Therefore, the number seems no more significant than the fact that the image had multiple arms, hands, fingers, legs, and feet. Will we pay attention to the prophetic warnings? A revelation by Jesus Christ, which God gave him, to show his slaves the things that must shortly take place.REV. Jesus puts an unusual emphasis on the feet when He washed the disciples' feet. Amid a multitude of contending opinions and interests, minority governments often result, stalemated governments long on talk but short on action. The Bible foretold that they would do so. (See the chart on pages12-13.) As the number of people involved in the political process increases, however, so also does the difficulty in achieving a political consensus. This beast is the same as the image of the wild beast with seven heads. People have different political ideas. 2:45. Because it has two horns, it means two governments that are partners. 2:31-33. Understandably, they have been unable to stick together in a world unity. Daniels prophecy says that the clay means the offspring of mankind, or the common people. Daniel 2:44 does not mention what will happen to all other kingdoms. John said that this image of the wild beast would appear, then disappear, and then appear again. (Psalm 83:18) The Witnesses program of Bible education is helping countless individuals and families to replace harmful lifestyles with clean and peaceful conduct that conforms to Gods standards. In the fifth century, the Roman Empire started to be broken into smaller kingdoms. 4 And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good Copyright 2023 Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. The League of Nations disappeared when World WarII started. The globe was rapidly slipping into political fragmentation. They need to be supple but the combination of iron and clay don't make them stable enough. Feet of clay means a fatal flaw, a negative characteristic or attribute that is hidden in an otherwise admirable human being. Men in Western civilization have thus been thrown back wholly on themselves, and they find themselves wanting, concludes The Columbia History of the World. . ANGLO-AMERICA AND THE TWO-HORNED WILD BEAST. How will it disappear from the world scene? John saw a vision of a two-horned wild beast that spoke like a dragon. Unlike transitory human governments, including the seven world powers, Gods Kingdom will never be brought to ruin. Also, it will rule over the entire earth.Daniel 2:35,44. Jehovah . Which parts of the giant image mean the Anglo-American World Power? What will happen as a result? 4 In Daniels prophecy of the beast with ten horns, another horn, a small one, comes up and replaces three of the ten horns. 17 pp. THE symbolic image of world rulership by human politicsits gold, its silver, its copper, its iron and its clayis doomed as a whole! 17. 8,9. 313-316 - The Watchtower1959, bi22 Daniel 1:1-12:13 - American Standard Version (bi22), sl chap. How does John depict the relationship between the Anglo-American World Power and the United Nations? 357-360 - The Watchtower1961, pm chap. The ten horns sprouting from the head of that fearsome beast represent kingdoms that grew out of that empire. Daniel 2:44 In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. 10,11. Which world power does the seventh head mean, and how did it treat the seed of the woman? 10 In the 21stcentury, Britain and the United States have continued their special partnership, often acting together in world affairs. They are described as an amalgam of iron and clay. What does the harlot in Johns vision mean? WE LIVE in a very special and momentous timethat of the appearance of the seventh world power of Bible history. During that war, Gods people declared that according to the prophecy in Revelation, the image of the wild beast would ascend again. What interpretation did Daniel give to Nebuchadnezzars prophetic dream, and how long has that symbolic image overshadowed world politics? 11 Does the number of toes of the image have special meaning? Will it exercise its dominion indefinitely? Therefore, the number seems no more significant than the fact that the image had multiple arms, hands, fingers, legs, and feet. Babylon , Medo-Persia, Greece , and Rome. Spiritual crisis Rev. (b)What do we understand about the toes? 9 Jehovahs servants have long sought to understand the symbolic meaning of the feet of the image. The tent of God is with mankind, . What does the frightening beast with ten horns mean? This is the final article in a series of seven in consecutive issues of Awake! 392-395 - The Watchtower1977, w64 12/15 pp. Britain continued to grow in wealth and power, and in the 19thcentury, it was the richest and most powerful nation on earth. 33its legs of iron,and its feet part of them of iron, and part of them of clay. The two-horned wild beast represents what, and what does it do? 12,13. Others say publicly that the world should get rid of all religions. By the 1760s, this island nation had become the mighty British Empire. How did this head treat the seed of the woman? God granted Daniel the ability to interpret a dream that baffled Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. Which political world power did that prove to be, and how would it treat the seed of the woman? 35 To learn more about the Bible, feel free to contact Jehovahs Witnesses locally, write to the appropriate address listed on page5, or visit our Web site www.watchtower.org. Pinpointing this in our day, the German book Unsere WeltGestern, Heute, Morgen; 1800-2000 (Our WorldYesterday, Today, Tomorrow; 1800-2000), says: By the 19thcentury, democratic freedom prevailed in nearly all civilized countries, and by the end of World WarI, freedoms cause seemed to have approached final victory. Do secular history and archaeology agree with what the Bible says about this ancient land? (b)How is Satans organization described, and what position does the Christian take toward it? (Egypt and Assyria had already come and gone.) 11 Does the number of toes of the image mean anything? 16 pp. . 6, 7. . . False religions have publicly supported the image of the beast, that is, the League of Nations and the United Nations, and they have tried to direct these organizations. There will be genuine peace, not just the absence of war. Definition of feet of clay in the Idioms Dictionary. Britain had been a small part of the Roman Empire, but it later became a kingdom. This description of the feet is talking about the same event as when the seventh head of the wild beast appears. Daniel 2:41 describes the mixture of iron and clay as one kingdom, not many. From his description, we can conclude that the Anglo-American World Power is the one that will be dominating when the stone representing Gods Kingdom hits the feet of the image.Dan. 11 Does the number of toes of the image have special meaning? . The former things have passed away.Revelation 21:3,4. The prophecies of Daniel and John have been fulfilled to the smallest detail. Jehovah told John in a vision that this would happen. . 1,2. (Matt. 17:1-6) This harlot fittingly stands for all false religion, foremost of which are the churches of Christendom. that discuss the seven world powers of Bible history. Until the 1600s, they were much more important kingdoms than Britain was. (b)What does the clay in the feet of the image represent? That is exactly what happened, and now the organization is called the United Nations.Revelation 17:8. Would you like to read this article in %%? There will come to be plenty of grain on the earth; on the top of the mountains there will be an overflow.Psalm 72:16. 13. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10, King James Version) Have you wondered what life on earth will be like when all humans love and obey God? 3. The belly and thighs of copper pointed to ancient Greece. Unable to reach into heaven, the kings of the earth will vent their rage on those on earth who support Gods Kingdom. How do the visions of Daniel and John show that all governments of the world will be destroyed? They are described as an amalgam of iron and clay. Similar to the uneasy mixture of iron and clay in the feet and toes of the image, some governments have been ironlikeauthoritarian or tyrannicaland others have been claylikemore pliable or democratic. BRITAIN AND THE UNITED STATES RISE TO POWER. 2:41-43) Could a danger lie there for us? For example, many of the beasts had a specific number of horns. Gods prophet Daniel explained to Nebuchadnezzar the significance of the image, telling him: You, Oking, . In it he had seen an immense image with a head of gold, breasts and arms of silver, belly and thighs of copper, legs of iron, and feet and toes of iron mixed with clay. What was the completing part of Nebuchadnezzars dream image, and what interpretation did Daniel place on this final part? 3:1-3. This last world power may be weaker than that represented by the legs of iron, but it will not disintegrate on its own. For example, it proved its power by winning World WarI. 13:15 3. Daniel starts by describing a huge image with a head of gold, breasts and arms of silver, belly and thighs of copper, legs of iron, and feet of iron and clay. 16 However, during the Lords day, Babylon the Great has seen the waters, the people who support her, dry up dramatically. . So if Jesus's kingdom grinds things to powder it has an element of "iron" to it. No resident will say: I am sick.Isaiah 33:24. What will soon happen to false religion? (Revelation 16:13-16; 17:12-14) Daniel told us something about that final battle. feet of clay phrase. 18 In that chapter 2 of Daniel interprets the prophetic dream that the God of the heavens sent to Nebuchadnezzar, emperor of the Babylonian World Power, in the second year after he had destroyed the city of Jerusalem and the temple built by Davids son, King Solomon. 18. (a)How did the seventh world power manifest ironlike strength? When All Nations Collide, Head On, With God, When All Nations Collide, Head On, with God, One World, One Government, Under Gods Sovereignty, The One Government for One World Under Gods Sovereignty, A Prophet in Exile Receives Glimpses of the Future, dp chap. 17. Note that the Bible describes the feet and toes of the image as being partly of iron and partly of molded clay, adding: The kingdom itself will prove to be divided, . What did the king of Babylon see in his dream, and what did it represent? THE prophecies of Daniel and John correspond in ways that allow us to understand the meaning of many present and future world events. . a certain immense image. Yes, you may say, pointing to the end of the Cold War, to the greater cooperation between East and West, and to the substantial progress being made in world disarmament. What dream and interpretation does God reveal to Daniel, and how does Nebuchadnezzar show his appreciation? It remained strong for hundreds of years after that. 64-70 - World Government (go), w59 5/15 pp. In the prophecy about the giant image, the feet are the last part of the image. 33 His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. The Bible makes clear that this war involves the kings of the entire inhabited earth.Revelation 16:13, 14,16. 8,9. The wild beast mentioned at Revelation 13:1, its image, and the two-horned wild beast will be destroyed. During the second year of Nebuchadnezzars reign as world ruler of Bible prophecy (606/605B.C.E. Dan 2:34 As you looked on, a stone was hewn out, not by hands, and struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and crushed them. The Bible leaves us in no doubt. Perfect health will prevail. The sign of the end includes global war, great earthquakes, pestilences, and major food shortages. (Luke 21:10, 11; Matthew 24:7,8; Mark 13:8) Also marking the last days would be a serious moral and spiritual breakdown in society. Above all, our alliance thrives because it advances our common interests. . a certain immense image. John is again seeing the Anglo-American World Power but in a special role.Read Revelation 13:11-15. Then a stone was cut from a mountain, and it struck the feet of the statue. The Anglo-American World Power will be the dominant world power when false religion is eradicated. Yes, when will the stoneGods Kingdomremove every trace of human rulership? 8:24) For example, the United States caused terrible ruin on an unprecedented scale when it dropped two atomic devices on an enemy of the dual world power. 2:41-43) Could a danger lie there for us? 16:12; 17:15) For example, when the image of the beast first appeared, the churches of Christendoman influential part of Babylon the Greatdominated the Western world. 18. (a)How did the seventh world power manifest ironlike strength? The legs of iron pictured the Roman Empire. 10,11. What, though, about the feet of the image? Just as an iron structure mixed with clay is weaker than solid iron, so too the Anglo-American World Power is weaker than the power from which it emerged. This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. . From his description, we can conclude that the Anglo-American World Power is the one that will be dominating when the stone representing Gods Kingdom hits the feet of the image.Dan. The objective is to show that the Bible is trustworthy and inspired of God and that its message is one of hope for an end to the suffering caused by mans cruel domination of his fellow man. The feet were not clay plus gold, nor clay and silver, nor clay and brass, but clay with iron. But there was to be a seventh head that would replace Rome. The feet, an amalgam of iron and clay, symbolize the politically and socially incohesive state of affairs during the time of the Anglo-American world power. But World WarI resulted in a triumph for nationalism. Swinging the light back to the start of mans troubled history we see a spirit creature appointed as the guardian of man in the beautiful garden of Eden. But Daniel does not mention how many toes the image has. 13:17 4. , but they will not prove to be sticking together." So we can understand that the clay means that something in the Anglo-American World Power makes it weaker than the Roman Empire, which was described as legs made of solid iron. The prophecy about the immense image is also closely linked to several other prophesies in the Bible. What will soon happen to false religion, and why? The prophecy at Daniel 2:44 states that Gods Kingdom will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms. That prophecy refers only to the kingdoms that are part of the image. PRIVACY SETTINGS, https://assetsnffrgf-a.akamaihd.net/assets/m/102011166/univ/art/102011166_univ_sqr_xl.jpg, https://assetsnffrgf-a.akamaihd.net/assets/a/g/E/201105/wpub/g_E_201105_lg.jpg, Share 1:1. They are described as an amalgam of iron and clay. pages240, 241, 253. . 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