Frontier

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Published: Wednesday, 30 January 2019 06:25

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Frontier

By Augusto A.Kho

Christ the Living Stone Fellowship –Rosales

January 20, 2019 (Sunday); 9:00 a.m.

Revised: January 30, 2019 (Wednesday); 1:11 P.M.

The unknown

What about putting yourself in unknown place? Or meeting a complete stranger? Or entangled is

a very difficult, situation where you have never experienced before? Would you dare to cross over

and explore the things of the unknown? Like a frontier?

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Like Abram. He doesn’t know where he’ll be going. He is simply following God’s voice. The Lord

said to Abram, “The LORD said to Abram, "Leave your country, your relatives, and your father's

home, and go to a land that I am going to show you,” (Genesis 12:1/ Good News Bible). God gave

no specific destination. And Abram obeyed – a blind obedience.

In the same way when God gave the Great Commission to teach and to baptize, He said this,

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son,

and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you:

and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen, “ (Matthew 28:19-20).

God made a command and not a request for us to explore “all nations” with the promise that

He will be with us even to the “end of the world.” And where is exactly the end of the world? The

end of the world? The “world” in Greek aion refers to the “unbroken age’’ or the “perpetuity of

time.” And the time there is endless and boundless. And when the time is endless and boundless.

“All nations’’ are too generic. God didn’t give any details. And no further explanations except with

a promise. God commanded us ‘’nations’’ in Greek “ethnos” meaning ‘foreign’’ something and

someone which we are completely unfamiliar at.

God knows the familiar and the unfamiliar worlds. But how about us? We are not God though we

are gods in the likeness of Him, He created us (Genesis 1:26).

Frontier

At 8:40 A.M. on that day, 7^th of January, the word, “Frontier,” just came up while we were billeted

In Rumah Highlands, Hotel in Cebu City.

There must be a reason why “frontier” came to my mind. That time we were just wrapping up the

two days Strategic Planning. Isaac my son, decided to quit job and put up his own business on

air cargo and logistics. Two other young men provided him support to venture to cross border

which a frontier in the field of logistics. These three (3) young men are young, energetic and

daring to cross beyond their comfort zones. They are Marlon, Isaac and Jun ages 37, 26, 25. They

are the Z Generation.

Frontier defined

Frontier is a border between two countries; a distant area where few people live; the limits of knowledge on particular field – Webster definition.

And how would you like to live in two different worlds – the physical world and spiritual worlds for example? Would that be possible, while I am in my physical body yet my spirit is somewhere else in another world?

In Daniel 7:14-16 for example, prophet Daniel received a divine vision of God. In that vision, I mean he was inside that vision apart from the physical world and even approached a man there.

Ezekiel 25:9 defined frontier on biblical term. Frontier in Hebrew “qetseh”(kaw-tseh) means ‘’end, extremity, mouth, border, outskirts, at the end of a certain time, brink, edge, uttermost part.”

“’ Therefore, behold, I will open the side of Moab from the cities, from his cities which are on his frontiers, the glory of the country, Bethjeshimoth, Baalmeon, and Kiriathaim.”’ Take note that the word frontiers is plural not singular. It means “many edges” or ‘’many borders.’’ You might pass another edge, then to another edge then to another border. It is like opening something like a door that never ends. It is like opening page after page after page after page without end.

The avionics

On January 16, 2019 (Wednesday) at 6:00 P.M., Isaac and I met at Marriott Hotel beside Resorts World Casino-Hotel in Paranaque to meet one aviator and two avionics men. These two avionics men works in the same company while the other one is Subic-based, the younger one is based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia handling the Pacific and South China Sea accounts.

Avionics are the electronic systems used on aircraft, artificial satellites, and spacecraft. In other words, these two avionics men sell aircraft parts.

In Matthew 18:8-9 Jesus spoke of cutting one’s hand or foot and plucking one’s eye rather than whole body to be cast to hell. That is dismembering human body parts just like dismantling aircraft parts. Yet in Heaven there is a “leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations,” (Revelation 22:2. Healing in Greek therapeia means to render medical service or body of attendants. Therapeia’s root word is therapeuo meaning ‘’restore to health.’’ Is there some “’glorified human body parts’’ in heaven that restores a blind man or a maimed man in the same way that aircraft or vehicles when badly damaged can be restored back if it can be replaced with new parts compatible to its body?

What parts of me and yours that requires the badly needed replacement to make us compatible for God’s sacred use and purposes?

Spare parts, anyone?

Can we replace worn-out Christians or apathetic brethren? Do we have enough spare parts of erring church members? Can we remove our evil thoughts and replace it with godly-thoughts? Does heaven provides enough spare parts to do replacements if necessary?

Can someone be replaced if a badly theological preacher who teaches “prosperity doctrine” had duped Christians in following Christ’s humble beginning and end? Remember that Jesus was born in a manger then died on a cross. That is nothingness. That is humility not prosperity. Jesus was only well adored and wealthy when His mission have been already accomplished perfectly well.

Well Elisha replaces Elijah. And someone else filled up what Judas Iscariot have left in the ministry (Acts 1:23-26).

If we need to replace aircraft’s parts so we could fly to cross borders to reach the near-end, can I be replaced or can you replaced by another’s parts that could do better?

Future world events

On January 18, 2019 (Friday)at 2:36 A.M. I read this from New Living Translation (NLT),

“He controls the course of the world events, he removes kings and set up other kings,” (Daniel 2:21). The word, “control”’ in KJV ‘’change’’ in Hebrew ‘’shena’’ s being defined as ‘’be altered, transform, corresponding to, diverse.’’

“

Have you heard China’s President preparing his entire army for a war? A report says:

“”China's Xi calls on army to be battle-ready January 6, 2019. Reuters/CHINA STRINGER NETWORK Soldiers of the Chinese People's Liberation Army take part in a combat training in the Gobi desert in Jiuquan SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's armed forces must strengthen their sense of urgency and do everything they can to prepare for battle, President Xi Jinping told a meeting of top brass on Friday.”

While a US Navy who just recently docked at Subic this January said to me just yesterday that their frequent visibility in West Philippine Sea (WPS) is because they are monitoring China’s activity in the contested areas. There are rumors of war in the Pacific between USA and China. Who control that, USA or China?

Daniel 2:21 says, “He (God) control the course of the world events” and it is not a Prime Minister, neither Queen Elizabeth of England, not President Trump of US or China’s President Xi controls our FUTURE, it is God’s and no One wills. Man’s hand is outside to the forthcomings events of the future. Jesus Christ said, I am the Alpha and the Omega (Revelation 1:8). Omega in Greek word refers to “finality.””

Our final hours are not on the hands of men but on the gracious hands of God.

While Hanjin, a South Korean shipbuilding business gone bankrupt, many sectors from our society are prodding our government to take that over? Ohhh – that is crossing border. An economic frontier? Are we not an economic hub before the Americans came? Who can change our economy, men or God?

History tells

History tells that Philippines’ economy is the best in the region before the Spanish, Americans and the Japanese occupation. Here what the history validates:

“When the Spaniards came to the Philippines, our ancestors were already trading A Spanish Galleon with China, Japan, Siam, India, Cambodia, Borneo and the Moluccas. The Spanish government continued trade relations with these countries, and the Manila became the center of commerce in the East. The Spaniards closed the ports of Manila to all countries except Mexico. Thus, the Manila–Acapulco Trade, better known as the "Galleon Trade" was born. The Galleon Trade was a government monopoly. Only two galleons were used: One sailed from Acapulco to Manila with some 500,000 pesos worth of goods, spending 120 days at sea; the other sailed from Manila to Acapulco with some 250,000 pesos worth of goods spending 90 days at sea.’’

Taking over South Korean’s Hanjin is not simply ordinary but a fact. Don’t we need a strong shipbuilding yard to contend our potential enemies and nemesis in grabbing our territorial rights? Can’t we build armored -missile battleships from it? Hanjin is definitely not a beginning but a continuity of our journey as a nation to regain what we lost as “once the most powerful nation in southeast Asia’’ in the 1960’s.Is God is restoring us creating a frontier in terms of sea-navigation or naval power?

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Fact is

The fact is this:

“By April 25, 2018, the Philippines is accounted for 2.6% of Philippine exports, or $1.5 billion, in 2015, while the revenue generated by the shipbuilding and repair industry was estimated at $1.6 billion. In the global shipbuilding, the country's role is also considerable. The Philippines is actually the fourth largest ship producer based on gross tons.” (reference : https://www.dk-export.dk/nyt-og..)

Ancient civilizations

Yesterday, January 19, 2019 (Saturday), I was surprised seeing myself scanning some old my old pictures. And from there, I went back to the ancient civilizations like the kingdoms Egypt, Greece and ancient Rome. What are these all about?

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Four ancient kingdoms

Today, January 20, 2019 (Sunday) at 6:25 A.M., I read this Scriptures that astounded me so much. I never understood this before more than what I understand it now though I read it over for several times.

Daniel 2:31-33 /New Living Translation (NLT) : “’31 In your vision, Your Majesty, you saw standing before you a huge, shining statue of a man. It was a frightening sight. 32 The head of the statue was made of fine gold. Its chest and arms were silver, its belly and thighs were bronze, 33 its legs were iron, and its feet were a combination of iron and baked clay”.

These Four Ancient Kingdoms were being represented in this order in the Book of Daniel and we are talking about the past kingdoms

1. Gold …………………… Babylon

2. Silver ………………….. Medes-Persia

3. Bronze or brass……….Greece

4. Iron ……………………. Rome

5. Partly iron and clay……Inferior kingdoms

TAKE NOTE that the ancient kingdoms of Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome are now merely things of the past and the nations and kingdoms after that are more inferior ones which is half-iron and half-clay that can not be combined as foretold to prophet Daniel (2:43).

Babylon, the “head of gold” and Egypt

In Genesis 10:10, Babel (Babylon) is described as founded by Nimrod. The Book of Revelation in the Christian Bible refers to Babylon many centuries after it ceased to be a major political center. The city is personified by the "Whore of Babylon", riding on a scarlet beast with seven heads and ten horns, and drunk on the blood of the righteous.

Daniel said to King Nebuchadnezzar that his kingdom is the world’s greatest kingdom personified with “fine gold”” (Daniel 2:32) and what comes next after him are mere inferior ones (Daniel 2:37-39)

Modern Iraq today is recently where the ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) first established their presence that sown the whole world with terror in the name of Allah.

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While Egypt is first established in 3,150 B.C., what come’s next is Daniel prophesied fine gold kingdom called Babylon now called Iraq was founded in 2,300 B.C. Egypt is considered is where the cradle of civilization according to Béatrix Midant-Reynes, The Prehistory of Egypt.” It is the land of the Nile and the pyramids, the oldest kingdom of which we have any record that holds a place of great significance in the Scripture according to Easton.

Persia, ‘’breast of silver”

Persia now called Iran is home to one of the world's oldest civilizations, starting with the formation of the Elamite kingdoms in the fourth millennium BCE. Elam is first mentioned in Genesis 10:22, the descendant of Shem.

Ezra, a teacher of the Law also mentioned the Elamites in Ezra 4:9) and they were one among the worshippers in Acts 2:9 who came from the southwards to the Persian Gulf. Elam means eternity.

Persia was first unified by the Iranian Medes in the seventh century BCE, reaching its greatest territorial size in the sixth century BCE, when Cyrus the Great founded the Achaemenid Empire, which stretched from Eastern Europe to the Indus Valley, becoming one of the largest empires in history (Source: David Sacks; Oswyn Murray; Lisa R. Brody; Oswyn Murray; Lisa R. Brody (2005). Encyclopedia of the ancient Greek world. King Cyrus is also mentioned by Ezra in Ezra 1:1.

Cyrus is the king of Persia and conqueror of Babylon. Cyrus is the first ruler of Persia to make a decree allowing the Israelite exiles to return to Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 36:22; 36:23; Ezra 1:1).

Esther a Jewish lass, niece of Mordecai was married to Persian king named Ahasuerus (Esther 2:16) in Shusha (Susa). Ahasuerus was later replaced by his son, king Darius II or Darius the Mede (Ezra 4:5, 24) during the time of Nehemiah. Meanwhile during the reign of Darius III, Codomannu was king of Persia during its last years at the time of Alexander the Great and was his opponent, Darius means lord.

It was in Dhahran Airport on January 16, 1986 when I came to know the Lord. Five (5) months later on June of the same year, I was baptized in the Persian Gulf adjacent to the ancient Persia now called Iran.

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Greece, ‘’thighs of brass’’

Greece is considered as one of the cradle of civilization. It is a home to the first advanced civilizations in Europe and is considered the birthplace of Western civilization, beginning with the Cycladic civilization on the islands of the Aegean Sea at around 3200 BC, the Minoan civilization in Crete (2700–1500 BC), and then the Mycenaean civilization on the mainland (1900–1100 BC) according to Giannēs Koliopoulos; Thanos M. Veremis (30 October 2002) and from many sources.

Greece is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Situated on the southern tip of the Balkan Peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the northeast. Often they are called the Hellenistic people in ancient time.

Greece derived it biblical name in Hebrew word, ýavan. i.e. Ionia or Greece, a son of Japheth, and grandson of Noah (Zechariah 9:13). The Jews from Greece were also recorded partaking their Mosaic tradition as you can find them in John 12:20 with Jesus celebrating the Feast. Paul also included Greece in his missionary journey (Acts 20:2).

Rome, ‘’legs of Iron”

Rome's history spans 28 centuries. While Roman mythology dates the founding of Rome at around 753 BC, the site has been inhabited for much longer, making it one of the oldest continuously occupied sites in Europe according to Heiken, G., Funiciello, R. and De Rita, D. (2005), “’The Seven Hills of Rome.”’

The city's early population originated from a mix of Latins, Etruscans, and Sabines. Eventually, the city successively became the capital of the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, and is regarded as the birthplace of Western civilization and by some as the first ever metropolis as it is written in Book entitled, Old Age in Ancient Rome.”

It was first called The Eternal City by the Roman poet Tibullus in the 1st century BC, according to Stephanie Malia Hom.

Other Kingdoms, “feet of iron and clay”

I’ve been to some several ancient countries in the likes of Asia Minor (Turkey) or France during the time of Napoleon Bonaparte and England. And also visited some modern countries like Netherlands, Switzerland and in other parts of Middle East. Yet according to Daniel after the most powerful kingdom with the “head of gold” under Nebuchadnezzar, the succeeding kingdoms after him will be in the symbol of silver, copper, iron and partly iron-and-clay are already inferior kingdoms.

In other words, powerful countries today like America, China, Russia or Europe or Asia are merely inferior ones as it is founded on a “feet made up of part iron and part clay” that cannot be mixed.

The modern nations now

The modern nations and kingdoms of the world now are standing on a quick-sand. Being member of the world’s most powerful alliances, the United Nations (UN) or European Union (EU) and others are senseless and baseless without Christ as their center of government (Psalm 2:1-12).

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They are for what they are not. And what the modern states, nations and kingdoms now stand for? For Christ or Anti-Christ? Soon, history will judge all the nations.

Avionics: 6 Man’s Kingdoms?

“Avionics: 6 Man’s Kingdom?’’ That is my own personal version.

Whether am wrong or right, it is immaterial. And it is not a crime to expound our minds provided it is not an intent to insult God and His WORD and the rest of humanity.

Is it sin to expand my wildest imagination to explore the unknown of God’s untouchable mysteries and go beyond the frontier of this age?

Daniel spoke on futuristic events. He said in Daniel 2:21/NLT, “He controls the course of world events; he removes kings and sets up other kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the scholars.’’ And those who trust in men will only be put to shame.

God controls and not USA, Europe or China’s President Xi. Not even Middle East or Israel. God controls everything whether it is the weather, the economy or the rumors of war.

How about the “Ten horns” or kings, shall they arise to another era or dispensation or perhaps Great Tribulation (Daniel 7:24; Revelation 12:3)? Is it under Satan’s kingdom before Millennial Rule or during the Millennium?

Shall this “10 horns” will be soon representing the 6^th kingdom, a partly-iron-and-clay one?

Will there be a last kingdom or a last frontier? Will it be the seventh kingdom? What kind of kingdom would this be?

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Why am I telling you this?

Why am I telling you this?

To let it be known that no country or countries in this world can match the unshakeable kingdom of Christ that should scare us even when we are facing death? America, Russia, China, Europe and even the Satanic kingdom can reverse all what God has already stored in the future global or world events. All things are already in His divine calendar.

Today’s nations are mere iron-clay kingdoms that are freakily breakable like pots or glass that should never stunned or scares us. These arrogant nations must be put into shambles and only a nation that fears God shall endures. “ Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,” (Psalm 33:12).

Let us be reminded that this planet Earth where we stands and lives is merely transitory and not our permanent ground as we wait for our eternal residency status heaven-bound.

The Seventh Kingdom?

Will there be a seventh kingdom after it was earlier mentioned that kingdoms like gold, silver, copper, iron and partly iron-clay. And after the partly iron and partly clay kingdom are inferior kingdoms. Can we ascribe those lesser powerful nations or kingdoms in today’s age like in this Church Age? But Daniel 7:24 and Revelation 12:3 also spoke of yet “ten horns” that will soon arise in another era or dispensation after this Church Age. And that will occur when “the beast will mark the people with 666’’ which is in another time called “Great Tribulation.” Will that be the Sixth Kingdom? Then what is the Seventh Kingdom?

Daniel explained to King Nebuchadnezzar that his kingdom is the gold kingdom thus he said this:

“But after your kingdom comes to an end, another kingdom, inferior to yours, will rise to take your place. After that kingdom has fallen, yet a third kingdom, represented by bronze, will rise to rule the world. 40 Following that kingdom, there will be a fourth one, as strong as iron. That kingdom will smash and crush all previous empires, just as iron smashes and crushes everything it strikes. 41 The feet and toes you saw were a combination of iron and baked clay, showing that this kingdom will be divided. Like iron mixed with clay, it will have some of the strength of iron. 42 But while some parts of it will be as strong as iron, other parts will be as weak as clay. 43 This mixture of iron and clay also shows that these kingdoms will try to strengthen themselves by forming alliances with each other through intermarriage. But they will not hold together, just as iron and clay do not mix,”’ (Daniel 2:39-43).

What is the strongest global organization that demands it member-states to push mercy-killing, abortion, same-sex marriage, SOGIE, gender-equality, economic sanction, or support other ungodly bills or laws? United Nations (UN) or European Union (EU) and others?

Is it UN and EU and others are forming “alliances” against God and His WORD, the Holy Bible?

Is it the United Nations (UN) and the European Union (EU) and some other man-made federations, confederations or alliances are under ‘’partly iron and clay” which cannot be mixed as Daniel foretold?

And this is what the Lord said to them?

‘’ 1 Why are the nations so angry? Why do they waste their time with futile plans? 2 The kings of the earth prepare for battle; the rulers plot together against the Lord and against his anointed one. 3 “Let us break their chains,” they cry, “and free ourselves from slavery to God.”4 But the one who rules in heaven laughs. The Lord scoffs at them.5 Then in anger he rebukes them, terrifying them with his fierce fury. 6 For the Lord declares, “I have placed my chosen king on the throne in Jerusalem,[a] on my holy mountain,” (Psalm 2:1-6/NLT)

Out from these alliances, will there be one among them that will rise up as the false beast and the false prophet? Where is Satan now? Many anti-Christ’s now as the Scriptures says. Even in the Church of Pergamon is where the throne of Satan is (Revelation 2:13). When will they reign? During the Church Age or the Grace Age?

The Tribulation and the Great Tribulation which was foretold by Jesus Christ in Matthew 24, which era or epoch will this fit in? In the Church Age? Or in another time or dispensation? Will that be in the future like Millennium? It is during this Great Tribulation that Satan will finally come out to the open. Who is he? What kingdom is he representing? The gold, the silver, the bronze, the iron, or partly iron-clay kingdom?

Going back

Going back to the vision of Nebuchadnezzar which was revealed by Daniel, he said this:

‘’ 31 “In your vision, Your Majesty, you saw standing before you a huge, shining statue of a man. It was a frightening sight. 32 The head of the statue was made of fine gold. Its chest and arms were silver, its belly and thighs were bronze, 33 its legs were iron, and its feet were a combination of iron and baked clay. 34 As you watched, a rock was cut from a mountain, but not by human hands. It struck the feet of iron and clay, smashing them to bits. 35 The whole statue was crushed into small pieces of iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold. Then the wind blew them away without a trace, like chaff on a threshing floor. But the rock that knocked the statue down became a great mountain that covered the whole earth.” (Daniel 2:31-35).

Did you notice anything from the Readings?

It says ‘’ä rock was cut from a mountain” then smashed the whole statue of gold, silver, copper, iron and the partly iron-and-clay kingdom and other inferior kingdoms that follow after that. Who is this rock? And what the Bible speaks about the rock?

The rock

God is likened to a Rock as a shield, horn, strength, refuge a and salvation (2 Samuel 22:3; Psalm 18:2; 46). Christ is the stone which the builders rejected (Matthew 21:42; Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17). Christ is being called the chief cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20; 1 Peter 2:6).

No other state, nation, kingdom or institution is as stable than the aforementioned rock. God didn’t give that stone other than to all the genuine Christians of the world where the Church of Jesus Christ is founded. Jesus said, “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it,’’ (Matthew 16:18).

There is another kingdom coming. It is unshakeable kingdom that can not be moved. (Hebrew 12:26-28). Would it be a Rock Kingdom?

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While many Filipinos crave to migrate on foreign shores in exchange of a greener pasture and willing to give up their citizenship, the ‘’ kingdom of God’’ is least likely being preached even among us as Christians. This is the only real Kingdom that shall endure while the rest are mere iron laden in a clay that soon to crumble.

Is it the Church Age is a prelude for the coming of the seventh kingdom?

Jesus said that His kingdom is NOT OF THIS WORLD (John 18:36). In the Lord’s Prayer, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven,” (Matthew 6:10). And what kind of Kingdom would that be? Will that be like a “’ROCK KINGDOM, the LAST FRONTIER?

NOTES

• Scriptures are quoted in King James Version (KJV) unless otherwise specified.

• Some photos are taken from the internet unless otherwise it is posted as taken by me,

Daniel 8

In chapter 8 Daniel sees a ram with two horns destroyed by a he-goat with a single horn; the horn breaks and four horns appear, followed once again by the "little horn".

Schools of thought

From the time of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century, the "four monarchies" model became widely used by all for universal history, in parallel with eschatology, among Protestants. Some continued to defend its use in universal history in the early 18th century.

Christopher Cellarius (1638–1707), based on the distinctive nature of medieval Latin. The modern historicist interpretations and eschatological views of the Book of Daniel with the Book of Revelation closely resemble and continue earlier historical Protestant interpretations (Source: Herbert Butterfield, Man on His Past (1955), pp. 45–56).

John J. Collins (1998) wrote that there are references in classical literature and arts that apparently predate the use of the succession of kingdoms in the Book of Daniel. One appears in Aemilius Sura,an author quoted by Velleius Paterculus (c. 19 BC – c. AD 31). This gives Assyria, Media, Persia and Macedonia as the imperial powers. The fifth empire became identified with the Romans. (After the 17th century, the concept of a fifth monarchy was re-introduced from Christian millennarian ideas.)

An interpretation that became orthodox after Swain (1940)[3] sees the "four kingdoms" theory becoming the property of Greek and Roman writers at the beginning of the 1st century BCE, as an import from Asia Minor according to Joseph Ward Swain (1940). They built on a three-kingdom sequence, already mentioned by Herodotus (c. 484–425 BC) and by Ctesias (fl. 401 BC) as confirmed as well in a book entitled “The Hellenistic World and the Coming of Rome” which was written in 1986 by Erich S. Gruen/ Mendels (1981) however it I being contested when it comes to the dating and origin in the later part in the century. Meanwhile, John J. Collins, A Short Introduction to the Hebrew Bible (2007), p. 282”,” writes that the “”Jewish Reconstructionists and Full Preterists believe that Daniel is completely fulfilled, and that the believers are now working to establish the Kingdom of God on earth.

Two main schools of thought on the four kingdoms of Daniel, are:

1. the traditionalist view, supporting the conflation of Medo-Persia and identifying the last kingdom as the Roman Empire.

2. the Maccabean thesis, a view that supports the separation of the Medes from the Persians and identifies the last kingdom as the Seleucid Empire according to John Collins, “Introduction to the Hebrew Bible.”

Roman Empire schema[edit]

The following interpretation represents a traditional view of Jewish and Christian Historicists, Futurists, Dispensationalists, Partial Preterists, and other futuristic Jewish and Christian hybrids, as well as certain Messianic Jews, who typically identify the kingdoms in Daniel (with variations) as:

1. the Babylonian Empire

2. the Medo-Persian Empire

3. the Greek Empire

4. the Roman Empire, with other implications to come later

Jerome (c. 347 – 420) described this scheme in his Commentary on Daniel.[7] Within this framework there are numerous variations.

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