Posted: July 9, 2023
From the Bible and history, Daniel’s Fourth Kingdom discusses each of the four [successive] gentile kingdoms [referred to in chapters 2 and 7 of the Book of Daniel. (The fulfillment of these “times of the Gentiles” (Luke 21:24 NIV) points to the season of the return of Jesus Christ.)]. They [(the four kingdoms)] are described
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Tags: a little horn, amalgamated fourth beast, ancient Mediterranean region, Antichrist, belly and thighs of bronze (Greece), Bible prophecy, Book of Daniel, chest and arms of silver (Medo-Persia), Daniel 2 and 7, Daniel 2:32-33, Daniel 2:40-43, Daniel 7:19-20, Daniel 7:23, Daniel 9:26, Daniel's fourth kingdom, devour the whole earth, divided Roman Empire continuing, four gentile kingdoms, four great beasts (Daniel 7), four successive gentile kingdoms, fourth kingdom, globe-dominating, head of gold (Babylon), human government, iron and clay, J. N. Darby, Jerusalem, Jesus Christ, legs of iron and feet and toes of iron and clay (Rome), Messiah, outward appearance, political kingdoms, return of Christ, Roman Empire, Temple, temporal kingdoms, ten horns, times of the Gentiles (Luke 21:24), two historical phases of Roman Empire, Western Europe
Posted: March 29, 2023
The March/April 2023 issue of National Geographic History magazine contains an interesting feature article about Persian King Xerxes (reign 486–465 BC) entitled, “Triumph of Engineering: Canal of Xerxes,” by Antonio Penades.[1] It examines evidence confirming King Xerxes’ excavation of a 1.25-mile-long canal across a narrow portion of the Mount Athos Peninsula of Greece, in
Continue Reading “Medo-Persia and Greece in Bible Prophecy”
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Tags: 31 BC, 323 BC, 331 BC, 480 BC, 490 BC, Actium, AD 476, Aegean Sea, Alexander King of Greece, Antipater, Asia Minor, Babylon, Bible prophecy, book of Esther, Cambyses, canal of Xerxes, Cassander, Daniel 11:2, Daniel 11:3-4, Daniel's four gentile kingdoms, Daniel's fourth kingdom, Darius I, divided Roman Empire, dominion, Egypt, fragmented Greek Empire, Gaugamela, Gaumata, Greece, Greek Empire, Greeks, history, Holy Land, Jerusalem, Jesus Christ, King Alexander, King Cyrus of Persia, King Darius I, legacy, Lysimachus, Macedon, Marathon, Mark Antony, Medo-Persia, Mount Athos Peninsula, National Geographic History magazine, NIV Study Bible, Octavian, Persian King Xerxes, Pseudo-Smerdis, Ptolemaic-Egypt, Ptolemy I, Queen Cleopatra, Roman Empire continues to exist, Rome, season of the return of Christ, Seleucus I, Syria, Thrace, times of the gentiles, West, WestBow Press, western Greece, Zondervan
Posted: September 16, 2022
We now further examine the meanings of the symbols of iron and clay located in the feet and toes of the human-shaped statue described in Daniel 2. Concerning the meaning of the “iron,” Bishop writes in 1886 that: “Iron is the character of Rome. The crown of Charlemagne was iron. The crown of Charles
Continue Reading “Monarchy is the “iron” in Daniel 2 (book excerpt)”
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Tags: A. C. Gaebelein, Charlemagne, Charles V, constitutional monarchies, Daniel 2, democracy, democracy is the clay, democratic principles, democratic rule, divided and weaker fourth kingdom, feet and toes of iron and clay, fourth kingdom, George S. Bishop, government, history, human-shaped statue, Humbert, iron, iron and clay, iron crown, iron reign, iron represents hardness and severity, iron-monarchy, Jesus Christ, kings, law, mixture of iron and clay, monarchical form of government, monarchy, monarchy is the iron, multiparty republics, Napoleon, Nebuchadnezzar, pretribulation rapture, Roman Empire, Roman monarchs, royal dynasties, second coming of Christ, stone cut out of the mountain without hands, ten nations, Western European successor nations
Posted: September 8, 2022
[T]he present darkness caused by evil [in the world] creates a great opportunity for the church (through the power of the Holy Spirit) to shine brightly for Christ, for we are told: “[L]et your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16 NIV);
Continue Reading “Faith is expressed through love (book excerpt)”
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Tags: belief in Jesus Christ, believers, church, darkness disappears in the presence of light, defeating evil, evil in the world, faith, faith expresses itself through love, Galatians 5:6 NIV, glorify God, God's love, good deeds, Gospel, Holy Spirit, increasing evil, Jesus Christ, Jesus died for the lost, John 3:16-17, Jonah, let your light shine, light is best seen in utter darkness, overcome evil with good, piercing the darkness, power of Holy Spirit, present darkness, salvation, sharing the Gospel, shine brightly for Christ, unbelievers, unselfish acts of God's love, witness for Christ
Posted: July 3, 2022
Interestingly and ironically, the Founding Father who was principally responsible for America’s First Amendment religious freedom also struggled with his own personal faith. That person was Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826). Jefferson’s intellect was an obstacle to his faith. As a so-called “enlightened” thinker, he believed that human reason alone was the sole judge of spiritual
Continue Reading “Jefferson and Jesus”
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Tags: 1 Corinthians 2:14 KJV, Age of Reason, America, benevolent heart, Christianity, church and state, conscience, corruption of religious practices, Creation, Dickinson W. Adams, divine, divine revelation, divinity of Jesus Christ, doctrines, Dumas Malone, education, eighteenth century, enlightened thinker, Enlightenment, established religious authorities, Europe, faith, First Amendment, Founding Father, freedom of religion, freedom of thought, Genesis, God, God's Creation, Gospel, government interference, Greek philosophy, human behavior, human conduct, human reason, intellect, James Madison, Jefferson and Jesus, Jefferson the Virginia, Jefferson's Extracts from the Gospels, Jesus Christ, Little Brown and Company, morality, morals, natural laws, New Testament, persecution, personal faith, Princeton University Press, rational, rational analysis, reason, religion, religious beliefs, religious freedom, religious skepticism, self-discipline, separation of church and state, slaves, Spirit of God, spiritual truth, state-established churches, supernatural, supreme being, teachings of Jesus, The Enlightenment, theology, Thomas Jefferson, unbelief, union of church and state, universe, US Constitution, Virginia, Virginia law, Virginia Statute for Religious Liberty
Posted: June 26, 2022
“Consider the passage from the book of Acts 17:24–27 (KJV), where the apostle Paul uses prophecy (God’s predetermined plan . . . ) to witness to a group of Greek skeptics at a meeting of the Areopagus in Athens. Paul is clear that our God is the Creator of heaven and earth (Acts 17:24 KJV).
Continue Reading “Paul in Athens: A Historical Message for Today (book excerpt)”
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Tags: 21st century, 27 BC, Acts 17:24-27, Adam, Age of Grace, apostle Paul, appearance of Jesus Christ, Areopagus, Athens, believers, Bible prophecy, birth of Jesus, birthplace of democracy, book of Acts, book of Genesis, Christian eschatology, church, Church Age, Creator, Creator of heaven and earth, Daniel 2 and 7, democracy, exact times and boundaries of nations, first century, four gentiles empires, fourth and final gentile kingdom, fourth kingdom, God's love, God's predetermined plan, God's presence and plan, Gospel, Greece, He made all the nations, Hebrews 9:26, historical message for today, history, history prewritten, human government, human history, in the beginning, Jesus Christ, lift Him up, Paul in Athens, return of Christ, Roman age, Roman Empire, Roman world, seek Him, skeptics, sovereign God, temporal kingdoms, times of the gentiles, Tower of Babel, Western civilization, whole earth, witnesses for Christ
Posted: March 21, 2022
Special thanks and appreciation to all my family members, friends, and mentors who encouraged me to write this book, who reviewed and provided helpful feedback on my manuscript, and who provided written reviews, comments, and congratulations that are included in the front section of my book and quoted below with gratitude. Thank you! “Melvin Hawkins
Continue Reading “Acknowledgments”
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Tags: "revived" Roman Empire, Age of Grace, amalgamated fourth beast, analysis, Antichrist, apologetics, authoritative, Babylon, Bible and history, Bible prophecy, Bible-based study, Christian eschatology, Church Age, comprehensive, continuing existence of the fourth kingdom, current events, Daniel 2 and 7, Daniel's fourth kingdom, democracy, discovery, dispensational, divided and weaker Roman Empire, documentation, early civilizations, educational, encouragement, end times, evidence, excellent read, exhortation, facts, faith, four gentile kingdoms, fourth kingdom, fragmented fourth kingdom, fulfillment of prophecy, future, God's love, God's plan, God's sovereignty and power, God's Word, Gospel, government, Greece, gripping, hidden in plain sight, high caliber, historical films, history prewritten, Holy Spirit, hope, human government, human history, illuminating, insightful, inspirational, iron and clay, Jerusalem, Jesus Christ, library, literary journey, masterpiece, Medo-Persia, monarchy, must-read, nonfiction, paradigm shift of events, parallel study, political and cultural remnants, premillennial viewpoint, pretribulation rapture, purpose, research, return of Christ, rewarding study, rigorously researched, riveting, Roman age, Roman Empire, Roman Empire still exists, Rome, salvation, scholarly, signs of the times, sound reasoning, temporal kingdoms, ten horns, ten Roman nations, thoroughly documented, thought-provoking, times of the gentiles, traditional interpretation, transformative, tribulation period, well-developed study questions, well-written, world history, world of trouble
