Down through history the Israelites were led by God to the leading nations of the world.
To God, the Israelites are the most important people in the world. He says to them:
“For you alone have I cared among all the nations of the world; therefore will I punish you for all your iniquities.” (Amos,3,2.)
In order to make them the wonderful people he wants and needs to fulfil his plans, he has intervened with them throughout the whole history.
Let us start with the origin of the Israelitic people, namely Jacob and his twelve sons. In order to save them from starving to death, God led them to Egypt – where Joseph earlier had been brought as a slave. Egypt was in this period of time a superpower with a highly developed civilization. God led the Israelites to this leader-nation in order to let them grow to a great people there. Moses was raced and trained at Pharaoh’s Court, and was in that way educated to the great deed he was going to perform later in his life.
When the Israelites after 400 years escaped from Egypt in the most fantastic and supernatural way, it was a shocking occurrence to the rest of the world. God made his name known to all humanity, when he subdued Pharaoh and totally annihilated his army.
Many years later, when Assyria had become the world´s leader-nation, the ten tribes living in the northern part of Israel, were carried off to that nation.
“Then he (Salmanassar) invaded the whole country and, reaching Samaria, besieged it for three years. In the ninth year of Hoshea (the king of Israel) he captured Samaria and deported its people to Assyria and settled them in Halah and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of Media.” (2.Kings.17,6.)
In year 612 B.C. Media and Babylonia captured Assyria. This was about 110 years after the ten tribes were deported. But it was 25 years before the tribe of Judah were carried off to Babylon. Thereafter Babylonia grew to be the most important nation in the world. It was in this time king Nebuchadnezzar II built the legendary Babylon with its hanging gardens and fantastic temples and palaces. When Nebuchadnezzar´s power was on its greatest, God let the whole Jewish people be carried off to that nation.
The Prophet Daniel was educated at the Court of Nebuchadnezzar, and he was a highly esteemed man in Babylonia. What a great sensation it must have been in the whole world when the king of this glamorous world empire converted to Israel´s God – on the background of Daniel´s faith and profession. The king proclaimed solemnly to all the millions of the inhabitants in his empire: “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven; for all his acts are right and his ways are just and those whose conduct is arrogant he can bring low.” Dan.4,37. If Daniel and his people had not been deported to Babylon, this mighty event would never have taken place. Occurrences, which can seem like tragedies to the chosen people, are often in fact great blessings.
When Media and Babylonia conquered Assyria, the ten tribes knew that it would not be wise to stay in Babylonia. The prophets had namely foretold that also Babylonia some day would be destroyed.
“ … Babylon … shall be like Sodom and Gomorrah … Her time draws very near, and her days have not long to run.” (Isai.13,19.22.)
But Isaiah also had told that Media was one of the nations that was going to conquer Babylon.
“I will stir up against them the Medes …” (Isai.13,17.)
Many of them were living in towns in Media, and there they of course continued to live after the downfall of Assyria.
After Babylonia was destroyed, Persia together with Media became the new world empire. And the ten tribes of course for a while where living around in the vast Persian world Empire.
The fact that the Israelites for this long period of time had been living in the leading countries of the world indicates that this was God´s agenda for the rest of the history too. I think it is sensible to believe that God wanted that the greatest part of his chosen people always should stay in regions in the centre of the world.
The prophetic image described in Daniel chapter 2, points to the world history from Babylonia and until the end. The two upper parts of the image symbolize Babylonia and Persia, where the Israelites lived for a long time. The third part points to the Greek empire, ruled for a while by Alexander the great – who conquered Persia.
I believe that God´s real agenda with the prophecy of the image is to disclose where his people are at any time. When Greek ruled over a great part of the world, they surely were spread all over that vast land.
The Roman Empire however conquered Greek. And this nation expanded far north in Europe. At that time a great part of the Israelites must have been spread around in this very big empire. But also the Roman Empire lost its power, and it was parted in the many European countries. Of course the Israelites still are living in the part of the world which God pointed out to Daniel. Europe has for a long time been the most important continent of the world. Today USA is the world´s superpower. But that nation too is inhabited by a great deal people who descend from the Europeans.
God is telling that a part of the Israelites some day will return from the northern part of the world.
“See how I bring them from the land of the north …” (Jer.31,8.)
“In those days Judah shall join Israel, and together they shall come from a northern land into the land I gave their fathers as their patrimony.” (Jer.3,18.)
Together with the Jews, the Europeans and their descendants have been the most blessed people on earth. But some day a terrible catastrophe will hit Europe:
“While you looked, a stone was hewn from a mountain, not by human hands; it struck the image on its feet (our days´ Europe) … and shattered them.” (Dan.2,34.)
And from this moment of, the story about Europe as the most important region of the world ends.
“In the period of those kings the God of heaven will establish a kingdom which shall never be destroyed …” (Dan.2,44.)
This kingdom is Israel, with its capital Jerusalem:
“At that time Jerusalem shall be called the Throne of the Lord. All nations (the nations inhabited by the Israelites) shall gather in Jerusalem to honour the Lord´s name …” (Jer.3,17.)
A voice is heard – calling the people living in the north, to return to their homeland:
“Go and proclaim this message to the north: Come back to me, apostate Israel, says the Lord.” (Jer.3,12.)
Israel now is a terrible apostate people. Those who today are calling themselves Christians are going to hear this message from the Lord:
“You must acknowledge your wrongdoing, confess your rebellion against the Lord your God. Confess your promiscuous traffic with foreign gods … confess that you have not obeyed me. This is the very word of the Lord.” (Jer.3,13.)
The Christian peoples in Europe are today rebelling their God. Our continent will soon be shattered. We must wake up!
