The Ashkenazi Jews & The Khazarian Empire

June 19, 2023

After the Romans burned the Second Temple and destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD, thousands of the surviving Jewish inhabitants fled Judaea and settled in other areas throughout the Mediterranean and elsewhere. Over the passage of time a significant number of Jews established themselves in Germany, primarily in the area known as the Rhineland. During the Medieval period the Jews living in Germany identified themselves as Ashkenazim. The German Jews adopted the title of Ashkenaz for a couple of reasons: one, to distinguish themselves from other Jewish communities, such as the Sephardic Jews of Spain, and to signify the geographical location in which they built a civilization. For the name Ashkenaz is found in the Bible, where in Genesis 10:3 Ashkenaz is listed as the grandson of Japheth, one of the three sons of Noah. Now traditionally speaking it is believed that the descendants of Japheth went on to settle within the territories of Europe, after God came down and confused the languages at Babel. And this European location (namely the Rhineland) was discerned by the Jews as the land of Ashkenaz. Additionally, though the Jews claim descent from Shem (Noah’s second son) these Semitic peoples took upon themselves a non-Semitic title in order to cement their identity as European Jewry.

Even-though what has been presented thus far regarding the origins of the Ashkenazi Jews may stem from a more mainstream account, there has also come down to us a quite popular theory which associates the Ahkenazi Jews with a Turkic tribe which originated from Central Asia, who in turn converted to Judaism in the 8th century of the common era. And these Turkish converts to Judaism are identified as the Khazars. The Khazars were a semi-nomadic people who eventually developed into an empire, beginning in the 6th century until they were defeated by the Kievan Rus in the 10th century, and soon afterwards seem to mysteriously disappear from history. At its epoch the Khazarian Empire encompassed the territories between the Black and Caspian Seas, and stretched from the Caucus Mountains to the south, all the way up to the Volga River in the north. Before their conversion to Judaism around the year 740 AD, the Khazars practiced a form of shamanism much like the other Turkic tribes of Central Asia. Now there has come down to us a splendid story, or legend rather, which tells the tale of how the Khazars became a Jewish nation. For during the reign of the Khazarian king Bulan, the religions of Christianity and Islam were the dominant faiths in the region. Wanting to adopt a more organized religion for his people, the Kagan or king of the Khazars heard the religious arguments of a Christian Priest, a Muslim Imam, and a Jewish Rabbi. The Khazar Kagan ultimately chose Judaism over Christianity and Islam, due to Judaism being the root religion of the two other faiths. Thus in the mid-8th century AD did the Turkish Khazars become Jews by mass conversion.

Returning to the Ashkenazim, it has been recorded that tens of thousands of Ashkenazi Jews migrated out of the Rhineland in the beginning of the 15th century and then settled in parts of Eastern Europe, such as Poland and Lithuania for example. But even before this Ashkenazi migration into Eastern Europe, there had been Jewish settlements in Ukraine going all the way back to the 7th century. It has also been argued that the Jewish presence in Eastern Europe and the various areas of Western Russia did not come from Ashkenazi Jews migrating from Germany, but rather this Jewish element derived its genesis from the Turkish Khazars, who’s empire was once directly located in-between the geographical setting of Eastern Europe and Russia, where Jewish communities had later been established. So instead of Ashkenazi Jews migrating out of Germany, making up the Jewish populations of Eastern Europe and Russia, the Jews in these territories could have actually been the remnants of the Khazars. This hypothesis could also explain why the Khazars disappeared from the historical record after they were conquered by the Rus in the 10th century. If this theory is correct, then the majority of the European and Russian Jews are not Ashkenazim, but rather Khazarian.

Now it is of no surprise that the bulk of modern day Ashkenazi Jews disagree with this Jewish/Khazarian claim, which in turn has sparked debate among Jewish intellectuals, who do indeed provide strong arguments in the support of their genuine Jewish origins and at the same time debunk the belief which teachers that Ashkenazi Jews are in fact racially Turkish, and therefore a non-Semitic people. One such argument against the Jewish/Khazar link states that, because there are no linguistic similarities between the Jewish dialect of Yiddish in comparison to the various Turkish languages, then there can be no Turkic origins in relation to the German or European Jews. Another argument in support of the Jewishness of the Ashkenazim has to do with cultural elements. For the cuisine, music, and literature of the Ashkenazi Jews are completely bereft of any Turkish elements. Additionally, the Jewish theory of how they settled in Germany relates that the Jews originally migrated from the Middle East via Italy into Germany and not through Khazaria.

In conclusion, the theory of the Ashkenazi Jews descending from the Turkish Khazars is indeed very controversial, and also extremely insulting towards the Jewish people as a whole. It has not been my attempt to usurp the racial and religious integrity of the Ashkenazi Jews, but rather it has been the job of this historian to unbiasedly present an alternative version of history which challenges the mainstream narrative. Whether this story is true or false, the intent here has been to raise awareness of a belief held by many, which is also being taught in the field of what is known as revisionist history. That being said I will leave it up to the individual to either accept, reject, or better yet inspire one to do their own research into this subject and come to their own conclusions. For as it is said, “the truth is out there!”

 

References:

HaLevi, Y. The Kuzari: In Defense of the Despised Faith. (Spring Valley, NY: Feldheim Publishers, 2013).

Koestler, A. The Thirteenth Tribe. (New York, NY: Random House, 1976).

O Muslim, Did Jesus Indeed Say, “I Am God Worship Me”?

June 5, 2023

The following presentation is a response and a rebuttal to the Muslim argument which preaches that Jesus never said, “I am God worship Me.”

In recent days Muslims all across the globe have suddenly presented an argument that they say proves that Jesus was not God in the flesh, and that argument is stated as follows: Where in the Bible did Jesus say, “I am God worship Me?” Islamic scholars have even gone so far as to say that if someone can show them where in the Gospel Jesus said “I am God worship Me,” that they will get baptized immediately! Now even though Jesus may not have uttered the exact words which Muslims have argued He never said, this doesn’t mean that Jesus never claimed to be divine or that He did not desire or allow others to worship Him. This work will attempt to defend the divinity of Jesus Christ as expressed in the Bible and reveal how Jesus was in fact worshiped all throughout the Gospels.

For a man to stand up before a crowd and make the statement, “I am God worship Me” would most certainly guarantee this person to be either insane, narcissistic, or both. So for God to incarnate as man, He would most likely need to be a little more gracious in order for people to take Him seriously. God the Father is humble and Jesus Christ as the Son of God is also humble. Christ never forced people to worship Him nor did He force others to believe in Him, but rather left it up to the individual to either believe in Him or to reject Him. Jesus never made an arrogant statement about Himself, but His actions and His miracles were enough evidence to reveal Jesus’ divinity without Him having to make a roaring declaration in order to prove that He was God nor to demand that all should worship Him as God. There were times however, when Jesus was left with no other choice than to confess that He was in fact the Son of God, such as He did during His trial before the Sanhedrin for example (Mark 14:61-62). Though Christ made no statement that believers should worship Him, Jesus did not hinder His followers when they did worship Him. That being said, let us now take a deeper look into the Gospels where we find that Jesus was indeed worshiped as Lord and as God.

In the opening verses of the second chapter of the Gospel according to St. Matthew, we witness men worshiping Jesus Christ even when He was just a newborn baby. For it is written, “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him” (Matthew 2:1-2). So even before Jesus was born men of understanding traveled afar in order to worship Him as the King of the Jews: The Messiah. Additionally, the Magi were not the only Gentiles who worshiped Christ, for a Canaanite woman worshiped Jesus when pleading with Him to heal her daughter who was vexed with a devil (Matthew 15:25). Among His fellow Jews, Jesus identified Himself as the Son of God to a blind man that He gave sight to. Once the former blind man believed in Jesus as the Son of God the Gospel says that he worshiped Jesus (John 9:35-38). Going further, after His resurrection Jesus met His disciples, “saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshiped him” (Matthew 28:9). So here we see that even though Jesus did not tell people plainly to worship Him as God, the individuals who recognized Him as the Christ took it upon themselves to give Him the honor and praise that was His just due, and in turn Jesus accepted their worship and did not admonish them for worshiping Him.

Now when someone begins to study any sacred text, it is severely inappropriate for mortal men to approach God, God’s Word, or one of God’s holy prophets and demand a word from them that would generate a belief system based on one’s own terms and on one’s own limited human understanding. For a Muslim to say I won’t become a Christian unless I see in the Bible where Jesus says I am God worship Me, would be like a Christian saying I won’t become a Muslim unless I read in the Qur’an where Mohammad says I came to save the world and to give my life as a ransom for many. So for a person who adheres to one religion to go and compare their faith to the faith of another religion, then there will of course be differences of beliefs and opinions found in that foreign faith. But to project a differing personal viewpoint towards another religion without thoroughly studying that faith, only gives birth to a weak argument that is based on a desperate attempt to foil the teachings found in that separate religion.

When studying the Gospel, the description of Jesus Christ as the Son of God is clearly expressed and His worship as Lord and God by others is also vividly outlined. For example, after His resurrection Jesus appeared to His disciples and Thomas (who had previously doubted that Christ rose from the dead) upon seeing the wounds in Jesus’ glorified body realized that Jesus was indeed divine and exclaimed unto Him, “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28). Also after Jesus sent His disciples out to preach, they returned and told Jesus that some people were saying that He was Elijah or one of the prophets. But when Jesus asked the disciples who they thought He was, “Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). Jesus even referred to Himself as the Son of God in John 10:36, and also spoke of Himself as the Christ in Luke 24:46. But the most telling of all passages found in the Gospel which solidifies the Godhood of Jesus is found in John 8:58, where Jesus tells the Jews that, “Before Abraham was, I AM.” This statement made by Christ reveals that Jesus is indeed the Great I AM, who appeared unto Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:14).

In conclusion, after scanning all the verses quoted from the Gospel in this brief work, a clear case has been made for the Christian doctrine which holds that Jesus is in fact the Son of God and that He is worshiped and accepts worship. The argument which expresses that Jesus never said “I am God worship Me,” is an attempt to twist the sayings of Jesus found in the Gospel and to brazenly put words in God’s mouth instead of reading the Gospel honestly and accepting the teachings of Who Jesus truly is according to what has been outlined in the holy scriptures. Jesus is the Word of God, the second person of the Holy Trinity which is one in essence and undivided. Before His incarnation, Christ Jesus was always in the very bosom of God the Father from eternity past. For as it is written in John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” And in the book of Revelation Jesus refers to Himself as the “Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending…the Almighty” (Revelation 1:8). So from the very mouth of Jesus it is revealed that He is Almighty God and is worshiped according to His divinity as one of the Holy Trinity, Who is glorified together with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

On the Person of Christ: An Excerpt from Eusebius

May 22, 2023

The following presentation is taken directly from the ancient and exhaustive Christian document: “The History of the Church” by Eusebius of Caesarea.

On the person of Christ: But he alone having reached our deep corruption, he alone having taken upon himself our labors, he alone having suffered the punishments due for our impieties, having recovered us who were not half dead merely, but were already in tombs and sepulchers, and altogether foul and offensive, saves us, both anciently and now, by his beneficent zeal, beyond the expectation of any one, even of ourselves, and imparts liberally of the Father’s benefits, – he who is the giver of life and light, our great Physician and King and Lord, the Christ of God.

For then when the whole human race lay buried in gloomy night and in depths of darkness through the deceitful arts of guilty demons and the power of God-hating spirits, by his simple appearing he loosed once for all the fast-bound cords of our impieties by the rays of his light, even as wax is melted.

But when malignant envy and the evil-loving demon well-nigh burst with anger at such grace and kindness, and turned against us all his death-dealing forces, and when, at first, like a dog gone mad which gnashes his teeth at the stones thrown at him, and pours out his rage against his assailants upon the inanimate missiles, he leveled his ferocious madness at the stones of the sanctuaries and at the lifeless material of the houses, and desolated the churches, – at least as he supposed, – and then emitted terrible hissings and snake-like sounds, now by the threats of impious tyrants, and again by the blasphemous edicts of profane rulers, vomiting forth death, moreover, and infecting with his deleterious and soul-destroying poisons the souls captured by him, and almost slaying them by his death-fraught sacrifices of dead idols, and causing every beast in the form of man and every kind of savage to assault us – then, indeed, the ‘Angel of the great Council,’ the great Captain of God after the mightiest soldiers of his kingdom had displayed sufficient exercise through patience and endurance in everything, suddenly appeared anew, and blotted out and annihilated his enemies and foes, so that they seemed never to have had even a name.

But his friends and relatives he raised to the highest glory, in the presence not only of all men, but also of celestial powers, of sun and moon and stars, and of the whole heaven and earth, so that now, as has never happened before, the supreme rulers, conscious of the honor which they have received from him, spit upon the faces of dead idols, trample upon the unhallowed rites of demons, make sport of the ancient delusion handed down from their fathers, and acknowledge only one God, the common benefactor of all, themselves included.

And they confess Christ, the Son of God, universal King of all, and proclaim him Savior on monuments, imperishably recording in imperial letters, in the midst of the city which rules over the earth, his righteous deeds and his victories over the impious. Thus Jesus Christ our Savior is the only one from all eternity who has been acknowledged, even by those highest in the earth, not as a common king among men, but as a trite son of the universal God, and who has been worshiped as very God, and that rightly.

For what king that ever lived attained such virtue as to fill the ears and tongues of all men upon earth with his own name? What king, after ordaining such pious and wise laws, has extended them from one end of the earth to the other, so that they are perpetually read in the hearing of all men?

Who has abrogated barbarous and savage customs of uncivilized nations by his gentle and most philanthropic laws? Who, being attacked for entire ages by all, has shown such superhuman virtue as to flourish daily, and remain young throughout his life?

Who has founded a nation which of old was not even heard of, but which now is not concealed in some corner of the earth, but is spread abroad everywhere under the sun? Who has so fortified his soldiers with the arms of piety that their souls, being firmer than adamant, shine brilliantly in the contests with their opponents?

What king prevails to such an extent, and even after death leads on his soldiers, and sets up trophies over his enemies, and fills every place, country and city, Greek and barbarian, with his royal dwellings, even divine temples with their consecrated oblations, like this very temple with its superb adornments and votive offerings, which are themselves so truly great and majestic, worthy of wonder and admiration, and clear signs of the sovereignty of our Savior? For now, too, ‘he spake, and they were made; he commanded, and they were created,’ For what was there to resist the nod of the universal King and Governor and Word of God himself?

“A special discourse would be needed accurately to survey and explain all this; and also to describe how great the zeal of the laborers is regarded by him who is celebrated as divine, who looks upon the living temple which we all constitute, and surveys the house, composed of living and moving stones, which is well and surely built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, the chief cornerstone being Jesus Christ himself, who has been rejected not only by the builders of that ancient building which no longer stands, but also by the builders – evil architects of evil works – of the structure, which is composed of the mass of men and still endures. But the Father has approved him both then and now, and has made him the head of the corner of this our common church.

Who that beholds this living temple of the living God formed of ourselves – this greatest and truly divine sanctuary, I say, whose inmost shrines are invisible to the multitude and are truly holy and a holy of holies – would venture to declare it? Who is able even to look within the sacred enclosure, except the great High Priest of all, to whom alone it is permitted to fathom the mysteries of every rational soul?

 

References:

Church History of Eusebius: All 10 Books in One Volume: The Early Christianity: From A.D. 1 – 324.

Ezekiel: Prophet of the Exile

May 22, 2023

The holy Prophet Ezekiel, whose name means “God strengthens,” is assigned third among the major prophets, and was the first prophet who addressed Jerusalem from the Jewish exile in Babylon. In addition to being a prophet Ezekiel was also a priest, being included as a member of the family of Zadok the priest. Ezekiel grew up in the kingdom of Judah during the reign of king Josiah, a time period spanning from 640 – 609 BC, and was among the aristocracy who were exiled in the first wave of Jewish deportations to Babylon around the year 597 BC. Holding the office of both prophet and priest during the exile, Ezekiel continued his ministry in Babylonia until his death in c. 570 BC.

Though Ezekiel’s message was primarily directed to his fellow Jewish captives in Babylon, many of Ezekiel’s prophecies were also addressed to other nations besides the Jewish nation, such as Egypt for example (Ezekiel 29:1-7). Now Ezekiel preached to the Jewish exiles in Babylon, explaining to his fellow countrymen how God had allowed them to be taken captive due to the magnitude of their sins. Ezekiel simply expressed to the Jews that if they ever wished to return to their homeland of Judah, that they would first have to return to the Lord in repentance, and do so with all their heart.

The Book of Ezekiel, though a prophetic book of the Old Testament, also shares literary symbols and archetypes as found in the most prophetic book in the New Testament, namely: The Book of Revelation. For example, in the third chapter of the Book of Ezekiel God instructs Ezekiel to eat a scroll, which the prophet says was in his mouth like honey for sweetness (Ezekiel 3:1-3). Similarly we see in Revelation how St. John eats a book which was also in his mouth as sweet as honey (Revelation 10:8-10). Now it must be clearly understood that these two holy men did not literally eat paper or parchment, but the “eating” of these books is symbolic of the reading and the retaining of the sacred Word of God.

Continuing with signs and symbols, the Prophet Ezekiel was no stranger to divine visions. For in the opening passages of the book of Ezekiel, the prophet writes that he saw visions of God while among the captives by the River Chebar. Ezekiel goes on to describe a whirlwind which came out of the north, along with a great cloud with raging fire, and out of the midst of the fire came the likeness of four living creatures which each had four faces. The four faces of the creatures, had the appearance of the face of a man, the face of a lion, the face of an ox, and the face of an eagle. This vision of Ezekiel is again reminiscent of the vision of St. John as recorded in the book of Revelation. For as we see in John’s vision there were four living creatures around the throne of God in heaven. “The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle” (Revelation 4:7). It would seem that these two different yet nearly identical visions both describe the appearance of God’s throne. Thus it is revealed that the God of the Old Testament is the same as the God of the New Testament.

Another vision recorded by Ezekiel which reveals a truth, or more accurately declares a prophecy fulfilled in the New Testament, is that of the shut eastern gate of the Temple of the Lord. For it is written: “Then he brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary which faces toward the east, but it was shut. And the Lord said to me, “This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it, because the Lord God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut” (Ezekiel 44:1-2). This eastern gate which the Lord entered in by and which shall remain shut is symbolic of the Ever Virgin Mary. For just as the Lord entered this world in the flesh through the womb of the Virgin Mary, so too did her womb remain shut even after the birth of Christ.

Another vision found in the Book of Ezekiel is that of the resurrection of the dead. For in this vision the Lord brings Ezekiel to a valley of dry bones and the Lord commands Ezekiel to prophecy over them. Then as Ezekiel was prophesying there came a shaking, and the bones began to reconnect and flesh and skin covered them (Ezekiel 37:7-8). St. Irenaeus tells us that this passage of Prophet Ezekiel is proof of the resurrection, and holds that the same God Who created us will also raise us up: “…the Creator is vivifying our dead bodies, and promising resurrection to them, and resuscitation from their sepulchers and tombs.” However, from a Jewish perspective this prophecy of the resurrection of dry bones is interpreted as God gathering all the children of Israel together again and placing them in the Land of Israel. A prophecy believed to have been fulfilled on May 14, 1948.

Apart from the visions and prophecies of Ezekiel, tradition tells us that some of the Jewish exiles could not bear the censure of Ezekiel, and thus murdered the man of God. The late Bishop Nikolai Velimirovic (+ 1956) writes that, “the Jews bound [Ezekiel] to the tails of horses and he was torn asunder.” Later other Jewish captives buried Prophet Ezekiel in the field of Thur, in the double cave tomb of Arphaxad and his father Shem, who was the son of none other than the Antediluvian patriarch Noah. However, it is also believed by both Jews and Muslims that Ezekiel’s Tomb is located in Al Kifl, Iraq and that it currently forms part of the Al-Nukhailah Mosque complex. This religious site is held by faithful Jews as their most holy shrine in all of modern Iraq, which was once ancient Babylon.

 

References:

Holy Apostles Convent. The Lives of the Holy Prophets. (Buena Vista, CO: Holy Apostles Convent, 1998).

Nelson. The Holy Bible, New King James Version. (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1984).

Regal Books. What The Bible Is All About. (Ventura, CA: Gospel Light Publications, 1989).

Tarazi, P.N. The Old Testament: Introduction Vol. 2: Prophetic Traditions. (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1994).

Zondervan. The Holy Bible, King James Version. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2009).

The Prophet Daniel & The Three Holy Children

May 22, 2023

Biblically speaking the holy Prophet Daniel, who’s name means “God is my judge,” is placed fourth in line among the five major prophets. Tradition informs us that Daniel was of the royal tribe of Judah, and thus stemmed from the house of king David. In his youth Daniel was taken captive from Jerusalem unto Babylon in 597 BC during the first wave of deportations in what would be known in Jewish history as the Babylonian Captivity. Along with Daniel, three of his fellow young Jewish friends were also taken to Babylon. These pious youths would be chosen to appear before the royal court of the king of Babylon, due to their intellect and handsome features. The Hebrew names of Daniel’s friends were Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; but they would all be given new names according to the tongue of the Chaldeans. For as it is written, “to them the chief of the eunuchs gave names: he gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and Azariah, Abed-Nego” (Daniel 1:7).

Being trained to serve in the palace of the king, the Jewish youths were given food which was not prepared according to God’s law, and was even offered to idols. Daniel and his companions refused to eat this food, and asked instead for only fresh vegetables and water. After ten days the countenance of the Jewish youths appeared better and fatter than all the young men who ate the portion of the king’s delicacies. When Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon interviewed them in all matters of wisdom and understanding, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in all his realm. These spiritual gifts which Daniel possessed would be utilized to help king Nebuchadnezzar interpret a strange dream the king had which greatly troubled him. Nebuchadnezzar first made inquiry among all of his wise men demanding that they not only interpret the dream, but also tell him the contents of the dream without the king telling them. The Babylonian magicians were unable to do this, but God revealed the dream to Daniel along with the meaning of the dream.

The dream was simply a statue of a man which had a head of gold, arms and chest of silver, belly and thighs of brass, legs of iron, and feet and toes mixed of iron and clay. Daniel interpreted the dream and also prophesied that the differing metals of the statue represented future world empires, with the head of gold symbolizing the Babylonian empire. Daniel’s ability to interpret Nebuchadnezzar’s dream brought the prophet great honor, with the king bestowing upon Daniel a very important and prestigious position within his kingdom. Daniel also managed that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego be given authority over the affairs of the province of Babylon. However, the graces between the three pious Jewish youths and Nebuchadnezzar would be short-lived due to the king’s demand that all his subjects bow down before an idol of the king. The three young men would not worship the statue, so the king ordered that they be thrown into a fiery furnace to be burned alive, but miraculously the fire did not hurt them. Nebuchadnezzar was astonished by this, and even saw a fourth person in the fire, who he said looked like the Son of God. The king then ordered them out of the furnace and when he saw that not even the hairs of their head were singed, neither their cloths burnt, nor the smell of the fire was upon them, that the king spoke blessing the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, Who sent His angel to deliver His servants (Daniel 3:28).

Soon after these events Nebuchadnezzar would again be troubled by yet another dream. This time when he called his soothsayers and magicians he told them the dream, but none of them could interpret it. Then at last Daniel came forward and the king made known to him the dream. In the dream Nebuchadnezzar saw a tree which stood in the midst of the earth, and it grew unto a great height. The leaves of the tree where beautiful and its branches were full of fruit and the beasts of the earth took refuge beneath it for shade and the birds of the air nestled in it’s branches and all creation fed from it. Then behold, a watcher and a holy one from heaven came down and cried out saying, “hew down the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit: let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches: but leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field. Let his heart be changed from that of a man to that of a beast, and let seven times pass over him.”

Daniel went on to tell the king that the tree represented him and his kingdom, and that he would be driven away from men and his dwellings would be among the beasts of the field and that he would eat grass as oxen, and that his body would be wet with the dew of heaven. And all this came upon king, for at the end of twelve months as he walked in his palace and boasted of his greatness and power, a voice came from heaven telling Nebuchadnezzar that his kingdom had departed from him and that he would live like an animal for a period of seven years, just as Daniel had explained to him before. But at the end of his affliction Nebuchadnezzar lifted up his eyes unto heaven and his understanding returned to him and he blessed the most High and praised and honored Him who lives for ever, whose dominion is everlasting, and whose kingdom is from generation to generation. Thus his reason returned to him, and Nebuchadnezzar was established in his kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto him.

Now at this time Belshazzar ruled over Babylon, and one night while he was drinking wine he commanded that the gold and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem be used for him and his princes, his wives and his concubines, that they might drink therein. Then as they drank wine, and praised the gods of silver and gold, came forth fingers of a man’s hand and wrote on the wall of the king’s palace. The king was suddenly troubled, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees knocked. The king’s wise men were brought in, but they could not interpret the writing. Then was the prophet Daniel brought in. He was able to read the writing on the wall and give the interpretation. And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. Thus it happened that the Persian army marched into the city on a dry riverbed that night and took Babylon without a fight.

Now the prophet Daniel worked very hard for the new king and soon arose to a high position in the Persian empire. But many in the new kingdom eyed Daniel with jealousy and tried to get him in trouble with the king, but none could find any error or fault in him. So the princes of the kingdoms conspired to make king Darius sign a decree which stated that if any man should make a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save the king, he shall be cast into a den of lions. Daniel knowing of this decree continued to pray towards Jerusalem anyway. The princes then assembled and found Daniel praying to his God and brought him before the king along with the accusation. The king then ordered Daniel to be cast to the lions, but was later troubled by his decision. The next day the king arose very early in the morning and made haste to the den of lions. When the king saw that Daniel was alive he was very happy and commanded Daniel to be taken out of the lion’s den and then commanded all those who had conspired against Daniel to be cast to the lions along with their wives and their children. King Darius then made a decree that all those in his kingdom should give glory to the God of Daniel.

Daniel was a great prophet who was shown visions of the future. Some of those visions were fulfilled during Daniel’s lifetime, some happened after him, and some are still yet to be fulfilled. These visions of future events written in the Book of Daniel in many ways mirror the visions recorded in the Book of Revelation. Both Daniel and Revelation speak of past, present, and future events which span the entire history of the creation of the world, from the very beginning unto the very end.

 

References:

Holy Apostles Convent. The Lives of the Holy Prophets. (Buena Vista, CO: Holy Apostles Convent, 1998).

Nelson. The Holy Bible, New King James Version. (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1984).

Regal Books. What The Bible Is All About. (Ventura, CA: Gospel Light Publications, 1989).

Tarazi, P.N. The Old Testament: Introduction Vol. 2: Prophetic Traditions. (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1994).

Zondervan. The Holy Bible, King James Version. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2009).