A Study on Nebuchadnezzar - Daniel 7 - 7 Mountains

Tami Chandler 2004

Dan 7:3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.

Dan 7:4 The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it.

Dan 7:5 And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.

Dan 7:6 After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.

Dan 7:7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.

Dan 7:8 I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.

Dan 7:4 The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings:

The New Babylonian Empire, which existed

Approximately from 606 to 536 B.C

The Old Babylonian Kingdom was at its peak at about the time of God's calling of Abraham

TAKEN FROM A BIBLE DICTIONARY

"Modern research has shown that Nebuchadnezzar was the greatest monarch that Babylon, or perhaps the East generally, ever produced. He must have possessed an enormous command of human labour, nine-tenths of Babylon itself, and nineteen-twentieths of all the other ruins that in almost countless profusion cover the land, are composed of bricks stamped with his name. He appears to have built or restored almost every city and temple in the whole country. His inscriptions give an elaborate account of the immense works which he constructed in and about Babylon itself, abundantly illustrating the boast, 'Is not this great Babylon which I have build?'" Rawlinson, Hist. Illustrations.

"I have examined," says Sir H. Rawlinson (published many works), "the bricks belonging perhaps to a hundred different towns and cities in the neighbourhood of Baghdad, and I never found any other legend than that of Nebuchadnezzar, son of Nabopolassar, king of Babylon." Nine-tenths of all the bricks amid the ruins of Babylon are stamped with his name.

Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

Dan 2:1 thru Dan 2:27 to start

Dan 2:1 And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him.

Dan 2:2 Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to shew the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king.

Dan 2:3 And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream.

Dan 2:4 Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriack, O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation.

Dan 2:5 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.

Dan 2:6 But if ye shew the dream, and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honour: therefore shew me the dream, and the interpretation thereof.

Dan 2:7 They answered again and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation of it.

Dan 2:8 The king answered and said, I know of certainty that ye would gain the time, because ye see the thing is gone from me.

Dan 2:9 But if ye will not make known unto me the dream, there is but one decree for you: for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, till the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can shew me the interpretation thereof.

Dan 2:10 The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can shew the king's matter: therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean.

Dan 2:11 And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.

Dan 2:12 For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.

Dan 2:13 And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain.

Dan 2:14 Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch the captain of the king's guard, which was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon:

Dan 2:15 He answered and said to Arioch the king's captain, Why is the decree so hasty from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.

Dan 2:16 Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would shew the king the interpretation.

Dan 2:17 Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions:

Dan 2:18 That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

Dan 2:19 Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.

Dan 2:20 Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his:

Dan 2:21 And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:

Dan 2:22 He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.

Dan 2:23 I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast now made known unto us the king's matter.

Dan 2:24 Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him; Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will shew unto the king the interpretation.

Dan 2:25 Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation.

Dan 2:26 The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof?

Dan 2:27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king;

Dan 2:28 But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these;

Dan 2:29 As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass.

Dan 2:30 But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.

THE DREAM

Dan 2:31 Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible.

Dan 2:32 This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass,

Dan 2:33 His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.

Dan 2:34 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.

Dan 2:35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

Dan 2:36 This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.

Interpretation

BEAST 1) Dan 2:37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.

Dan 2:38 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.

BEAST 2) Dan 2:39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee,

BEAST 3)and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.

BEAST 4) Dan 2:40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.

Ten Toes Division

Dan 2:41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.

Dan 2:42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.

Dan 2:43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.

Dan 2:44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

Dan 2:45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.

Dan 2:46 Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him.

Dan 2:47 The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret.

Dan 2:48 Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon.

Dan 2:49 Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.

Look @ Article on the statue

Nebuchadnezzar

As powerful as Nebuchadnezzar was, he did not conquer the people of Judah of himself. God didn't just allow it to happen, He actually brought it about. (2 Chronicles 36:15-20). The people had become extremely corrupt and idolatrous. They ignored all of the Prophets that God had sent to warn them (2 Chronicles 36:15-16), and they refused to repent. They trusted in themselves, in the city of Jerusalem, even in the physical Temple, rather than in The Lord Himself. So, God, through Nebuchadnezzar, destroyed it all in order to make them realize, in no uncertain terms, that they had turned their backs on Him

2Ch 36:11 thru 2Ch 36:21

2Ch 36:11 Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned eleven years in Jerusalem.

2Ch 36:12 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD his God, and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from the mouth of the LORD.

2Ch 36:13 And he also rebelled against king Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God: but he stiffened his neck, and hardened his heart from turning unto the LORD God of Israel.

2Ch 36:14 Moreover all the chief of the priests, and the people, transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen; and polluted the house of the LORD which he had hallowed in Jerusalem.

2Ch 36:15 And the LORD God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place:

2Ch 36:16 But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy.

2Ch 36:17 Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him that stooped for age: he gave them all into his hand.

2Ch 36:18 And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king, and of his princes; all these he brought to Babylon.

2Ch 36:19 And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof.

2Ch 36:20 And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia:

2Ch 36:21 To fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years.

BREAK

2Ch 36:22 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,

2Ch 36:23 Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the LORD God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The LORD his God be with him, and let him go up.

CYRUS m

Usage: English, Biblical

Pronounced: SIE-rus

From Kyros, the Greek form of the Persian name Kûrush, which may mean "far sighted" or may be related to the Persian word khur "sun". The name is sometimes associated with Greek kyrios "lord". This was the name of several kings of Persia, including Cyrus the Great, who conquered Babylon. He is famous in the Old Testament for freeing the captive Jews and allowing them to return to Israel to build the Zerubbabel’ temple.

Dan 7:5 And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear

The Medo-Persian empire ruled from 539 B.C. to 334 B.C. It defeated three nations - Babylon

Dan 7:6 After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard,

GREECE

Alexander the Great

Lived only about 33 years, from 356 to 323 B.C., but during that time he became one of the most successful military commanders in human history. Alexander's tactical genius, front-line bravery, and paradoxically, his often short-tempered recklessness (his troops had to rescue the young king a number of times after he had charged too far ahead of them in battle), enabled him to rapidly overrun a vast region that had been occupied by earlier empires - Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian, and Persian

Dan 8:1 In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared unto me, even unto me Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first.

Dan 8:2 And I saw in a vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I was at Shushan in the palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of Ulai.

Dan 8:3 Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.

Dan 8:4 I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great.

Dan 8:5 And as I was considering, behold, an he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.

Dan 8:6 And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power.

Dan 8:7 And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns: and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand.

4^th BEAST Dan 7:7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.

ROME

Ocatavian, later Augustus (first emperor of the golden age of Rome)

In the civil wars of the late Roman Republic, Macedonian rule was thrown into doubt again. While still under the control of Romans, the Greek world would continue to fall back and forth under Pompey and then Caesar, and later under Antonius and Cleopatra. At the battle of Actium in 31 BC, off the shores of Epirus, Ocatavian, later Augustus, would ensure Roman dominance of the Greek world under a single Roman leader.

Joh 19:10 Then³⁷⁶⁷ saith³⁰⁰⁴ Pilate⁴⁰⁹¹ unto him,⁸⁴⁶ Speakest²⁹⁸⁰ thou not³⁷⁵⁶ unto me?¹⁶⁹⁸ knowest¹⁴⁹² thou not³⁷⁵⁶ that³⁷⁵⁴ I have²¹⁹² power¹⁸⁴⁹ to crucify⁴⁷¹⁷ thee,⁴⁵⁷¹ and²⁵³² have²¹⁹² power¹⁸⁴⁹ to release⁶³⁰ thee?⁴⁵⁷¹

Joh 19:11 Jesus²⁴²⁴ answered,⁶¹¹ Thou⁽³⁷⁵⁶⁾ couldest have²¹⁹² no³⁷⁶² power¹⁸⁴⁹ at all against²⁵⁹⁶ me,¹⁷⁰⁰ except^{1487, 3361} it were²²⁵⁸ given¹³²⁵thee⁴⁵⁷¹ from above:⁵⁰⁹ therefore^{1223, 5124} he that delivered³⁸⁶⁰ me³¹⁶⁵ unto thee⁴⁵⁷¹ hath²¹⁹² the greater³¹⁸⁷ sin.²⁶⁶

Joh 19:12 And from¹⁵³⁷ thenceforth⁵¹²⁷ Pilate⁴⁰⁹¹ sought²²¹² to release⁶³⁰ him:⁸⁴⁶ but¹¹⁶¹ the³⁵⁸⁸ Jews²⁴⁵³ cried out,²⁸⁹⁶ saying,³⁰⁰⁴ If¹⁴³⁷ thou let this man go,^{630, 5126} thou art¹⁴⁸⁸ not³⁷⁵⁶ Caesar's²⁵⁴¹ friend:⁵³⁸⁴ whosoever³⁹⁵⁶ maketh⁴¹⁶⁰ himself⁸⁴⁸ a king⁹³⁵ speaketh against⁴⁸³ Caesar.²⁵⁴¹

Constantine moved to the East in 330 A.D., built a new Capital and called it Constantinople or New Rome. Soon this city was overtaking Old Rome in wealth, prestige, and military power. Eastern Emperors like Justinian actually ruled over Italy for some time.

While the rulers continually rivalled to enlarge their dominions, made the people rebellious, and they finally revolted against their depressive rulers and chose their own kings.

This brought about the TEN HORNS (TOES)

SEE ILLUSTRATION

5^th BEAST little horn

Dan 7:8 I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.

Between the years 356 and 483 A. D., ten such divisions sprang up.

They were the Huns, Ostrogoths, Estrogoths, Francs, Wandals, Sueves,Bergundians,

Heruians, Anglo Saxons and the Lombards; thus the formation of the ten toes

followed the development of the two legs.

5. These ten toes or divisions of the universal rule consisted of a mixture of iron and clay.

No other figure could express so cleverlythis situation in the fourth divided universal kingdom.

These divisions exist today in Europe, and the general laws governing those states, are enacted

with an object of keeping together iron and clay. The Cain-nature now for ages, has had free

exercise in building cities, and in inventing new methods to increase their greatness and value

so as to enslave under its power so much more of the class that is doomed to bear all of it on

its shoulders. The laboring class has been lowered so far beneath these objects, that they depend

wholly upon them for their existence.

But there seems to be danger ahead, for iron and clay cannot mix.

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6^th Beast

Introduction of Protestantism

Luther – See print offs

Rev 13:3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.

7^th Beast

The uniting of protestants & Catholicism

One World Order/Religion

See print offs

________________________________

• 1) Babylon

• 2) Mede-Persia

• 3) Greece

• 4) Rome

• 5) Papal Rome which was nearly wounded to death

• 6) Luther-Protestant

• 7) Churches coming together

Rev 13:1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

Rev 13:2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.

Rev 13:3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.

Rev 13:4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?

Rev 13:5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.

Rev 13:6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.

Rev 13:7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.

Rev 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Rev 13:9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.

Rev 13:10 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.

Rev 13:11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.

Rev 13:12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.

Rev 13:13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,

Rev 13:14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.

Rev 13:15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

Rev 13:16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

Rev 13:17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

Rev 13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

AND

Rev 17:1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:

Rev 17:2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.

Rev 17:3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

Rev 17:4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:

Rev 17:5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

Rev 17:6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.

Rev 17:7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.

Rev 17:8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

Rev 17:9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.

Rev 17:10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.

Rev 17:11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.

Rev 17:12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.

Rev 17:13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.

Rev 17:14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

Rev 17:15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.

Rev 17:16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.

Rev 17:17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.

Head of Gold - Babylon (606-539 B.C.)

m´brdz, –bärdz) , ancient Germanic people. By the 1st cent. A.D. the Lombards were settled along the lower Elbe. After obscure migrations they were allowed (547) by Byzantine Emperor Justinian I to settle in Pannonia and Noricum (modern Hungary and E Austria). In 568, under the leadership of Alboin, they invaded N Italy and established a kingdom with Pavia as its capital. They soon penetrated deep into central and S Italy, but Ravenna, the Pentapolis (Rimini, Ancona, Fano, Pesaro, and Senigallia), and much of the coast remained under Byzantine rule while Rome and the Patrimony of St. Peter (see Papal States) were kept by the papacy. After Alboin’s death (572?) and the brief reign of Cleph (d. 575), no king was elected and Lombard Italy fell under the disunited rule of 36 dukes. The Lombard duchies of Spoleto and Benevento in central and S Italy were set up independently. In 584 the Lombard nobles united to elect Cleph’s son, Authari, as the new king in order to strengthen themselves against the enmity of the Franks, the Byzantines, and the popes. 1The Lombard kingdom reached its height in the 7th and 8th cent. Paganism and Arianism, which were at first prevalent among the Lombards, gradually gave way to Catholicism. Roman culture and Latin speech were accepted, and the Catholic bishops emerged as chief magistrates in the cities. Lombard law combined Germanic and Roman traditions. King Liutprand (712–44) consolidated the kingdom through his legislation and reduced Spoleto and Benevento to vassalage. One of his successors, Aistulf, took Ravenna (751) and threatened Rome. Pope Stephen II appealed to the Frankish King Pepin the Short, who invaded Italy; the Lombards lost the territories comprised in the Donation of Pepin to the papacy. After Aistulf’s death King Desiderius renewed (772) the attack on Rome. Charlemagne, Pepin’s successor, intervened, defeated the Lombards, and was crowned (774) with the Lombard crown at Pavia. Of the Lombard kingdom only the duchy of Benevento remained, and it was conquered in the 11th cent. by the Normans. The iron crown of the Lombard kings (now kept at Monza, Italy) was also used for the coronation (951) of Otto I (the first Holy Roman emperor) as king of Italy and for the crowning of several succeeding emperors. The Lombards left their name to the Italian region of Lombardy. The chief historian of the Lombards was Paul the Deacon.

Foundation of the Frankish kingdom

In 355 - 358 the later Emperor Julian once again found the shipping lanes on the Rhine under control of the Franks and again pacified them. Rome granted a considerable part of Belgica to the Franks. From this time on they become foederati of the Roman Empire. A region roughly corresponding to present-day Flanders and the Netherlands south of the rivers remains a Germanic-speaking region to this day. (The West Germanic language known as Dutch predominates there now.) The Franks thus became the first Germanic people who permanently settled within Roman territory.

From their heartland the Franks gradually conquered most of Roman Gaul north of the Loire valley and east of Visigothic Aquitaine. At first they helped defend the border as allies; for example, when a major invasion of mostly East Germanic tribes crossed the Rhine 406, the Franks fought against these invaders. The major thrust of the invasion passed south of the Loire river. (In the region of Paris, Roman control persisted until 486, i.e. a decade after the fall of the emperors of Ravenna, in part due to alliances with the Franks.)

Migration period

During the 5th century, as the Roman Empire drew toward its end, numerous Germanic tribes began migrating en masse (Völkerwanderung) in far and diverse directions, taking them to England and as far south through present day Continental Europe to the Mediterranean and Africa. Over time, the wandering meant intrusions into other tribal territories and the ensuing wars for land claims escalated with the dwindling amount of unoccupied territory. Nomadic tribes then began the staking out of permanent homes as a means of protection. Much of this resulted in fixed settlements from which many, under a powerful leader, expanded outwards. A defeat meant either scattering or merging with the dominant tribe and this continued to be how nations were formed. In Denmark the Jutes merged with the Danes, in Sweden, the Geats merged with the Swedes. In England, for example, we now most often refer to the Anglo-Saxons rather than the two separate tribes.

Germanic tribes

• Alamanni

• Ambrones

• Ampsivarii

• Angles

• Angrivarii

• Batavii

• Bavarii

• Bructeri

• Burgundians

• Canninefates

• Chamavi

• Chasuarii

• Chauci

• Cherusci

• Chatti

• Cimbri

• Dani

• Dulgubnii

• Fosi

• Franks

• Frisians

• Geats

• Gepidae

• Goths

• Harii

• Helisii

• Helvetii

• Heruli

• Hermunduri

• Ingvaeones (North Sea Germans)

• Irminones (Elbe Germans)

• Istvaeones (Rhine-Weser Germans)

• Jutes

• Langobardes

• Lemovii

• Lombards

• Lugii

• Manimi

• Marcomanni

• Marobudui

• Mattiaci

• Naharvali

• Nemetes

• Nervii

• Njars

• Quadi

• Rugii

• Saxons

• Scirii

• Semoni

• Sitones

• Suebi

• Suiones

• Sugambri

• Tencteri

• Teutons

• Trevi

• Triboci

• Tudri

• Ubii

• Usipetes

• Vandals

• Vangiones

Role of the Germanics in the Fall of Rome

Some of the Germanic tribes are frequently blamed in popular conceptions for the "Fall" of the Roman Empire in the late 5th century. Professional historians and archaeologists have since the 1950s shifted their interpretations in such a way that the Germanic peoples are no longer seen as invading a decaying empire but as being co-opted into helping defend territory the central government could no longer adequately administer. Individuals and small groups from Germanic tribes had long been recruited from the limes (i.e. the border regions) of the Roman world, and had risen high in the command structure of the army - Odoacer, who deposed Romulus Augustulus, is an example. Later the government of the Empire began to recruit whole tribal groups under their native leaders as officers. Assisting with defence eventually shifted into administration, and then outright rule, as Roman traditions of government passed into the hands of Germanic tribal leaders.

The presence of successor states controlled by a nobility from one of the Germanic tribes is evident in the 6th century - even in Italy, the former heart of the Empire, where Odoacer was followed by Theodoric the Great, leader of the Ostrogoths, who was regarded by Roman citizens and Gothic settlers alike as a legitimate successor to the rule of Rome and Italy.

Rev 17:18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

Main Entry: ec·u·men·i·cal

Pronunciation: "e-ky&-'me-ni-k&l

Function: adjective

Etymology: Late Latin oecumenicus, from Late Greek oikoumenikos, from Greek oikoumenE the inhabited world, from feminine of oikoumenos, present passive particle of oikein to inhabit, from oikos house -- more at VICINITY

1 : worldwide or general in extent, influence, or application

2 :

a : of, relating to, or representing the whole of a body of churches

b : promoting or tending toward worldwide Christian unity or cooperation

- ec·u·men·i·cal·ly

FOR A MORE COMPLETE UNDERSTANDING GO TO:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Vatican_Council

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Pope John XXIII was the first to attempt to unite the religions and somewhat achieved his dream!

Second Vatican Council

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The Second Vatican Council, or Vatican II, was a pastoral, non-dogmatic ecumenical council of the Catholic church opened under Pope John XXIII in 1962 and closed under Pope Paul VI in 1965. That the Council was pastoral and non-dogmatic is made clear by the Opening Address of the Second Vatican Council given by Pope John XXIII on October 11, 1962. It has often been cited as the most significant event in Catholicism in the 20th century.

For Catholics, the most visible results of various interpretations of the Council's sixteen documents were changes in how church sacraments were practiced, the use of vernacular languages for the Mass, and a revolutionary new attitude towards their relationship with Jews. Various interpretations of the council documents also brought less visible, but fundamental changes in how the Catholic church saw itself and its relationship with other faiths and the world. The outcome of the most commonly accepted interpretations of its documents has been widely accepted by Catholics worldwide, but not without opposition (see, for example, traditional Catholicism and sedevacantism).

Background

By the 1950s, liberal trends in Catholic theological and biblical studies had begun to move away from the neo-scholasticism and biblical literalism that the reaction to the Modernist heresy had enforced from the First Vatican Council well into the 20th century. This liberalism sprang from theologians such as Yves Congar and Karl Rahner who looked to integrate modern human experience with Christian truth, as well as others such as Joseph Ratzinger and Henri de Lubac who looked to what they saw as a more "accurate" understanding of scripture and the early Church Fathers as a source of "renewal" -- in spite of Pope Gregory XVI's Mirari Vos which warned against those ideas of "renewal."

At the same time the world's bishops faced tremendous challenges driven by political, social, economic and technical change. Many of these bishops sought changes in church structure and practice to "better" address those challenges, changes they thought long overdue. The First Vatican Council had been held nearly a century before, but had been cut short by the effects of the Franco-Prussian War. As a result, only deliberations on the role of the Papacy were completed, with examination of pastoral and dogmatic issues concerning the whole church left undone. Pope Pius XII had considered convening a Council in order to address these issues and to confront Communism, but was advised not to do so because the presence of Modernists threatened to undermine his efforts and revolutionize the Church.

Pope John XXIII had no such qualms, however, and gave notice of his intention to convene the Council less than three months after his election in 1959. While in many messages over the next three years he expressed his intentions in formal detail, one of the best known images is of Pope John, when asked why the Council was needed, opened a window and reportedly said "I want to throw open the windows of the Church so that we can see out and the people can see in." In order not to offend the Orthodox in Communist countries, he consented, through the Pact of Metz, to a policy that became known as Ostpolitik, which ensured that the Council would not confront the realities of Communism.