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How to live in insane times

The world is very close to imploding, both financially and geopolitically. It is generally true for everyone (and nations as well) that a shortage of money brings to the surface that which is hidden in the hearts of men. The rulers of Babylon have not had to worry about a shortage of money for a very long time, so this is a new experience for them. It is panic time for them, and this is being manifested in geopolitical events.

Pakistan Civil War

Pakistan is one of those countries. Pastor Fiaz has requested prayer for Pakistan, as the country is now in the midst of a full-blown civil war. Riots have broken out, and people are being killed on the streets of some cities.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvsZgNrSyp8&ab_channel=Dr.SteveTurley

With roads being closed, the mission trip to the tribal areas has had to be postponed, as well as the book launching ceremony on May 13. Pakistan is on the verge of bankruptcy as well.

Ukraine War

The Ukrainian army has been broadcasting their plan for a “spring offensive” for the past few months. It seems strange that they would tell the world ahead of time about their plans. Yet it appears that the West is pushing them into this last-ditch effort to take back some territory so they have some leverage in negotiating peace. They also have to do something to justify all of the money and arms shipments, because the Europeans and Americans are starting to wonder if the expense is really worthwhile. The US government has raided the pension funds in America in order to fund the Ukrainian pension fund. Here is a headline:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-19/treasury-begins-special-measures-to-avoid-breaching-debt-limit?in_source=embedded-checkout-banner

Insanity in Europe

Meanwhile, Europe continues to buy Russian oil from India to get around the sanctions.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/jun/26/concerns-india-back-door-into-europe-for-russian-oil

The tanker’s arrival came as India ramped up imports of Russian oil. The Asian nation’s willingness to snap up Russian crude at discounts of up to 30% has undermined efforts from the US, Europe and the UK to deplete Vladimir Putin’s war coffers by curtailing imports. Russia raked in $20bn from oil exports in May, bouncing back to pre-invasion levels. Now, concerns are growing that India is being used as a potential back door into Europe for Russian oil supplies, given the surge in imports.

This ensures that the price Europeans pay for oil is doubled, and India is the main benefactor. Russia now sells as much oil to the world as they did before the sanctions. Reports of Russia’s financial collapse were greatly exaggerated. Reports of European prosperity were also greatly exaggerated.

Germany is shutting down its remaining nuclear power plants.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65260673

The Netherlands is shutting down its food production, because, so it seems, farming contributes to climate change. The Netherlands is where much of Europe gets its food.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/energy-environment/netherlands-buy-out-and-close-farms-meet-climate-goals

When Babylon dies, the coroner will rule it a suicide.

Nebuchadnezzar’s Insanity

I chalk it up to the fulfillment of prophecy found in Daniel 4, where Nebuchadnezzar went insane for a time. Many commentators are now using the term “insane” to describe what is going on in the world. Most of these people, however, do not know the Scriptures well enough to connect it to Nebuchadnezzar.

For us, the good news is that when the appointed time arrives, Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged the God of heaven. In fact, this insanity was something that God imposed upon the king “in order that the living may know that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind, and bestows it on whom He wishes and sets over it the lowliest of men” (Daniel 4:17).

God’s purpose was indeed fulfilled, or, as we read in Daniel 4:28, “All this happened to Nebuchadnezzar the king.” When the king was finally released from insanity, he declared Babylon to be a Kingdom nation, ruled by the Most High God (Elyon).

Daniel 4:34, 35 says,

³⁴ But at the end of that period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever. For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom endures from generation to generation. ³⁵ All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, but He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and no one can ward off His hand or say to Him, “What have You done?”

Those of us who believe the Scriptures and who see the prophetic pattern established thousands of years ago can see that the seven-year cycle from 2017-2024 is the modern version of Nebuchadnezzar’s insanity, designed to humble the kings of Babylon and force them to acknowledge the Most High God.

We ourselves saw the same seven-year pattern from November 29, 1993 until November 29, 2000. That was just a beginning point and an early warning of the fall of Babylon. It would take another 24 years for this to emerge into real-world events.

Darius’ Decree (Medo-Persia)

I should add that the other beast empires (Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome) all had their moments when they acknowledged the rule of the Most High God. The story of the Persians is recorded in Daniel 6, culminating with the decree of King Darius in Daniel 6:26,

²⁶ “I make a decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom men are to fear and tremble before the God of Daniel; for He is the living God and enduring forever, and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed, and His dominion will be forever.”

Persia (now Iran) is a Kingdom nation, whether they know it or not. Darius’ decree was issued “according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which may not be revoked” (Daniel 6:12). Furthermore, “no injunction or statute which the king establishes may be changed” (Daniel 6:15). Hence, Darius’ decree is still the law of the land in Iran and will be fulfilled at the appointed time. Perhaps that is the real underlying reason why the Babylonian nations of the West hate Iran. Do they know something that most people do not?

Greece under Alexander

The next empire was Greece, led by Alexander the Great. When he set out to conquer the Persian empire, he came to Jerusalem and offered a sacrifice to the Most High God.

In 332 he marched to Jerusalem, where he found himself welcome. The priests had read and understood the prophecies of Daniel, and so they knew that Alexander had been given the divine mandate. The high priest, Jaddua, was afraid of Alexander, but Josephus tells us…

“… God warned him in a dream, which came upon him after he had offered sacrifice, that he should take courage, and adorn the city, and open the gates; that the rest should appear in white garments, but that he and the priests should meet the king in the habits proper to their order, without the dread of any ill consequences, which the providence of God would prevent. Upon which, when he rose from his sleep, he greatly rejoiced; and declared to all the warning he had received from God. According to which dream he acted entirely, and so waited for the coming of the king.” (Antiquities of the Jews, XI, viii, 4)

The high priest’s dream proved to be genuine, for when they welcomed Alexander to their city and gave him honor, they received honor in return.

Alexander’s response, honoring the high priest, surprised his own troops and their leaders, because they thought Alexander would plunder the city and torture the high priest to death. But instead, he approached the high priest at the temple and greeted him with reverence. The priests all responded in the same manner, saluting him with a loud voice. When Alexander was asked by his own generals why he acted with such respect, he replied (as Josephus tells us):

“I did not adore him, but that God who hath honoured him with his high priesthood; for I saw this very person in a dream, in this very habit, when I was at Dios in Macedonia, who, when I was considering with myself how I might obtain the dominion of Asia, exhorted me to make no delay, but boldly to pass over the sea thither, for that he would conduct my army, and would give me the dominion over the Persians; whence it is, that having seen no other in that habit, and now seeing this person in it, and remembering that vision, and the exhortation which I had in my dream, I believe that I bring this army under the divine conduct, and shall therewith conquer Darius, and destroy the power of the Persians, and that all things will succeed according to what is in my own mind.” (Antiquities, XI, viii, 5)

In other words, while Alexander had been contemplating whether or not to go to war with Persia, God had given him a dream, wherein the high priest of Jerusalem was telling him to do so without delay. In that dream, the man was dressed in strange garments, and when he arrived in Jerusalem, he recognized the high priest as that man, dressed in the robes of the high priesthood.

Josephus then tells us what Alexander did:

“… [H]e came into the city, and when he went up into the temple, he offered sacrifice to God according to the high priest’s direction, and magnificently treated both the high priest and the priests. And when the book of Daniel was showed him, wherein Daniel declared that one of the Greeks should destroy the empire of the Persians, he supposed that himself was the person intended…”

As a result, Judea was allowed to continue observing the law of God, along with all other Judeans who lived abroad, including those who yet lived in Babylon.

Rome

Rome, too, finally had to bow to the Most High God when the Emperor Constantine took control of the empire. He ended the persecution of Christians by issuing the Edict of Toleration. While many have castigated him for his faults, the persecuted church were very grateful. I think today’s critics would have had a very different view of Constantine if they had been living in his time.

This is not to say that he was without his faults, of course. New believers have to learn many things, and no one is perfect.

These examples show how God brought all four of the beast empires to recognize His sovereignty at some point in their history. He is still on the throne, and He is yet the Most High. This should be an encouragement for us as we live through a second round of Nebuchadnezzar’s insanity, knowing that God has not lost control of the situation.