Everything recorded in the Bible has a purpose. After all, the Bible is God's Word. And, God doesn't participate in empty chatter. The reason I say this is because, sometimes, when we find something in Scripture that appears a bit strange, we fail to appreciate its meaning.

For example, there is a strange account in the Old Testament book of Daniel about an old king who had an equally strange name. He was king Nebuchadnezzar, the first king of the great Babylonian empire. The Bible says:

Twelve months later he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon. The king reflected and said, "Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?" While the word was in the king's mouth, a voice came from heaven, saying, "King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: sovereignty has been removed from you, and you will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling place will be with the beasts of the field. You will be given grass to eat like cattle, and seven periods of time will pass over you until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes" (Daniel 4:28-32 New American Standard Bible).

I, for one, have always thought this account strange. However, as the years have gone by, I've  come to a little understanding of what makes these passages important. This account helps us make sense of what God is doing in our day.

You see, with this Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, we're provided  a starting point in Scripture for a period Jesus later called, "the times of the Gentiles" (Luke 21:24). This period would begin with Babylon and end with the second coming of Christ. In other words, the time in which we now live.

In between the starting point and Christ's return, God would allow three more great Gentile empires to rise over His special nation Israel. As we know, two of these empires -- Medo-Persian and Greece -- have already fallen. The third -- the Roman Empire -- is a little different matter. Unlike the previous two Gentile empires, the Roman Empire was never replaced by another. As a result, it never completely went away. And,  today, it is coming back to life in the form of the 10-horned European Union -- the 10 horns being its military wing.

Back to that strange encounter old Nebuchadnezzar had with God. You see, in this account, God is revealing to us He is the One who is in control of the affairs of man. You see, old Nebuchadnezzar represented all the earthly governments that would follow until the return of Christ. So, no matter how evil our governments gets, God is still in control. And, He'll remain in control to the very end.

But, with this last king, it's going to be a little different -- just wait and see.

This time the Lord will roar from Zion Read about it here.