT TO ENQUIRE OF THE LORD.                     
 
[Genesis 25:23] AND THE LORD SAID UNTO HER, TWO NATIONS ARE IN THY WOMB, AND TWO MANNER OF PEOPLE SHALL BE SEPARATED FROM THY BOWELS; AND THE ONE PEOPLE SHALL BE STRONGER THAN THE OTHER PEOPLE; AND THE ELDER SHALL SERVE THE YOUNGER.
Extracts:
One would be stronger than the other; one would serve the other.
 Rabbinical sources identified Esau with the Romans and Germans and with European rulers in general. See what we wrote on this subject in our work "Ephraim".
Joseph is destined to be the counter to Esau but also in many ways parallels him.                    
<<THE ELDER SHALL SERVE THE YOUNGER>>: In Hebrew "Rav [the elder] ya-avod [shall serve] Tsair [the younger]" BUT (as pointed out by numerous Commentators quoted by Yehudah Kiel) it could ALSO be understood to say "Rav [the elder] ya-avod [shall be served by] Tsair [the younger]". This is because the needed definitive element "et" is not found in the sentence before the word "Tsair" [the younger]. ["et" has no equivalent in English but with the Hebrew conjunction "ve" (we) it forms "ve-et" (pronounced in Ancient Times as "we-eth") which gave rise to the English word "with"].
The Commentators said that both interpretations are correct and refer to different periods and different situations. If Israel merits and fulfills its destined tasks Israel will rule over others. If Israel does not do as it should it is liable to be ruled over. This is not necessarily morality but rather reality. [Daniel 2:40] 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.

According to the simple meaning of these verses, first the Fourth Kingdom shall conquer and crush all opposition. This Kingdom will be followed by an attempted union of its different parts which however will have difficulty holding together due to the contrary characteristics of its components.

[Daniel 2:41] 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 THE IRON, FORASMUCH AS THOU SAWEST THE IRON MIXED WITH MIRY CLAY.

<<CLAY>>: Rabbi Saadia Gaon (882-942 CE) pointed out that three different types of clay are spoken of in this vision representing three distinct types of  men. Rabbi Saadia said that Greece was the Third Kingdom and the Fourth Kingdom that of Aram and Ishmael (Islam). No-one really knows. The Commentators all hold contrary opinions to each other though in some ways to a degree there is an underlying unity to them. Further on in his Commentary Rabbi Saadia says that Ishmael (Islam) will unite with "Rome" and that Ishmael will be the weaker party represented by "clay".
In light of present events we see that such a scenario is a distinct possibility in our time.
<<MIRY CLAY>>: In the Aramaic Original it says "Mud Clay" giving the possibility that two elements are spoken of..
In light of present events we see that such a scenario is a distinct possibility in our time.
There also exists a school of thought that identifies the FEET AND TOES of the great statue with the mixed group of nations comprising the European Union or that the EU is a precursor for a similar organization that will fulfill the prophecy. See what we remarked on this matter in our
"Answers to Queries About Conspiracy Theories"Q.6. Is Rejection of Conspiracy Theory Consistent With Biblical Prophecy?"

[Daniel 2:42] 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.

Commentary of the Malbim (Rabbi Meir [Loeb ben Yechi'el Michael] Leibush 1809-1879):
<< TOES OF THE FEET: After that he regarded the toes of the feet which was the final last portion of the statue. This hints at the final culmination of [wordly] kingdoms. He noticed the toes that number ten. In the Last Days the Roman Empire in general (that is divided between Ishmael and Edom who are the two feet) will be partitioned into ten toes meaning ten kingdoms. There will not be one kingdom ruling over them all. Ten will rule together and some will be of the Children of Edom and some of Ishmael. So too it says later about the vision (Chapter 7) that the Fourth Beast had ten horns as we shall explain. At that time there will no longer be one side that is iron and the other of clay [one side strong and the other weak] but on each foot will be both toes of iron and toes of clay. This means whether from the Kingdom of Edom or from the Kingdom of Ishmael there will be found both weak and strong kings. This is what it means when it says THE KINGDOM SHALL BE PARTLY STRONG, AND PARTLY BROKEN.

The above Commentaries predict an eventual attempted union between Ishmael (Islam) and Europe. Such a union is NOW in preparation. See the articles below on this issue under the heading "Eurabia" in the Book of Daniel!
[Daniel 2:43] 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.

<<THE SEED OF MEN>>: "Daat Mikra" says this means that they shall attempt to make their union permanent by means of intermarriage. It shall not work.
<<THE SEED OF MEN>> The Ralbag (Gersonides, 1288-1344) says that this final kingdom will include Israelites who will try to mix in with the others.

[Daniel 2:44] 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 FOR EVER.

This is the Fifth Kingdom. This is the future Messianic Kingdom.
In History the Fifth Monarchy Men were a movement amongst the Puritans followers of Oliver Cromwell who were forerunners of the present "Hebraic Roots" movement and instrumental in the founding of North America.
http://www.exlibris.org/nonconform/engdis/fifthmonarchists.html

Commentary of Iben Ezra (1080-1164 CE):
<<The Second Kingdom is Media and Persia. The Third Kingdom is that of Alexander and the Fourth Kingdom is the Romans who are represented by thighs of iron. They are followed by a Kingdom that is partly of Ishmaelites [i.e. Arabs, Moslems, etc] and partly of Romans [i.e. "Christians"?]. The iron mixes in with miry clay. Many Ishmaelites are under the rule of the Romans and so too are many Romans under the rule of Ishmaelites and they do not intermarry with each other just as iron does not combine with clay. These two are represented by the King of the South and the King of the North as recalled at the end of this Book [of Daniel], for the King of Ishmael is the King of the South since his land is southward. Similarly the King of the Romans is the King of the North. The Kingdom that will arise after them is the Kingdom of the Anointed King (Messiah) which will endure for ever:
FOR THEN WILL I TURN TO THE PEOPLE A PURE LANGUAGE, THAT THEY MAY ALL CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD, TO SERVE HIM WITH ONE CONSENT [Zephaniah 3:9].  To bring all this about there will be wars in the world, for [without wars?] religious beliefs do not just change and they are the major reason for warfare.

[Daniel 2:45] 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

Malbim: <<The stone hints at the Stone of Israel [cf. Genesis 49:24] that will be raised up by the Hand of the Almighty and not by the hand and might of men. This stone will make an end to all the others. Indeed that which we have learned here [in this verse] with the order of IRON, THE BRASS, THE CLAY to let us know how things shall turn out. It will come about through the Wars of Gog and Magog. The Children of Edom will gather together to go to war against the Children of Ishmael and they will wipe each other out as explained in Ezekiel and in Zechariah. It is plain that iron indicates Edom (for he will be assertive towards Ishmael at that time), Yavan (Greece) is indicated by the Brass (Bronze) for they [and Edom?] are all one kingdom. Included in the Kingdom of Ishmael will be Media and Persia who are represented by the clay. Babylon is the gold and these all together shall be included in the Kingdom of Ishmael as is known...>>

The Malbim above notes that this Stone was first recalled in the blessing of Jacob to Joseph (Genesis 49:22-26).
BUT HIS BOW ABODE IN STRENGTH, AND THE ARMS OF HIS HANDS WERE MADE STRONG BY THE HANDS OF THE MIGHTY GOD OF JACOB; FROM THENCE IS THE SHEPHERD, THE STONE OF ISRAEL [Genesis 49:24]:
God shows Himself in this world through Judah and Joseph. This is what Scripture indicates even though it may be difficult for us to accept or understand how or why. We are a Holy People and have a corresponding obligation. Through Judah and Joseph will come world redemption.
Rashi: This is Joseph the Shepherd. He is the Stone of Israel, i.e. the main foundation of Israel and the one who establishes the basis for their existence.
Other references occur in Scripture to a "stone".  Jerusalem is called a stone that the heathen will stumble over and cut themselves (Zechariah 12:6).
The Future Messiah appears to also be referred to under the same terms:
THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REFUSED IS BECOME THE HEAD STONE OF THE CORNER [Psalms 118:22].

[Daniel 2:46] THEN THE KING NEBUCHADNEZZAR FELL UPON HIS FACE, AND WORSHIPPED DANIEL, AND COMMANDED THAT THEY SHOULD OFFER AN OBLATION AND SWEET ODOURS UNTO HIM.                

[Daniel 2:47] 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.              

[Daniel 2:48] 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.           

[Daniel 2:49] THEN DANIEL REQUESTED OF THE KING, AND HE SET SHADRACH, MESHACH, AND ABEDNEGO, OVER THE AFFAIRS OF THE PROVINCE OF BABYLON: BUT DANIEL SAT IN THE GATE OF THE KING.  



Current Affairs Articles Pertinent to the Book of Daniel. Daniel 2.


  We Were Warned! :

" Eurabia" in The Book of 
 DANIEL? 



The Classical Commentaries on Daniel chapter two (especially 2:32-45) in the Book of Daniel quoted above in the light of Actual Events Today read like Present-Day Political Commentary on Current Events. This may be seen by comparing the Commentaries in Question and the extracts from Current Affairs Articles below.
We saw above how the statue that Nebuchandezzar dreamt about and whose meaning Daniel interpreted according to the major Commentators (Iben Ezra, Saadia, Malbim) represented an eventual attempted union between Europe and Islam. The articles below say that such a union is in preparation.
No-one really knows how things will turn out. We can gain some indication from Prophecy, keep our eyes open, and follow events.
The Book of Daniel and The Commentaries to Daniel are pertinent to our time and seem to foreshadow what is taking place already today.
The articles below in effect depict a merger already in the process of preparation of Continental Europe with Ishmael (Arabic-Islam). This is to be carried through at the expense of Israel and the USA.
 

Eurabia
By Jamie Glazov
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=15044
FrontPageMagazine.com | September 21, 2004

Frontpage Interview's guest today is Bat Ye'or, the world's foremost authority on dhimmitude.

Her latest study is Islam and Dhimmitude. Where Civilizations Collide. Her forthcoming book, Eurabia: The Euro-Arab Axis, will be published in January 2005.

Brief Extracts Only:

Bat Ye'or: Eurabia represents a geo-political reality envisaged in 1973 through a system of informal alliances between, on the one hand, the nine countries of the European Community (EC)which, enlarged, became the European Union (EU) in 1992 and on the other hand, the Mediterranean Arab countries. The alliances and agreements were elaborated at the top political level of each EC country with the representative of the European Commission, and their Arab homologues with the Arab League's delegate. This system was synchronised under the roof of an association called the Euro-Arab Dialogue (EAD) created in July 1974 in Paris. A working body composed of committees and always presided jointly by a European and an Arab delegate planned the agendas, and organized and monitored the application of the decisions.

The field of Euro-Arab collaboration covered every domain: from economy and policy to immigration. In foreign policy, it backed anti-Americanism, anti-Zionism and Israel's delegitimization; the promotion of the PLO and Arafat; a Euro-Arab associative diplomacy in international forums; and NGO collaboration. In domestic policy, the EAD established a close cooperation between the Arab and European media television, radio, journalists, publishing houses, academia, cultural centers, school textbooks, student and youth associations, tourism. Church interfaith dialogues were determinant in the development of this policy. Eurabia is therefore this strong Euro-Arab network of associations -- a comprehensive symbiosis with cooperation and partnership on policy, economy, demography and culture.

Eurabia is the future of Europe. Its driving force, the Parliamentary Association for Euro-Arab Cooperation, was created in Paris in 1974. It now has over six hundred members -- from all major European political parties -- active in their own national parliaments, as well as in the European parliament. The creation of this body and its policy follow the 23 resolutions of the "Second International Conference in Support of the Arab Peoples", held in Cairo in January 1969. Its resolution 15 formulates the Euro-Arab policy and its all-embracing development over thirty years in European domestic and foreign policy.
 

It stated: "The conference decided to form special parliamentary groups, where they did not exist, and to use the parliamentary platform for promoting support of the Arab people and the Palestinian resistance." In the 1970s, pursuant to the wishes of the Cairo Conference, national groups proclaiming "Solidarity with the Palestinian Resistance and the Arab peoples" appeared throughout Europe. These groups belonged to different political families, Gaullists, extreme left or right, communists, neo-Nazis -- but they all shared the same anti-Americanism and anti-Zionism. France has been the key protagonist of this policy, ever since de Gaulle's press conference on 27 November 1967 when he presented France's cooperation with the Arab world as "the fundamental basis of our foreign policy".

FP: Is Europe's dependence on Arab oil a predominant factor in its pro-Arab policy?

Bat Ye'or: No, I don't think so. Arab leaders have to sell their oil; their people are very dependent on European economic, health and technological aid. America made this point during the oil embargo in 1973. The oil factor is a pretext to cover up a policy that emerged in France before that crisis. The policy was already conceived in the 1960s. It has strong antecedents in the French 19th century dream of governing an Arab empire and the exploitation of antisemitism to strengthen Arab Muslim-French solidarity against a demonized common enemy. Eurabia is not only a web of various agreements covering every field. It is essentially a political project for a total demographic and cultural symbiosis between Europe and the Arab world, where Israel will eventually dissolve. America would be isolated and challenged by an emerging Euro-Arab continent that is linked to the whole Muslim world and invested with tremendous political and economic power in international affairs. The policies of "multilateralism" and "soft diplomacy" express this deepening symbiosis. The Euro-Arab agreements are merely the tools for the creation of this new "continent." Eurabia is also based on the vision of Christian-Muslim reconciliation and has been strongly advocated by religious Christian bodies.

France and the rest of Western Europe cannot change their policy anymore. Their future is Eurabia. Period. I don't see how they can reverse the movement they set in motion thirty years ago. Nor do Eurabians want to modify this policy. It is a project that was conceived, planned and pursued consistently through immigration policy, propaganda, church support, economic associations and aid, cultural, media and academic collaboration. Generations grew up within this political framework; they were educated and conditioned to support it and go along with it. This is the source of the strong anti-American feeling in Europe and of the paranoiac obsession with Israel, two elements that form the cornerstone of Eurabia. ..Faced with the oil crisis, the nine EC countries -- under French and German leadership -- unified their views regarding the Middle East conflict and this generated the Euro-Arab Dialogue's overall development.

Eurabian notables, whether Chirac, de Villepin, Solana, Prodi, or others, have continuously stressed the centrality of the Palestinian cause for world peace, as if more European vilification of Israel would change anything in the global jihad waged in the US, in Asia, and from Africa to Chechnya the latest horrendous tragedy in Ossetia is but one example. In such a view, Israel's very existence, not this genocidal jihadist drive, is a threat to peace. The Euro-Arab linkage of Arab/Islamic reforms to Israel's stand is spurious and only demonstrates, once more, Europe's subservience to Arab policy. Numerous Arab and Islamic Summits have imposed the centrality of their Palestinian policy on the world and requested that all political problems should be subordinated to it. The EU likewise.

FP: You often refer to a Euro-Arab Palestinian cult. What do you mean by it?

Bat Ye'or: It means precisely this Palestinian centrality that's promoted in Europe as a key to world peace. However, the Euro-Arab Palestinian cult goes much deeper than a political tool used for a Euro-Arab Partnership policy against America and Israel. It is linked to theological currents of Judeophobia and a replacement theology based on the Palestinization of the Bible and the rejection of its Jewish roots in order to delegitimize Israel's history and rights on its land. The Euro-Arab Palestinian cult symbolized the redemption of Christianity and Islam and their reconciliation on the ashes of Israel, the work of Satan -- a belief propagated by the media's continuous demonization of Israel, and Palestinian victimization. This cult brings together neo-Nazis, Judeophobes, anti-Americans, communists and jihadists. It is a revival of Nazi anti-Jewish and anti-Christian trends, particularly in its hatred of Christian Bible believers and America, the country that was determinant in the defeat of Nazism and Communism. In the 1930-40s, the Nazis had strong links with Palestinians, and those sympathies and alliances continued throughout the years after World War II, thriving in the Euro-Arab Palestinian cult that submerged Western Europe under the umbrella of the gigantic Euro-Arab Dialogue apparatus.

FP: But what does the public in Europe think about their Eurabian future? Are they aware of it? Do they go along with it?

Bat Ye'or: The public ignores this strategy, its details and functioning, but there is a strong awareness, anxiety and discontent over the current situation and particularly the antisemitic trends. This Eurabian policy, expressed in obscure wording, is conducted at the top political level and coordinated over the whole EU, spreading an anti-American and antisemitic Euro-Arab sub-culture in every social, media and cultural sector. Oriana Fallaci has given voice to this general opposition. But there are also many others. They are boycotted, sometimes fired from their jobs, victims of a type of totalitarian "correctness" imposed mainly by the academic, media and political sectors.

France's situation illustrates, in fact, what threatens the whole of Europe through its demographic and political integration within the Arab-Muslim world, as promoted now by the Anna Lindh Foundation. France with Belgium, Germany and perhaps Spain is ahead of the rest of Europe. Britain, Italy and to some extent the East European countries are less marked by the subservience syndrome of dhimmitude which consists in submission and compliance to Muslim policy or face jihad and death. Dhimmitude is linked to the jihad ideology and sharia rules pertaining to infidels and represents the complex historical process of Islamization of the Judeo-Christian, Buddhist, Hindu civilizations across three continents.

America has the choice of forgoing its liberty and adopting the European line of dhimmitude and supplication, or maintaining its resolve to fight the war against terrorism for freedom and for universal human rights values.

 
 
 

Eurabia: A Future Union of Ishmaelite Arabs and Europe?
http://www.meforum.org/article/696

Eurabia - Europe's Future?

A briefing by Bat Ye'or
February 7, 2005

Extracts Only:

Bat Ye'or, a historian, has published groundbreaking works on minorities and "dhimmitude" (their inferior status) under Islam, including Islam and Dhimmitude: Where Civilizations Collide (2002). Her latest book, Eurabia: The Euro-Arab Axis (Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2005), argues that European governments, especially the French, have developed foreign policies aimed at winning the favor of Middle Eastern regimes and appeasing the growing militant Islamic minorities in their midst. Bat Ye'or addressed the Middle East Forum in New York on February 7, 2005.

Europe is undergoing two profound changes. The first is the weakening of Christianity. The second is demographic decline. Presently, across Europe, there are only two-thirds the number of children born necessary to sustain the population. The consequent drop in population has mostly been made good by immigration of Muslims. The fast-growing Muslim population is generally not integrated into the host societies nor politically acculturated to its norms. To the contrary, radical Islamic movements are gaining in strength among these gr opulations. In addition, European governments, especially the French, have developed foreign policies aimed at winning the favor of Middle Eastern regimes.

The question arises: is this a temporary aberration or is Europe on the road to losing its historic identity? The latter: Europe is rapidly being transformed into "Eurabia," a cultural and political appendage of the Arab/Muslim world that is fundamentally anti-Christian, anti-Semitic, anti-Western and anti-American.

Unfortunately, most Europeans are not aware of the Eurabia merger. The new hatred found in Europe against America and Israel is commonplace and intertwines with many sectors of society, including the media, the culture, and the economy. Europe now facilitates the jihadist values of the Arab world. This is evident in its reluctance to forthrightly denounce Islamic terrorism and its need to indict America and Israel as the causes of conflict, rather than the victims of Islamic aggression. Mass immigration of Arabs across the Mediterranean to Europe, which was part of the friendship agreement, will only strengthen the Eurabian phenomenon. If Europe continues to respond with appeasement to Islamist terror attacks like that in Madrid in 2004, Eurabia will eventually become the complete European reality.

Conclusions for the United States

Americans need to take an assertive role in both combating Eurabia's dangers and preventing a similar merger from occurring within their own country, for this is a danger. For example, American Middle East studies specialists at universities are already predominantly pro-Arab/Islamic in orientation, dismissive of traditional standards of scholarship and not bashful about politicizing formal instruction.

Americans need to embrace their own genuinely pluralist culture. They should not renounce their identity and Judeo-Christian values to appease the current assertive intolerance emanating from the Arab/Muslim world.

 
The following two extracts (brought to our attention through the E-Mail Discussion Group of Craig White, "Origin of Nations") are pertinent to what is happening today and the Book of Daniel. These examples could be repeated many times over:

 
Culture wars for Europe: What happens when an entire society stops
having children?
 
Conor Friedersdorf
http://www.dailybulletin.com/news/ci_3390118

Brief Extracts Only:
 
What happens when an entire society stops having children?
 
Europe will soon find out.
 
In countries across the continent, fertility rates are lower than
they've ever been. So low, in fact, that each generation numbers fewer
and fewer people. European civilization may be the first in history to
collapse due to willful refusal to reproduce.
 
How will this extinction play out?
 
The welfare systems that define the European social model will collapse
first.
 
As it stands, young working people fund early retirement, generous
pensions and heavily subsidized healthcare for their elders. Imagine six
siblings sharing the cost of their parents' retirement and
convalescence. Now imagine that all six siblings marry but just three of
the couples bear a child. Forty years later there will be 12 senior
citizens and only three children to care for them. The numbers vary from
country to country, but my example sums up the demographic challenge
Western Europeans face. In short, their whole social model faces
imminent collapse.
 
 

Its the demography, stupid
 
By Mark Steyn
 
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1550345/posts

Extracts Only:
What do Europe's declining birthrates say about its chances of survival?
 
Most people reading this have strong stomachs, so let me lay it out as
baldly as I can: Much of what we loosely call the western world will not
survive this century, and much of it will effectively disappear within
our lifetimes, including many if not most western European countries....
 
...
What will Londonor Paris, or Amsterdambe like in the mid-Thirties? If
European politicians make no serious attempt this decade to wean the
populace off their unsustainable thirty-five-hour weeks, retirement at
sixty, etc., then to keep the present level of pensions and health
benefits the EU will need to import so many workers from North Africa
and the Middle East that it will be well on its way to majority Muslim
by 2035. As things stand, Muslims are already the primary source of
population growth in English cities. Can a society become increasingly
Islamic in its demographic character without becoming increasingly
Islamic in its political character?...
 
Whats the better bet? A globalization that exports cheeseburgers and pop songs or a globalization that exports the fiercest aspects of its culture? When it comes to forecasting the future, the birth rate is the nearest thing to hard numbers. If only a million babies are born in 2006, its hard to have two million adults enter the workforce in 2026 (or 2033, or 2037, or whenever they get around to finishing their Anger Management and Queer Studies degrees). And the hard data on babies around the western world is that theyre running out a lot faster than the oil is. Replacement fertility ratei.e., the number you need for merely a stable population, not getting any bigger, not getting any smalleris 2.1 babies per woman. Some countries are well above that: the global fertility leader, Somalia, is 6.91, Niger 6.83, Afghanistan 6.78, Yemen 6.75. Notice what those nations have in common?

Scroll way down to the bottom of the Hot One Hundred top breeders and youll eventually find the United States, hovering just at replacement rate with 2.07 births per woman. Ireland is 1.87, New Zealand 1.79, Australia 1.76. But Canadas fertility rate is down to 1.5, well below replacement rate; Germany and Austria are at 1.3, the brink of the death spiral; Russia and Italy are at 1.2; Spain 1.1, about half replacement rate. Thats to say, Spains population is halving every generation. By 2050, Italys population will have fallen by 22 percent, Bulgarias by 36 percent, Estonias by 52 percent. In America, demographic trends suggest that the blue states ought to apply for honorary membership of the EU: in the 2004 election, John Kerry won the sixteen with the lowest birth rates; George W. Bush took twenty-five of the twenty-six states with the highest. By 2050, there will be 100 million fewer Europeans, 100 million more Americansand mostly red-state Americans.

There is no population bomb. There never was. Birth rates are declining all over the worldeventually every couple on the planet may decide to opt for the western yuppie model of one designer baby at the age of thirty-nine. But demographics is a game of last man standing. The groups that succumb to demographic apathy last will have a huge advantage. Even in 1968 Paul Ehrlich and his ilk should have understood that their so-called population explosion was really a massive population adjustment. Of the increase in global population between 1970 and 2000, the developed world accounted for under 9 percent of it, while the Muslim world accounted for 26 percent of the increase. Between 1970 and 2000, the developed world declined from just under 30 percent of the worlds population to just over 20 percent, the Muslim nations increased from about 15 percent to 20 percent.

And yet the world is utterly altered. Just to recap those bald statistics: In 1970, the developed world had twice as big a share of the global population as the Muslim world: 30 percent to 15 percent. By 2000, they were the same: each had about 20 percent. 

So the worlds people are a lot more Islamic than they were back then and a lot less western. Europe is significantly more Islamic, having taken in during that period some 20 million Muslims (officially)or the equivalents of the populations of four European Union countries (Ireland, Belgium, Denmark, and Estonia). Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the west: in the UK, more Muslims than Christians attend religious services each week.


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