The Official Web Site for The Matrix of Prophecy Seminar
During the Matrix of Prophecy Seminar,
questions arise that may not get detailed treatment in the presentation.
For that reason we have opened the opportunity for you to ask questions
using the response cards at the meetings or by e-mail.
For your convenience, the answers are posted on this page.
Q: I don’t quite understand
the statue and the empires it represents. The history of each kingdom.
A: After God answered Daniel’s prayer (Dan.
2:19-23) Daniel described the image to Nebuchadnezzar (v. 31-35)
In verse 37 Daniel says Nebuchadnezzar represents the head of gold and proceeds
to mention 3 kingdoms that would come after him (v 39-40). History shows
that the dream was fulfilled exactly as Daniel recorded it. Babylon ruled
the entire known world from 606-538 BC; followed by Medo Persia 538-331
BC; Greece 331 B.C.-168 B.C. and Rome 168 B.C. to 476 A.D. The 10 toes of
the image consisted of iron and clay and represented the 10 tribes that
conquered and divided the Roman empire, 3 of which are now extinct and the
remaining 7 of which formed the foundations of modern Europe today. (The
book of Daniel even predicted the demise of 3 of these kingdoms which we’ll
study later in the series. Fascinating!) Daniel prophesied that subsequent
kingdoms would “mingle with the seed of men” but they would
not cleave together as iron cannot cleave with clay. History shows this
to be true in that since Rome no one nation has ruled the world although
there have been many attempts thru intermarriage, conquest, etc. The stone
cut out without hands (v. 34, 44,45) represents the 2nd coming of Christ
and his eternal, everlasting kingdom.
Our free seminar written lessons on this and any other seminar topic will help you greatly in your study. Readily available upon request.
Q: Why are these meetings so
short, only 1 hr? Why not 2 hrs?
A: Thank you for your question which we consider a compliment, really.
However, we recognize that people are very busy, and we’re trying
to be respectful of people’s time.
Q: In spite of Nebucchadnezzar
having the blessing of this great vision, he remained unsaved…….?
Idolatry, etc. & why was he chosen by God for this great purpose. The
role of Alexander the Great!
A: First, good news about Nebuchadnezzar! It took God over 30 years, but
this great monarch finally acknowledged and accepted God. (Daniel
4:34-37) The last words in the Bible recorded about him are that he praised
God. I expect to meet Nebuchadnezzar in heaven! What God did for this ancient
pagan king, He wants to do for men and women today. He is just as eager
to save you and me now as he was to save Nebuchadnezzar. The story of this
proud, arrogant king’s conversion ought to encourage every one that
God can save anyone in spite of their past experiences!
Q: Did the abomination of desolation
occur in AD66? Will there be a 3rd abomination during the 70th week? What
does Matthew 24:34 mean? Do you agree with Marvin Rosenthal’s book
“Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church” ?
A: I’ll deal with Matt 24:34 now since we covered this last
night a bit. We will be covering the topic regarding the “abomination”
and the 70th week of Daniel 9, and the rapture, etc. in future sessions.
Commentators, generally, agree that the expression “this generation”
of Matt. 23:36 refers to the generation of the apostles. Jesus repeatedly
used the expression “this generation” in this sense. Obviously,
Christ’s predictions concerning the fall of Jerusalem, which occurred
in A.D. 70, did, literally, come to pass within the lifetime of many then
living.
However, the words “this generation” in v. 34 are in the context
of Matt. 24:27–51, which deal exclusively with the coming of the Son
of man at the end of the world. The signs mentioned in these verses and
in Luke 21—“signs” in the heavens and “upon the
earth” (Luke 21:25)—would take place so near the day of His
coming that Christ declared that the “generation” that sees
the last of the signs, shall not pass before “all these things [Christ’s
coming and the end of the world] be fulfilled.”
Q: Can you make a video of the entire seminar for sale at the conclusion?
A: Others have suggested/requested this, and we are working on it! Can’t
promise at this point. Thank you.
Q: God’s patterns are
replicated throughout the Bible. When I consider how God dealt with King
Nebuchadnezzar when he humbled him, made him like a wild animal, there is
an uncanny sameness with the way He dealt with Saddam Hussein, this modern-day
king of Babylon, who was found hiding in a hole like a beast, hair down
to his shoulders and mentally deranged. You don’t believe his removal
from power was a move of God?
A: I do not see a direct parallel between the experience
of King Nebuchadnezzar of ancient Babylon and Saddam Hussein for the following
reasons: 1. According to the Bible, God never sends judgment upon
any person or nation without first giving them a warning through His prophet
of messenger and providing them a change to repent and change their ways.
This was true of the ancient antediluvian world in the days of Noah and
also in the case of the ancient nations of Israel and Judah. In the case
of Nebuchadnezzar, God's warning to him was given through Daniel, God's
prophet. This is recorded in the Book of Daniel, chapter 4, versus 1-27.
God gave Nebuchadnezzar a whole year to repent and change his ways before
God before God let the judgment which God had foretold fall upon him. (See
Dan 4:29-33) No such warning was sent from God to Saddam Hussein. I do not
think that the fate which has befallen Saddam Hussein was caused by the
direct intervention of God.
Q: How did you determine the
countries to which you attached the parts of the body of the dream?
A: Both sacred and secular history
record the order of the ancient kingdoms of the Middle East. In
Daniel 5:30-31, the Bible indicates that the kingdom that succeeded Babylon
was Medo Persia, and the kingdom that succeeded Medo Persia was the kingdom
of Greece. (See Dan 8:1-8, 20, 21) History records that the next universal
kingdom to rule the world after the kingdom of Greece was the iron kingdom
of Rome.
Q: Are you saying that God’s
people should be vegetarians although everything He made was good?
A: No, I am not saying that at all. What I am saying is that if you
read the 1st chapter of Daniel, the vegetarian diet that Daniel and his
three companions chose was far superior to the one prescribed
for them by the king. The results after the ten-day trial and after
the three-year course of study, proved this to be true. (Dan. 1:15, 16,
18-20) I wish to point out, also, that the original diet given to Adam and
Eve in the Garden of Eden was a vegetarian diet. It consisted of the fruits
of the earth. (Gen 1:29, 2:9, 16) God only wants the best for His children.
If a vegetarian diet was best for our first parents, it is also best for
us.
Finally, as I pointed out in my presentation, so called Western
Nations' heavy reliance on meat in the diet is literally destroying the
Earth and fueling starvation according to Howard Lyman in his book,
Mad Cowboy. (Lyman is an ex-cattle rancher turned vegetarian.) Half the
people in the world are hungry NOW, and 24,000 people are dying daily NOW
from simple starvation. That's 1000 people per hour as you are reading this!
from starvation! With the 6.3 billion people in existence now, and with
the world's population continuing to explode with a projected world population
of 9.5 billion in the year 2050, and with crop and pasturelands the size
of Maine disappearing annually to urban development, famine and starvation
are only going to get worse.
The Bible says this is another sign of Christ's soon coming and the end
of this world as we know it. (Matt. 24:7) And when you stop to consider
the fact that, according to Lyman, it takes 16 pounds of grain to produce
1 pound of beef, and when on the other hand 1 acre can produce 40,000 pounds
of potatoes and 30,000 pounds of carrots, but only 250 pounds of beef, vegetarianism
seems to make more and more humanitarian sense. And considering
the fact that the available land we have NOW could easily feed 10 billion
people if meat were eliminated from the human diet, even though
I don't think that will ever happen, it almost makes it downright irresponsible
and inhuman to advocate and defend a carniverous diet, simply on altruistic
grounds! Read Lyman's book for tons more facts and information! And we'll
cover the health impacts of diet in future Matrix of Prophecy seminar sessions.
Send your prophecy questions to Q&A@matrixofprophecy.org.
