Media is not Iraq
As I continue to study the visions in Daniel 8, Yahweh again makes a passage leap off the page and knock me in the head, just so I notice it. In Daniel 8:20, Gabriel is explaining to Daniel, “The ram which you saw, having the two horns—they are the kings of Media and Persia.” Ok, that’s not a real deep theological passage, but it does define a present day Islamic nation. The year Daniel received this vision from Yeshua through Gabriel was 548 BCE based on the popularly accepted Ptolemy’s Canon, the third year of Belshazzar, King of Babylon, Daniel’s 58th year in captivity. One popular prophecy seminar speaker calls this Media, Iraq, and Persia, Iran. But it’s not possible for this Media to be Iraq, because ancient Babylon is modern day Iraq and the year Daniel received this vision, while he was a captive servant of Babylon, Media, Persia, and Babylon were all contemporary stand alone nations, though Cyrus II of Persia conquered Media right around the time of Daniel’s vision. Read up a little on ancient Media and you will see that it was in north west and north central Iran, at the south end of the Caspian Sea. That area is included in what is now modern day Iran, because Cyrus II, the ancient Persian king, conquered Media before he conquered Babylon. Daniel was baffled over this vision, but not about who Media and Persia were, for he is the one who interpreted the handwriting on the wall for Belshazzar, the night Belshazzar was killed by Darius the Mede and Cyrus II, the Persian, when they conquered Babylon without a fight on October 29, 539 BCE. The Medes and Persians combined their empires into one. So, a modern translation of Daniel 8:20 might read thus, “The ram which you saw, having the two horns—they are the kings of Northwest Iran and Southeast Iran.” Ancient Medo-Persia was one those empires to begin with two leaders, or kings, merging together to become powerful enough to defeat their common enemies, including Babylon. Therefore, our destruction of Iraq in 1990-1991 and 2003-2010 may not have been a fulfillment of prophecy, since the focus of our attack must be against Iran, or Persia, not against Babylon, or Iraq.
Charles Wheeling, my beloved prophecy seminar friend, also calls this ram, Islam, which it does not represent, it only represents the kingdom of Medo-Persia, which part Daniel clearly understood, and which we now understand can only represent Iran today, in the time of the end, to which this prophecy applies, according to Daniel 8:17, “So he came near where I stood, and when he came I was afraid and fell on my face; but he said to me, “Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the time of the end.”” Many prophecies have dual fulfillments, if not more, so this prophecy could have applied to the end of ancient Babylon, which Daniel lived to see with his own eyes, as well as it could be referring to our day, the last generation, who will see its complete fulfillment in the end times. What scares me about this Iran scenario is that Ahmadinejad may be succeeded by a “higher horn” that comes up last, one who is even more wicked than he is, hatching sinister plans upon our spiritually dull world.
Shall we peek at Daniel 8:8-12, “Therefore the male goat grew very great; but when he became strong, the large horn was broken, and in place of it four notable ones came up toward the four winds of heaven. 9And out of one of them came a little horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Glorious Land. 10And it grew up to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the ground, and trampled them. 11He even exalted himself as high as the Prince of the host; and by him the daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of His sanctuary was cast down. 12Because of transgression, an army was given over to the horn to oppose the daily sacrifices; and he cast truth down to the ground. He did all this and prospered.” Lot’s of end timers like to say this little horn comes out of a revived Holy Roman Empire. Let’s set that aside for a moment. This little horn may have had a natural fulfillment in the Greek ruler of Syria, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, in 167 BCE, but we may see an end time fulfillment by seeing this little horn as Islam. Notice it grew toward the south. Islam has conquered all the nations around the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, and the Persian Gulf. Islam is actually growing, expanding right inside the Glorious Land, Israel. Islam is even prospering inside the Glorious Church of Yeshua, because people are so duped and believe all the hype pushed by Western religious and political leaders. Why do the Israeli police keep Yahweh’s people, including the religious Jews, from performing their daily oblations on an altar on the Temple Mount? Because they are afraid of offending the Muslims and stirring up violence in Jerusalem. Folks, you need to get this in your hearts and minds, there is only one kind of Muslim, the terrorist Muslim. There is no such thing as a conservative, moderate, or radical Muslim. A Muslim is a Muslim is a terrorist Muslim. Muslims worship the demon Allah. Who exults itself against the hosts of heaven and against the Prince of the host, more than Islam? Who casts down and desecrates the PLACE of Yahweh’s sanctuary, the Temple Mount, but Islam? Who has a terrorist army inside Israel that intimidates the Israeli police so much that they keep Jews from daily oblations on the Temple Mount, but Islam? Who casts the truth of Yahweh’s word to the ground more than demonic Islam? Who does all this and daily slaughters Christians around the world and still prospers in every corner of the globe but Islam? The sooner you swallow this bitter pill, the sooner you will understand your present and future trampling. Get used to it, because this is part of Yahweh’s end-time plan, until He takes out the firstborn of Abraham, the Ishmaelites, the Muslims, those who hate Yahweh with a passion and you, His child, with such hatred that you may find your calling is a beheading at the hands of a terrorist, a Muslim. Yahweh commands all you Muslims to repent of your evil religion and sin and turn to your Creator, Yeshua HaMashiach, Jesus Christ, as your only Savior. If not, bye-bye paradise, there is hope for you only if you turn your trust to Yahweh and His only Son, Yeshua.
Do we dare look at Daniel 8:21-22, “And the male goat is the kingdom of Greece. The large horn that is between its eyes is the first king. 22As for the broken horn and the four that stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall arise out of that nation, but not with its power.” The Hebrew word here for Greece is the name Yavan or Javan, from the son of Japheth, son of Noah, the fair-skinned folks from the Mediterranean coasts and islands, especially Cyprus. It’s clear from history that Alexander the Great’s Greece conquered Persia and was divided into 4 kingdoms, so a natural fulfillment of Daniel 8 has occurred, but what about a spiritual and final complete fulfillment in the end times? I don’t know, but watch the bankrupt modern-day Greece get close to Israel for financial aid and trade. After America and her allies take out Iran, and America collapses financially, politically and morally, watch for Greece and the European Union to step in to become Israel’s allies, if Israel survives the war at all. But that’s another study for another time, which we have briefly looked at before, and apparently may look at again, Yahweh willing.
Happy Yom Teruah, Feast of Trumpets,
Gene Benjamin II
September 8, 2010
Ps. Yahweh bless Pastor Terry Jones of Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida. He has declared September 11 as World burn a Koran day. Kudos Pastor Terry!! I’m with you, brother!