Daniel 7:2-4 “Daniel spoke, saying, "I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the Great Sea. (3) And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other. (4) The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings. I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man's heart was given to it.”
In this section we will continue our discussion on the USA, which we have identified as being the beast like a lion in Daniel’s vision. In the above quoted passage of scripture Daniel describes the first beast like a lion which had eagle’s wings. Daniel described the lion’s wings being plucked off and then being lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man and given the heart of a man. We have seen in the previous sections that the eagle wings on the lion represented the USA’s extensive dominance in the earth, both militarily and economically. And then we saw how the USA loses that dominance by having its wings plucked off. And so in this section we want to discuss the significance of the lion being lifted up from the earth and being made to stand on two feet like a man and being given the heart of a man.
Daniel 4:16-34 “Let his heart be changed from that of a man, Let him be given the heart of a beast, and let seven times pass over him. … (33) That very hour the word was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar; he was driven from men and ate grass like oxen; his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair had grown like eagles' feathers and his nails like birds' claws. (34) And at the end of the time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and praised and honoured Him who lives forever: For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom is from generation to generation.”
In order for us to understand the meaning of the lion beast being given the heart of a man, we can look at the above-quoted passage of scripture. The context of this passage is that, for various reasons, God had judged King Nebuchadnezzar. And the judgment pronounced was that for a period of seven months King Nebuchadnezzar would be given the heart of a beast.
As we can see from this passage, what that meant was that Nebuchadnezzar’s ability to reason with the understanding of a man was replaced with an ability to reason with the understanding of a beast i.e. a wild animal. And so he behaved just like an animal during all that time, eating grass and living outdoors just as a wild animal would. At the end of his seven months judgment, God gave Nebuchadnezzar the heart of a man once again, and so he could once again understand and behave as a man, and no longer as a wild animal or beast.
And so we can apply the same principle to the lion beast in Daniel’s vision, only in reverse. In other words the lion beast will transition from having the understanding of a beast to having the understanding of a man. So what does that mean? It simply means that before its transformation (from beast to man), that the behaviour of the United States, particularly its governmental institutions, no longer reflects normal human behaviour. In other words US society in general will have become completely degenerate, fully deserving of God’s judgment.
Jude 1:6-8 “And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; (7) as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. (8) Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries.”
In the above quoted passage of scripture the apostle Jude describes the degenerate condition of society in Sodom and Gomorrah just prior to their judgment. I want you to notice the two conditions of those societies that Jude highlights for us, i.e. their level of immorality, which embraced every conceivable manner of sexual perversion, including bestiality, and the complete rejection of God’s authority.
Jude teaches us from this passage that God set forth these two societies as an example to the world of where He draws the line. In other words, societies that cross this line can fully expect to be on the receiving end of God’s judgment. Very clearly, the “West” today, and more particularly the United Sates, have crossed that line by fully embracing the LGBTQ+ agenda along with all of its perversions, having completely rejected God’s authority, and are therefore deserving of the judgment that God has pronounced upon them.
With regards to this point, it is important to note that the two nations which God will use to judge the West, i.e. Russia and China; both recognized the degeneracy of the LGBTQ+ agenda and have banned it from being implemented in their countries.
And so we see that after its transformation from its current degenerate animal behaviour, the USA will once again reflect behaviour consistent with the norms of a moral society. So what will be the catalyst that will bring about such a drastic change from the USA’s current disposition?
Obviously it will be the result of the nuclear war with Russia and China. In order for us to understand how that is possible, we need to examine the impact that a nuclear war will have on the USA. Many US cities will be destroyed in that war; on the other hand many rural towns will be spared. And so the vast majority of the approximately 200 million casualties incurred in the nuclear conflict will be in the cities, while the rural communities will emerge relatively unscathed.
Currently American society is divided mainly between “progressive liberals” and conservatives. That division in American society is reflected in the geographical split between the large metropolitan areas and the rural areas, because it is mainly in the cities of the USA where the liberal LGBTQ+ agenda has been fully embraced, while the societies in rural America still embrace traditional conservative values[1].
And so that part of society which has become completely degenerate will suffer the most casualties, while the part of society which is classified as being conservative will suffer the least casualties. In other words the vast majority of the survivors of the nuclear war will be members of society that embrace traditional moral values.
Because the conservative survivors will clearly be in the majority, their values will eventually prevail, and thus the rebuilding of the USA will reflect the norms of traditional values. After the war, the rebuilding of the USA will be incredibly difficult, taking many years to accomplish. Nevertheless the USA will be fully restored before the Lord’s return, for the lion beast is reflected in Daniel’s vision as being one of the three kingdoms on the earth on that day.
When I say that the USA will be fully restored, I need to qualify that statement, for the lion beast will be restored without its eagle wings. In other words the USA will no longer seek to be a dominant power in the earth, rather adopting more of an isolationist stance, i.e. no longer meddling in the affairs of other sovereign nations.
Michael E.B. Maher
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