Reading the Leaves on the Fig Tree

The majority of people in the world would agree that there is tension between nations all around the globe. Nations have varied ideologies, varied forms of government, varied aspirations, and varied religions.

Problems arise when a nation attempts to impose their form of government, or religion, on other nations. Former President Obama addressed that very issue in his speech in Cairo in 2009.

“I know there has been controversy about the promotion of democracy…let it be clear; no system of government can or should be imposed upon one nation by any other…”

Was the former president telling his Muslim audience that America should not attempt to impose democracy on Islamic nations, or vice versa?

Several nations that are considered current threats to America include, but not limited to, Iran, Russia, China, and North Korea.

There is much discussion about globalism vs. nationalism. While America’s current president espouses nationalism, many feel that globalism will be the future norm.

The disparity between nations and ideologies is overwhelming. Who knows what the future holds for the nations? The answer to the future of the nations has been clearly outlined in the Bible.

The Bible details history before it happens, and interestingly God’s plan for the nations was devised before the foundation of the world. The Bible can be verified by comparing the history of the nations up to this point, while it also reveals the future of the nations.

“…I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done…”

Isaiah 46:9b-10

Known to God from eternity are all His works.” Acts 15:18

Approximately 2.5 millennia after Adam, Joshua proclaimed:

Not a word failed of any good thing which the LORD had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.” Joshua 21:45

Therefore, all of the yet-to-be-fulfilled prophecies can be expected with absolute certainty.

Let’s refer to a specific prophecy found in the Book of Daniel, which has both short-term and long-term application. That means that much of the prophecy has been fulfilled, while the remainder of the prophecy has yet to be fulfilled.

The prophecy began in the form of a dream experienced by Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar shortly after Judah and Jerusalem were deported to Babylon for their 70 year captivity.

The dream troubled King Nebuchadnezzar, so he called the magicians, astrologers, and sorcerers to give him the interpretation of the dream. They asked the king to tell his dream so they could interpret it. The king refused to tell his dream thinking that if he told them what the dream was, they would use their imaginations for an interpretation.

The king said:

“…if you do not make known the dream to me, and its interpretation, you shall be cut in pieces…” Daniel 2:5

The response of the wise men:

There is not a man on earth who can tell the king’s matter…”

Daniel 2:10

The king was very angry and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be killed, including the young Hebrew captive named Daniel and his companions.

Daniel told the king’s captain of the guard that he would interpret the king’s dream. Daniel first went to his house and prayed to his God, and then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. The king’s dream focused on a great metal image.

This image’s head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found.” Daniel 2:32-35

Prophecy has identified and history has verified the subsequent world kingdoms represented by the chest and arms, belly and thighs, and legs of iron.

Stay tuned for Daniel’s interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.

Leave a Reply