Previously we talked about the importance of signs and their significance in today’s world. In case you missed it, you can get a recap by clicking here.

Franz Hasel was a soldier in the Nazi army during WWII. Although he wore the uniform, he did not agree with the platform of the Nazis. During his time he carried a wooden gun, warned villages ahead of time that their army was coming to the area, and studied the Bible whenever there was down time (if you can find such a thing during war). During the middle of the war he went in and informed his superiors that Hitler was not going to win the war – according to the Bible prophecy. As a result, they should save their gas supplies so they could travel home when the war was over. Remember the war was not yet over when he mentioned this statement. The superiors dismissed him and held a private meeting amongst themselves. Worried for his life, the superiors summoned him and told him to take charge in preserving their remaining gas supply. They gambled on Hasel’s advice, and as a result their squad was able to return home immediately when the war was over.

How did Franz know that Hitler was not going to win, at a time when Germany enjoyed victories in various places? We examined the Bible prophecy that led to Franz’s conclusion in great detail. The prophecy is found in Daniel 2 and consists of threats, prayer, dreams, multi-colored images, and the rise of a young man in a foreign land.

To set up some context, one night King Nebuchadnezzar (say that 5 times fast) had a dream that he instantly forgot. However, it left such an impression on him that he needed to remember. He called his wise men in to not only tell him what he dreamed (crazy huh?) but to reveal its meaning. None of them could of course, so the king threatened to chop their bodies in pieces. However, Daniel steps in and asks for some time. He shows up the next morning and begins to tell Nebuchadnezzar the dream (which started coming back to him). Then he reveals the meaning. Here’s a brief skeleton (pun intended) of what went down:

Head of Gold – represented Babylon (Daniel 2:38) 605 BC – 538 BC

Chest of Silver – represented Medo Persia (Daniel 5) 538 BC – 331 BC

Belly/Thighs of Bronze – represented Greece 331 BC – 168 BC

Legs of Iron – represented Rome 168 BC – 476 AD

Toes of iron/clay – represented 10 divided kingdoms that would never unite again 476 AD – right before Jesus comes

Stone that smashed image – God’s kingdom

You can verify that these kingdoms rose up one after the other as predicted by this prophecy with history books. Daniel lived to see Medo Persia come to power. Franz knew that we were living in the time period represented by the toes (divided Europe) because the very next kingdom would be Jesus’ kingdom. As a result, he was able to confidently declare to his superiors that Germany would not win WWII and set up a world wide kingdom.

This may seem like a bunch of metals and dates from history. But here are a couple more things that make this prophecy ridiculously awesome:

1 – The representation of kingdoms by metals: Babylon was known for its gold, Medo Persia its silver, Greece for its bronze weaponry, and Rome for its iron swords and armor. When this prophecy was issued, no one really knew about Greece/Rome and their metals, except for Someone that could look ahead.

2 – The prophecy is still active today: We don’t have to look back on this and say, “Wow, that’s a cute story that happened a long time ago.” The prophecy reveals where we are in this timeline (toes) and what comes next.

3 – The very next kingdom to take over this world will be God’s kingdom. Remember in our last post we talked about signs of the end. This prophecy is another instance that reveals we are indeed nearing the end of this world as we know it.

This prophecy reveals that we can trust the Bible. The Bible is clear that after Rome, there would not be another worldly power. Charlemagne tried, Napoleon tried, Hitler tried, the EU is trying, but none of these attempts succeeded. The Bible is clear, “They will not bind to each other.”

As we continue to unlock Revelation, we want to be clear that the book we will be studying from is a book that can be trusted. The Bible presents a compelling case for events it predicted accurately, so we can trust that any events it does predict in the future are events that will indeed happen.

Will you trust the Bible as your guide to walk through this life?