glory of the Babylonian world power was about to lose its luster. The last one of its dynasty of Chaldean kings was on the throne of world government. It was the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon. The dream and visions of Daniel’s own head in that year of the time of the end of Babylon as the third world power had to do partly with that passing world power. So it was timely and suitable that the dream should be sent to Daniel before Babylon came down from its lofty throne. The remnant of Jehovah’s holy ones, such as Daniel, Zerubbabel and the Jewish high priest Jeshua, were still held down as captives and slaves in Babylon. The dream and its brief angelic interpretation greatly alarmed Daniel. His color changed. But, seeing as we do the almost completed interpretation of it today by the unfolding facts of history for the past two millenniums and a half, with some highly dramatic features yet to be fulfilled, we can well appreciate why Daniel was so alarmed.

 2, 3. What was Daniel’s description of the terrible dream?

² Here is Daniel’s description of the dream in its terribleness:

³ “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. And four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another. The first was like a lion and had eagles’ wings. Then as I looked its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand upon two feet like a man; and the mind of a man was given to it. And behold, another beast, a second one, like a bear. It was raised up on one side; it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and it was told, ‘Arise, devour much flesh.’ After this I looked, and lo, another, like a leopard, with four wings of a bird on its back; and the beast had four heads; and dominion was given to it. After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, terrible and dreadful and exceedingly strong; and it had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots; and behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things.”—Dan. 7:2-8, RS.

(To be continued)

“We Have Glorified War”

Discussing Christendom’s worldly religions and their use of the Bible, cleric Harry Emerson Fosdick writes in The Modern Use of the Bible: “Our Western history has been one war after another. We have bred men for war, trained men for war; we have glorified war; we have made warriors our heroes and even in our churches we have put the battle flags. . . . With one corner of our mouth we have praised the Prince of Peace and with the other we have glorified war. So well have we succeeded in blending Christ and carnage, the Gospel and organized slaughter, that recently a missionary in an Oriental country, after an address upon Christian goodwill, was taken aside by a native, who said, ‘You must know that the educated people of this country look upon Christianity as a warring, blood-spilling religion.’”

The Bible shows that false Christianity can be recognized by its fruitage: “They publicly declare they know God, but they disown him by their works.”—Titus 1:16.