Having Fun in Daniel

Daniel 7
Daniel's Dream of Four Beasts
1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he was lying on his bed. He wrote down the substance of his dream.
2 Daniel said: "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. 3 Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea.
4 "The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a man, and the heart of a man was given to it.
5 "And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, 'Get up and eat your fill of flesh!'
6 "After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard. And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule.
7 "After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast—terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns.

2Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds (1.) of the heaven strove upon the great sea.

(1.)Four Winds; Daniel 11:4 4And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside those. (Alexander the Greats kingdom divided to his four generals. Four winds of heaven blew from center of Alexanders kingdom.)

3And four great beasts(2.) came up from the sea (3.), diverse(2.) one from another. (Three came up from the sea, then another, the fourth.)

(2.)Four Great Beasts, Diverse; Colonialism, Communist domination, Religious zealots, The final world domination an unnatural beast, not of normal human reasoning, more terrifying and powerful than all previous (vs 7, after that; after the previous three beasts, Great Britain, Russia, and the Islamic terrorist eras).

(3.)The Sea; Psalm 68:22 The Lord said, I will bring again from Bashan, I will bring my people again from the depths of the sea: ( Sea=Human world population)

4The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings (4.): I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth(5.), and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it (6.).

(4.)British Empire. (Lion with Wings, wings to go all over the earth, not bound by land limitations, global.)
The British Empire was the largest empire in history and for a substantial time was the foremost global power. It was a product of the European age of discovery, which began with the maritime explorations of the 15th century, that sparked the era of the European colonial empires. By 1921, the British Empire held sway over a population of about 458 million people, approximately one-quarter of the world's population. It covered about 36.6 million km² (14.2 million square miles), about a quarter of Earth's total land area. As a result, its legacy is widespread, in legal and governmental systems, economic practice, militarily, educational systems, sports (such as cricket, rugby and football), and in the global spread of the English language. At the peak of its power, it was often said that "the sun never sets on the British Empire" because its span across the globe ensured that the sun was always shining on at least one of its numerous colonies or subject nations. (5.)(Wings Plucked) During the five decades following World War II, most of the territories of the Empire became independent. Many went on to join the Commonwealth of Nations, a free association of independent states.

(6.) Britain 'No Longer Christian,' Says Influential Liberal Think Tank (Stand on Feet)
It's time for Britain to recognize that it is no longer a Christian nation and should embrace multiculturalism, according to a liberal think-tank favored by Prime Minister Gordon Brown.Echoing sentiments heard throughout Britain in recent years, the authors of the report say that the traditional pillars of British identity have now vanished or been greatly weakened.Church attendance is at historically low levels, the British Empire is gone, the monarchy is far less popular and the Second World War is inexorably slipping into memory. After interviewing opinion makers and ordinary citizens, the authors say that it's up to the government to create a new and more inclusive national identity, part of which includes honoring the diverse cultures found in Britain. With regards to religion, bishops from the Church of England should no longer sit in the House of Lords and a new constitution could be created to defend "the right of citizens to practice whatever faith they please." And more recognition should be given to different ethnic groups: "If we are going to continue as a nation to mark Christmas -- and it would be very hard to expunge it from our national life even if we wanted to -- then public organizations should mark other religious festivals too." Members of the opposition Conservative Party charged that the report amounted to "throwing out" history and "denying the fundamental contribution" that Christianity plays in Britain.

5And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear (7.), and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth (8.) of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.(9.)

(7.) Bear: The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Born from the Russian Empire following the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the Russia Civil War of 1918–1921, the USSR was a union of Soviet republics, but was commonly referred to as a whole as Russia after its largest and dominant constituent state. The geographic boundaries of the USSR varied with time, but after the last major territorial annexations and occupation of the Baltic states (Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia), eastern Poland, Bessarabia, and certain other territories during World War II, from 1945 until dissolution the boundaries approximately corresponded to those of late Imperial Russia, with the notable exclusions of Poland, most of Finland, and Alaska. The Soviet Union became the primary model for future Communist states during the Cold War; the government and the political organization of the country were defined by the only political party, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. From 1945 until its dissolution in 1991 — a period known as the Cold War—the Soviet Union and the United States of America were the two world superpowers that dominated the global agenda of economic policy, foreign affairs, military operations, cultural exchange, scientific advancements including the pioneering of space exploration, and sports (including the Olympic Games and various world championships).

(8.)Three Ribs; Breakaway regions in ex-U.S.S.R. mull joint peacekeeping force 13/06/2006 16:08 SUKHUMI, June 13 (RIA Novosti) - Three breakaway regions in former Soviet republics currently embroiled in "frozen conflicts" may consider forming a joint peacekeeping contingent if Russian peacekeepers withdraw, the president of Abkhazia said Tuesday. Leaders of Abkhazia and South Ossetia - both in Georgia - and of Moldova's Transdnestr region are meeting in the Abkhaz capital, Sukhumi, to discuss trilateral relations, conflict resolution and peacekeeping missions.

(9.)Devour Much Flesh The Bear Awakes; Dumitru in April of 1997. I knelt beside my bed to pray, as I do every night before I go to sleep. After finishing my prayer, I opened my eyes but I was no longer in my room. Instead, I found myself in a forest. I looked around and to my right I saw a man, dressed in white, who pointed his finger and said, “See and remember.” It took me a while to find out what he was pointing at. It was a small bear who seemed half dead lying on the ground. As I continued to watch this bear, it began to breathe deeper. With every passing minute it seemed to revive itself, and as I watched, it also became angrier. It then began to grow. Soon it was larger than the forest floor and as it grew larger it continued to become angrier. It then began to paw the ground, so that when its paw would hit the ground, the earth would shudder. The bear continued to devastate all that stood in its path until it came upon some men with sticks trying to fend it off. By this the bear had grown so large that it simply crushed the men underfoot and continued to rampage. I was stunned by what I saw and asked the man standing beside me, “What does this mean?” “At first, they thought the great bear was dead,” the man said. “As it will begin to stir once again, they will consider it harmless. Suddenly it will grow strong once more with purpose and violence. God will blind the eyes of those that continue to trample on the sacrifice of Christ’s blood, until the day the bear will strike swiftly. This day will catch them unprepared and it will be just as you saw.” The man then said, “Tell my people the days are numbered and the sentence has been passed. It they will seek My face and walk in righteousness before Me, I will open their eyes that they may see the danger approach. If they only look to the approaching danger, they too will be caught up and trampled underfoot. Only in righteousness will they find safety.” Suddenly, I was once again by myself in my room, on my knees, with sweat covering my face.

6After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard(10.), which had upon the back of it four wings(11.)of a fowl; the beast had also four heads(12.); and dominion was given to it.

(10.)Leopard (Notice the range of this beast) The leopard (Panthera pardus) is an Old World mammal of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four 'big cats' of the genus Panthera, along with the tiger, lion, and jaguar. Leopards that are melanistic, either all-black or very dark in coloration, are known colloquially as Black Panthers. Once distributed across southern Eurasia and Africa, from Korea to South Africa and Spain, it has disappeared from much of its former range and now chiefly occurs in subsaharan Africa. There are fragmented populations in the Indian subcontinent, Indochina, Malaysia, and western China. Despite the loss of range and continued population declines, the cat remains a least concern species; its numbers are greater than that of the other Panthera species, all of which face more acute conservation concerns. The species' success owes in part to its opportunistic hunting behaviour and its adaptability to a variety of habitats. The leopard consumes virtually any animal it can catch and ranges from rainforest to desert. Its ecological role resembles that of the similarly-sized cougar in the Americas. Physically, the spotted cat most closely resembles the jaguar, although it is of lighter build.

(11.)Four Wings; See Four Winds, Lion Wings. Fly in all directions all over the earth, global.

(12.)Four Heads; Islamic Terrorists, Wahhabi Islam, Sunni Islam, Shia Islam Islamic terrorism (also known as Islamist terrorism or Jihadist terrorism) is terrorism - an act of violence targeting non-combatants - perpetrated by a person or group identifiably Islamic, and/or to further the cause of Islamism as determined by the acts' perpetrators and supporters. According to statistics gathered for 2005 by the National Counterterrorism Center of the United States, Islamic extremism was responsible for approximately 23% of all terrorist fatalities worldwide, and 56% of all fatalities where a terrorist perpetrator could be specified. Extremist acts have included airline hijacking, beheading, kidnapping, assassination, roadside bombing, suicide bombing, and occasionally rape. One of the most notable Islamist terrorist campaigns was the 9/11 attack on the United States. Other prominent Islamist attacks have occurred in France, Russia and China. France was the focus of terrorism in the mid 1990s from the Algerian civil war. Russia faced terrorist attacks stemming from its involvement in Chechnya. In 1997 the Chinese government set up the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation to combat radical Islamic movements in Central Asia. Islamist terrorist groups often refer to their actions as jihad (struggle). Threats, including death threats, are often issued in the form of fatwas, (Islamic legal judgments). Both Muslims and non-Muslims have been among the targets and victims. Threats against Muslims are often issued as takfir (a declaration that someone or some thing considered Muslim is in fact an unbeliever). This is an implicit death threat as the punishment for apostasy in Islam is death, under traditional interpretations of Sharia law. The controversies surrounding the subject include: whether the motivation of the terrorists or alleged terrorists is self-defense or offensive expansion, national self-determination or Islamic supremacy; what targets of the terrorists or alleged terrorists are noncombatants; whether Islam condones, or sometime condones terrorism; whether some attacks are Islamist terrorism, or only terrorist acts done by Muslims; how much support there is in the Muslim world for what kinds of Islamic terrorism; whether the Arab-Israeli Conflict is the root of Islamic terrorism, or simply one cause. Wahhabi Islam & Extremist Islam Today Today, Wahhabism is the dominant Islamic tradition on the Arabian peninsula, though its influence is minor in the rest of the Middle East. Because Osama bin Laden comes from Saudi Arabia and is Wahhabi himself, Wahhabi extremism and radical ideas of purity have obviously influenced him considerably. Adherents of Wahhabi Islam do not regard it as simply one school of thought out of many; rather it is the only path of true Islam — nothing else counts. Even though Wahhabism is a minority position overall in the Muslim world, it has nevertheless been influential for other extremist movements throughout the Middle East. This can be seen with a couple of factors, first of which is al-Wahhab’s use of the term jahiliyya to vilify a society which he does not consider pure enough, whether they call themselves Muslim or not. Even today, Islamists use the term when referring to the West and at times even to their own societies. With it, they can justify overthrowing what many might regard as an Islamic state by essentially denying that it is truly Islamic at all. Sunni vs. Shia Islam Most statements about Islam apply to Sunni Islam, which represents the vast majority of Muslims. Although the differences between Sunni Islam and the various Shi'ite sects started out as political, the distinction between the two groups has gradually become more and more theological as well. Shia Muslims continue to hold the same fundamental beliefs of other Muslims, with the principle addition being that they also believe in an imamate, which is the distinctive institution of Shia Islam. The doctrine of the imamate was not fully developed until the 10th century and other dogmas developed still later. Sunni Muslims view the caliph as a temporal leader only and consider an imam to be a prayer leader, but for the Shia the historic caliphs were merely de facto rulers while the rightful and true leadership continued to be passed along through a sort of apostolic succession of Muhammad's descendants, the Imams (when capitalized, Imam refers to the Shia descendant of the House of Ali).

7After 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.

Just some random thoughts. Aren't we having fun now!
L,J,P&HG Dave