This presentation examines the prophetic plan outlined in the Bible for the nations

1. The Parousia
An In-Depth Study on the Second Coming of Christ

2. The Parousia
God’s Sovereign Prophetic Plan for the Nations
Part 1

3. “This sentence is by the decree of the
angelic watchers And the decision is a
command of the holy ones, 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)

4. Sovereign
One who is in a position of authority to command others

5. The Nations in Prophecy
1. Israel: the people and nation chosen by God to deliver
the Messiah (the human Word) and the Bible (the
written Word)
2. Gentile Nations: non-Jews both beloved (the Church)
and hated, and used by God for His purposes

6. “Give none offence, neither to the Jews,
nor to the Gentiles[ethnos = „nation‟], nor
to the church of God”
1 Cor. 10:32, KJV

7. Overview of the Gentiles Past & Future

8. The Nation‟s Rebellion Toward God
“Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain
thing? The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take
counsel together Against the Lord and against His Anointed,
saying, “Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from
us!” ”
(Psalm 2:1–3)

9. Overview of God‟s Plan for the Nations
World-wide turmoil, unrest, wars/threats of wars
False peace by one-world government and its leader
World War unlike no other
Return of Jesus Christ
Reign of Christ over the Nations

10. “and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive
into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by
the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. ”
(Luke 21:24)
• Ezekiel 10-11 records the glory of God departing from Israel
• The Gentile domination of Jerusalem and Israel likely began with
Nebuchadnezzar in 587 B.C.
• Last king of Judah was Zedekiah in 586 B.C.
• “Times of the Gentiles” will continue into the Tribulation: ““Leave out the
court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been
given to the nations; and they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-
two months. ” (Rev. 11:2)

11. The book of Daniel contains amazing prophecies about
kingdoms that have since come and gone and also kingdoms that
have yet to come.

12. Nebuchadnezzar‟s Dream
“You, O king, were looking and behold, there
was a single great statue; that statue, which was
large and of extraordinary splendor, was
standing in front of you, and its appearance was
awesome. “The head of that statue was made of
fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly
and its thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet
partly of iron and partly of clay. “You continued
looking until a stone was cut out without hands,
and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and
clay and crushed them. “Then the iron, the clay,
the bronze, the silver and the gold were crushed
all at the same time and became like chaff from
the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried
them away so that not a trace of them was found.
But the stone that struck the statue became a
great mountain and filled the whole earth. ”
(Daniel 2:31–35)

13. Metals get worse & worse…

14. Two Key Observations:
1. The longer man attempted to rule the earth apart from God, the more
degenerated that rule would become
2. As the metals increased in strength, so would their reliance on military power

15. The Stone without Hands
“Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures, „The stone which the
builders rejected, This became the chief corner stone; This came about from the
Lord, And it is marvelous in our eyes‟? “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of
God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it.
“And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it
will scatter him like dust.” (Matthew 21:42–45)
“Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested
stone, A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it
will not be disturbed. ” (Isaiah 28:16)

16. Nebuchadnezzar‟s Dream
“Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were crushed all at the
same time and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind
carried them away so that not a trace of them was found. ” (Daniel 2:35)
The Babylonian‟s chief god was Marduk, sometimes called Lord of the Wind.
Wind, they thought, was a divine action. The dream indicated to Nebuchadnezzar
that divine activity would rid the world of Gentile world power and domination.

17. Nebuchadnezzar‟s Dream
“But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole
earth. ” (Daniel 2:35)
Babylonian‟s chief god Marduk was also called “The Great Mountain”. They
thought their gods came from a sacred “mountain of the lands” and their temples
were imitations of mountains. To them, mountains were associated with the divine.
God purposely used their beliefs to show them His future kingdom.

18. Daniel‟s Dream during Medo-Persian Rule
“In the third year of the reign of Belshazzar the king a vision appeared to me,
Daniel, subsequent to the one which appeared to me previously. I looked in the
vision, and while I was looking I was in the citadel of Susa, which is in the province of
Elam; and I looked in the vision and I myself was beside the Ulai Canal. Then I
lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, a ram which had two horns was standing in
front of the canal. Now the two horns were long, but one was longer than the other,
with the longer one coming up last. I saw the ram butting westward, northward, and
southward, and no other beasts could stand before him nor was there anyone to
rescue from his power, but he did as he pleased and magnified himself. While I was
observing, behold, a male goat was coming from the west over the surface of the
whole earth without touching the ground; and the goat had a conspicuous horn
between his eyes. He came up to the ram that had the two horns, which I had seen
standing in front of the canal, and rushed at him in his mighty wrath. I saw him come
beside the ram, and he was enraged at him; and he struck the ram and shattered his
two horns, and the ram had no strength to withstand him. So he hurled him to the
ground and trampled on him, and there was none to rescue the ram from his power.
Then the male goat magnified himself exceedingly. But as soon as he was mighty,
the large horn was broken; and in its place there came up four conspicuous horns
toward the four winds of heaven. ” (Daniel 8:1–8)

19. Daniel‟s Dream during Medo-Persian Rule
Medo-Persia – the Ram with two horns, two kingdoms. Greece – the
male goat - Alexander the Great: one Horn/one kingdom. Greece
conquered Persia in 331 B.C.
Alexander died at the age of 32 and his empire was divided up among
the four generals who were not as strong as Alexander and obtained
their rule not by their own power.

20. Daniel‟s Final Vision of Medo-Persian Rule
“In the first year of Darius the Mede, I arose to be an encouragement and a
protection for him. “And now I will tell you the truth. Behold, three more kings are
going to arise in Persia. Then a fourth will gain far more riches than all of them; as
soon as he becomes strong through his riches, he will arouse the whole empire
against the realm of Greece. “And a mighty king will arise, and he will rule with great
authority and do as he pleases. “But as soon as he has arisen, his kingdom will be
broken up and parceled out toward the four points of the compass, though not to
his own descendants, nor according to his authority which he wielded, for his
sovereignty will be uprooted and given to others besides them. ” (Daniel 11:1–4)
The angel informed Daniel that the present leadership in the Persian Empire would
be succeeded by four rulers. The first was Cambyses, Cyrus‟ son, who came to the
throne in 530 b.c. He was followed by Pseudo-Smerdis, who reigned a short period
in 522 B.C. He was succeeded by Darius I Hystaspes who ruled from 521 to 486
B.C. He in turn was succeeded by Xerxes, known in the Book of Esther as
Ahasuerus, who ruled from 485 to 465 B.C. Then came Alexander the Great and
the splitting of his Empire among his four generals.

21. “And when the Book of Daniel was showed him
[Alexander the Great] wherein Daniel declared that one of
the Greeks should destroy the empire of the Persians, he
supposed that himself was the person intended. And as he
was then glad, he dismissed the multitude for the present;
but the next day he called them to him, and bid them ask
what favors they pleased of him; whereupon the high priest
desired that they might enjoy the laws of their forefathers,
and might pay no tribute on the seventh year. He granted
all they desired. And when they entreated him that he would
permit the Jews in Babylon and Media to enjoy their own
laws also, he willingly promised to do hereafter what they
desired. "
-Josephus, Antiquities, Chapter 11

22. The Future Roman Empire
Ten Toes
“In that you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter‟s clay and partly of iron, it will be a divided
kingdom; but it will have in it the toughness of iron, inasmuch as you saw the iron mixed with
common clay. “As the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of pottery, so some of
the kingdom will be strong and part of it will be brittle. “And in that you saw the iron mixed with
common clay, they will combine with one another in the seed of men; but they will not adhere to
one another, even as iron does not combine with pottery. “In the days of those kings the God
of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left
for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure
forever. “Inasmuch as you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands and
that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold, the great God has made
known to the king what will take place in the future; so the dream is true and its interpretation
is trustworthy.” (Daniel 2:41–45)
Note: There has never been another world empire since Rome; never consisted of 10

23. Synopsis of the Dream
Last stage of Rome occurs – a revived Empire
Final form is represented in 10 parts
Kingdom of God comes
Dominance of Gentile nations destroyed
Reign of Christ over the Nations

24. Daniel‟s Second Vision of the Nations
“In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel saw a dream and visions in his mind as
he lay on his bed; then he wrote the dream down and related the following summary of it.
Daniel said, “I was looking in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were
stirring up the great sea. “And four great beasts were coming up from the sea, different from
one another. “The first was like a lion and had the wings of an eagle. I kept looking until its
wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a
man; a human mind also was given to it. “And behold, another beast, a second one, resembling
a bear. And it was raised up on one side, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth;
and thus they said to it, „Arise, devour much meat!‟ “After this I kept looking, and behold,
another one, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird; the beast also had four
heads, and dominion was given to it. “After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold,
a fourth beast, dreadful and terrifying and extremely strong; and it had large iron teeth. It
devoured and crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from
all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. “While I was contemplating the horns,
behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were
pulled out by the roots before it; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man
and a mouth uttering great boasts.”
(Daniel 7:1–8)
Note: Because Daniel 2-7 was written for the Gentile nations, he wrote it in Aramaic so
they could understand it; the rest of the book concerns Israel and is written in Hebrew

25. Contrast of the Dreams
Nebuchadnezzar
sees the
kingdoms as man
sees them:
glorious, with man
standing
supreme. Daniel
is shown in his
dream how God
views the Gentile
empires who
desire to exalt
themselves and
rule without
God: as
merciless beasts.

26. Daniel‟s Second Vision of the Nations
“In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel saw a dream and visions in his mind as he lay on his bed; then he wrote the dream down and related
the great sea.
the following summary of it. Daniel said, “I was looking in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up
“And four great beasts were coming up from the sea, different from one another. “The first was like a lion and had the wings of an
eagle. I kept looking until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man; a human mind also was
given to it. “And behold, another beast, a second one, resembling a bear. And it was raised up on one side, and
three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth; and thus they said to it, „Arise, devour much meat!‟ “After this I kept looking, and behold, another one, like
a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird; the beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it. “After
this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrifying and extremely strong; and it had large iron teeth. It
devoured and crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten
horns. “While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by
the roots before it; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth uttering great boasts.”
(Daniel 7:1–8)
• The sea is representative of the nations in turmoil (cf. Psalm 2)
• Winged lions were literally the national symbol of Babylon
•Nebuchadnezzar was humbled by God
• Medo-Persia became larger (a bear) than Babylon (the lion); the Persians became dominant
• Greece was symbolized by great speed; 4 generals took over from Alexander
•The fourth kingdom was too terrible to be described by an existing animal
• The final kingdom will be a revived Roman Empire represented by 10 constituencies
(horns=power)

27. Revelation‟s Version of the Nations & Antichrist
"And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming
up out of the sea [the nations], having ten horns and seven heads, and on his
horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names. And the
beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his
mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne
and great authority. I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal
wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the
beast; they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and
they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage
war with him?” There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and
blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him. And he
opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His
tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven. It was also given to him to make war
with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people
and tongue and nation was given to him. All who dwell on the earth will worship
him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world
in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain."
(Revelation 13:1-8)

28. The Seven Heads – Roman Kings not Nations
Some try and say the seven heads represent nations, with the first five being
Greece, Persia, Assyria, Babylon and Egypt. But Rev. 17:10 says of the
beast: “Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains
on which the woman sits, and they are seven kings; five have fallen (Augustus,
Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero), one is (Domitian), the other has not
yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while. ” The five fallen are
the five past prominent rulers of Rome; the sixth was currently reigning and the
seventh/eight is the Antichrist.

29. "The British decision to join the
Common Market has brought Europe to
the threshold of its strongest alliance
since the nations involved were tied
together as a part of the Roman Empire
15 centuries ago.“
- L.A. Examiner, October 1971

30. Daniel‟s Second Vision of the Nations
“I kept looking Until thrones were set up, And the Ancient of Days took His seat;
His vesture was like white snow And the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne
was ablaze with flames, Its wheels were a burning fire. “A river of fire was flowing
And coming out from before Him; Thousands upon thousands were attending Him,
And myriads upon myriads were standing before Him; The court sat, And the
books were opened. “Then I kept looking because of the sound of the boastful
words which the horn was speaking; I kept looking until the beast was slain, and its
body was destroyed and given to the burning fire. “As for the rest of the beasts,
their dominion was taken away, but an extension of life was granted to them for an
appointed period of time. “I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the
clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the
Ancient of Days And was presented before Him. “And to Him was given
dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men of every
language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not
pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.”
(Daniel 7:9–14)
Ends the “times of the Gentiles”.

31. Interpretation of Daniel‟s Second Vision
“As for me, Daniel, my spirit was distressed within me, and the visions in my mind
kept alarming me. “I approached one of those who were standing by and began
asking him the exact meaning of all this. So he told me and made known to me the
interpretation of these things: „These great beasts, which are four in number, are
four kings who will arise from the earth. „But the saints of the Highest One will
receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, for all ages to come.‟ “Then I
desired to know the exact meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all
the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its claws of bronze, and
which devoured, crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet, and the
meaning of the ten horns that were on its head and the other horn which came up,
and before which three of them fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth
uttering great boasts and which was larger in appearance than its associates. “I kept
looking, and that horn was waging war with the saints and overpowering them until
the Ancient of Days came and judgment was passed in favor of the saints of the
Highest One, and the time arrived when the saints took possession of the kingdom.”
(Daniel 7:15–22)

32. Interpretation of Daniel‟s Second Vision
“Thus he said: „The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the earth, which will be
different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth and tread it
down and crush it. „As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will arise; and
another will arise after them, and he will be different from the previous ones and will
subdue three kings. „He will speak out against the Most High and wear down the
saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law;
and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time. „But the court
will sit for judgment, and his dominion will be taken away, annihilated and destroyed
forever. „Then the sovereignty, the dominion and the greatness of all the kingdoms
under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One;
His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey
Him.‟ “At this point the revelation ended. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts were
greatly alarming me and my face grew pale, but I kept the matter to myself.”
(Daniel 7:22–28)

33. The Overall Progression of the Nations
“and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations;
and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the
Gentiles are fulfilled. ”
(Luke 21:24)
First four empires rise, fall, but their influence remains
The times of the Gentiles continues
10 kingdom confederacy is established
Antichrist assumes control of confederacy
Return of Jesus Christ; Antichrist‟s confederacy destroyed
Reign of Christ over the Nations; Israel‟s promises fulfilled

34. Staged Progression of Fourth Empire
“Thus he said: „The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the earth, which will be
different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth and tread it
down and crush it. „As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will arise; and
another will arise after them, and he will be different from the previous ones and will
subdue three kings. . . . But the court will sit for judgment, and his dominion will be
taken away, annihilated and destroyed forever.”
First Stage: Beast or Initial Conquering Phase: Ancient Rome
Second Stage: Revived Roman Empire: 10 Horns
Third Stage: Little Horn/Antichrist
Fourth Stage: Destruction at the Hand of Messiah

35. Summary of Dreams/Visions
Image (Chap. 2) Beasts (Chap. 7) Beast (Chap. 8) Represents…
Head of gold Winged lion Babylon
Arms and chest of Bear Medo-Persia
Times of the Gentiles
silver
Belly and thighs of Winged, four- Ram with two Greece
bronze headed leopard horns
Legs of iron Nondescript Male goat with Rome
Beast one great horn,
then four horns
Feet and toes of iron Ten horns Revived
and clay Roman
empire
Stone that becomes Messiah and Kingdom of
great mountain saints Kingdom God

36. “For the nation and the
kingdom which will not serve
you will perish, And the
nations will be utterly ruined.”
(Isaiah 60:12)

37. Concluding Thoughts
“Draw near, O nations, to hear; and listen, O peoples! Let the earth
and all it contains hear, and the world and all that springs from it. For
the LORD‟S indignation is against all the nations, And His wrath
against all their armies; He has utterly destroyed them, He has given
them over to slaughter. ” (Isaiah 34:1–2)
“Daniel charts the course of Gentile world dominion through history.
It shows how man‟s mania for self-rule drives one kingdom to devour
another and compels the Gentiles to attempt the annihilation of
God‟s special covenant people, Israel.”
– Renald Showers

38. “I have lived, Sir, a long time and the
longer I live, the more convincing proofs I
see of this truth -- that God governs in
the affairs of men. And if a sparrow
cannot fall to the ground without his
notice, is it probable that an empire can
rise without his aid?”
- Benjamin Franklin

39. Concluding Thoughts
“I am the Lord, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God. . .
. I am the Lord, and there is no other, The One forming light and
creating darkness, Causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the
Lord who does all these. ” (Isaiah 45:5–7)
“If a calamity occurs in a city has not the Lord done it? ”
(Amos 3:6)
The world oftentimes asks if God could be responsible for a
particular catastrophe or disaster. Although we should not be quick
to assign all natural occurrences and such to God, the Bible makes it
clear that God does indeed sovereignly act in judgment.

40. The Parousia
God’s Sovereign Prophetic Plan for the Nations
Part 1