Participants:
Series Code: TIJ
Program Code: TIJ001104A
00:02 ♪ ♪
00:06 The charming city of Nuremberg is over 950 years old and is 00:10 located in the very heart of Germany. For centuries Nuremberg 00:18 was the unofficial capital of the Holy Roman Empire. 00:22 Successive German kings or emperors resided and held court 00:27 here. It was a place of power and prestige. Adolph Hitler and 00:37 the Nazis saw Nuremberg as the perfect stage for their 00:41 activities. Huge fanatical Nazi rallies were held here. From 00:46 this platform Hitler delivered his fiery speeches that stirred 00:52 the emotions of his people. (Hitler yelling/crowds cheering) 00:57 Nuremberg became a center of Nazi idealists. Here plans were 01:04 made and strategies finalized. Adolph Hitler planned to unite 01:09 Europe and establish an empire that would last for a thousand 01:13 years, the Thousand Year Reich. He plunged the world into the 01:19 largest, most destructive, most violent and most widespread war 01:23 the world has ever seen. But Adolph Hitler could have saved 01:29 himself, his people and the world a lot of heartache and 01:35 agony if only he'd taken note of an ancient prophecy cast in 01:39 stone above the entrance to the Old Town Hall or Rotthaus right 01:46 here in Nuremberg. This amazing prophecy written 2600 years ago 01:53 accurately predicted the future of Europe, the outcome of World 01:57 War II and the fate of Adolph Hitler and the Nazis. And it 02:01 also contains a message for us today. Don't miss it. 02:05 ♪ ♪ 02:48 Nuremberg is a city of castles, cathedrals and canals. Here 02:53 German emperors were crowned, saints were buried, and the most 02:57 famous and talented German artists in history created awe 03:01 inspiring works. Today Nuremberg is the second largest city in 03:07 the state of Bavaria after Munich, which is about 170 km 03:13 south. Nuremberg held great significance during the Nazi 03:19 era. Adolph Hitler and the Nazis saw Nuremberg as the perfect 03:23 stage for their activities. Because of the city's relevance 03:27 to the Holy Roman Empire and its position in the center of 03:31 Germany, the Nazi party chose the city to be the site of huge 03:36 Nazi party conventions. In 1933 Adolph Hitler declared that 03:43 Nuremberg should be the city of the Nazi party rallies. 03:48 The Nazis constructed monumental buildings, arenas and roads for 03:53 these mass rallies, events and parades. These fanatical party 03:57 rallies became huge Nazi propaganda events. From this 04:02 very platform Adolph Hitler delivered his passionate and 04:07 fiery speeches that raised the hopes and stirred the emotions 04:11 of his people. (Hitler yelling, crowd cheering Heil). Nuremberg 04:20 became a center of Nazi idealists. Here plans were made 04:24 and strategies finalized. Adolph Hitler planned to unite Europe 04:29 and establish an empire that would last for a thousand years, 04:33 the Thousand Year Reich. He plunged the world into the 04:42 largest, most destructive, most violent and most widespread war 04:48 that the world has ever seen. It was the first truly global 04:53 war. Every continent participated. World War II 04:58 involved 61 countries with nearly two billion people, 05:01 three quarters of the world's population. Sixty-two million 05:06 people lost their lives. Hitler arrogantly believed he could 05:11 conquer Europe with the strength of his armies and establish a 05:14 world empire that would last for a thousand years. But there was 05:20 one German soldier, Franz Hassel in the Elite Pioneer Company 699 05:25 who boldly told his superiors that Hitler was doomed to 05:30 failure. Franz Hassel was absolutely certain about this. 05:35 You know the reason he was so sure? This prophecy cast in 05:41 stone above the entrance to the Old Town Hall here in Nuremberg. 05:45 These stone images depict a prophecy from the Bible book of 05:49 Daniel written 2600 years ago. It predicted the outcome of 05:55 World War II and the fate of Adolph Hitler and the Nazis. At 06:00 the risk of death, Hassel told his commanding officer, Captain 06:04 Rickers, that Germany would never unite Europe under the 06:08 Nazi Swastika and control the world. He boldly stated that 06:14 Hitler and his plans were doomed As Unit 699 drove deep into 06:20 Russia Captain Rickers believed what Hassel was saying and 06:24 carried extra fuel and supplies hoping for a safe retreat. They 06:29 were among the very few who returned home safely from the 06:33 Russian front. So what is this prophecy from the Bible book of 06:39 Daniel? Well, let's take a closer look at these prophetic 06:44 images cast in stone above the entrance to the Old Town Hall. 06:50 The first image is of a lion with eagle's wings together with 06:54 a statue of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. The second is a bear 06:59 along with an image of Cyrus the Great of Medo-Persia. A closer 07:05 look at the other image shows a leopard with four heads and is 07:09 matched with a statue of Alexander the Great of Greece. 07:13 The fourth is a nondescript beast with 10 horns and is 07:17 matched with Julius Caesar of Rome. So what do Babylon, 07:24 Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome have to do with Adolph Hitler 07:28 and the Third Reich symbolized by these Nazi megastructures 07:33 behind me? Well, let's find out. Our investigation starts in 07:42 Babylon. Babylon was once the golden city of the ancient world 07:48 A great warrior king, Nebuchadnezzar, ruled it from 07:51 605 to 562 B.C. His rule stretched through most of the 07:59 Middle East and at the time this was the center of the world. In 08:05 605 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar and his armies struck out westward on a 08:10 mission of conquest. As part of their mission they attacked the 08:15 city of Jerusalem. They besieged and plundered the city, looting 08:19 the temple and carrying off many of the sacred golden vessels. 08:25 Daniel, a young Jewish prince, was taken captive and with the 08:29 cream of the city's youth carried off to Babylon as a war 08:33 hostage where he was trained to be a servant of the king and one 08:36 of the empire's wise men. Now we pick up this story in the 08:42 Bible book of Daniel in the second chapter. Soon after 08:46 Daniel's appointment to the royal staff strife broke out 08:49 in the palace. Nebuchadnezzar had gone to bed worried about 08:54 Babylon and the future of his kingdom. As he slept that night 08:59 the king had a dream that seemed to contain omens and because of 09:04 the great importance he placed on dreams, he had to know what 09:09 the dream meant. But then a peculiar thing happened. 09:14 Nebuchadnezzar forgot his dream. (Neb yells) In his desperation 09:25 to recall it, he brought in his magicians, astrologers, 09:29 sorcerers and wise men that claimed to be able to read minds 09:33 and foretell the future. To this assembly of the wise men of 09:38 Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar brings his strange demand: 09:51 These astrologers and magicians claimed to have psychic powers 09:56 and contact with the gods. They claimed to be able to read the 10:00 stars and foretell the future. Now it was up to them to either 10:05 prove their claims or expose their deceit: 10:15 They figured they could analyze the dream and then just make up 10:19 any old interpretation they wanted. He recognized what they 10:23 were trying to do. So notice what he demanded: 10:32 Well, the so-called wise men failed miserably. Notice what 10:37 they nervously confessed. 10:53 The wise men couldn't meet the king's demands and so were 10:59 exposed as frauds. In a moment of anger Nebuchadnezzar 11:04 commanded that they all be killed. Execute them, he 11:08 commanded. Execute all the wise men of Babylon. 11:12 Now although Daniel 11:14 knew nothing of this incident the soldiers came for him as 11:18 well because he was considered a wise man. Desperate he prayed 11:23 for Divine intervention, because well, without it he was going to 11:28 be killed. According to the text God revealed the king's dream 11:32 and its interpretation to Daniel He then got to speak with the 11:37 king. Notice what he said in Daniel chapter 2:28: 11:50 He then told the king there is only one dependable source of 11:54 information about the future, Daniel's God. The king leaned 12:00 forward as if impatient to hear the dream and its interpretation 12:05 Then Daniel went on to outline the entire dream: 12:35 Well very simple. The kings dream was of a large statue. 12:39 It's head was of gold, it's chest and arms of silver, 12:42 it's belly and thighs of bronze, it's legs of iron, it's feet a 12:47 mixture of iron and clay. Notice as Daniel continues in Daniel 12:53 chapter 2 verses 34 and 35: 13:29 Now here comes the action. The statue is standing there 13:33 when a stone comes down and smashes it to smithereens. And 13:39 then a wind comes and blows away the remains and that stone 13:44 becomes a mountain that covers the whole earth. Now what could 13:50 this strange dream have to do with Adolph Hitler and the 13:53 Nazis? you say. And what message does it contain for us today? 13:58 Well as we will discover the dream outlines the future in an 14:05 amazing way. In only 150 words the dream sketched the main 14:10 course of history from Babylon's day, 600 B.C., to the climax of 14:16 earth's history including the period of the second World War. 14:21 It starts in Nebuchadnezzar's day and stretches generation 14:25 after generation right down until the time of modern Europe 14:29 and beyond. But what does it all mean? Well breathlessly the 14:36 king waited for the interpretation. Here it is 14:39 in Daniel chapter 2 verses 36-38: 14:52 How clear, how plain. We'll find out as the prophecy unfolds that 14:58 each part of this metal image represents a world empire or 15:03 nation that follows one after another. So notice what Daniel 15:07 went on to say in Daniel chapter 2 verses 39 and 40: 15:38 Pretty self-explanatory isn't it? After Babylon came a second 15:42 kingdom though inferior to Babylon. After that a third 15:46 kingdom and finally a fourth one made of crushing iron. So the 15:52 bottom line is that this was indeed a dream about the rise 15:57 and fall of great world empires starting with Babylon. Now just 16:03 as this prophecy predicted, three other great world empires 16:06 arose. History shows that after Babylon fell the Medo-Persian 16:12 empire came. That was the second empire. After Medo-Persia came 16:18 the vast Greek empire which expanded under Alexander the 16:23 Great. The Jewish historian Josephus documented how 16:27 Alexander the Great knew his destiny as a result of being 16:32 shown the prophecies of Daniel. And then the predicted fourth 16:36 kingdom, the Roman Empire, followed after the fall of 16:40 Greece. All this just as Daniel had predicted. So there we have 16:47 them, four great world empires following one after another: 16:54 Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome. Now do they ring a bell? 16:59 Well of course. They are the very same four empires cast in 17:05 stone above the entrance to the Old Town Hall in Nuremberg. 17:09 Now here is where this gets very interesting. The iron of the 17:15 legs symbolized ancient Rome, but the iron of Rome continues 17:20 down into the feet where the iron was mixed with clay. 17:24 Remember it's legs were of iron it's feet partly of iron and 17:29 partly of clay. Now all the other metals remain where they 17:35 were; the gold in the head, the silver in the arms and chest, 17:40 the bronze in the belly, but the iron, the symbol of Rome, began 17:45 in the legs and continued all the way to the feet where it was 17:50 mixed with clay. Clay. We think of clay as brittle, especially 17:56 in contrast to iron. What does this mean? Well Daniel explains 18:02 in Daniel chapter 2 verses 41 to 43: 18:41 Now look at what you have here. When pagan Rome fell it was 18:46 not going to be replaced by a single empire like the ones that 18:51 preceded it. Remember each empire was replaced by a 18:55 different metal symbolizing a new one. In contrast, Rome had 19:00 been divided up, carved up, in what had become and are still 19:05 now the nations of modern Europe and that's why the iron remains 19:11 all the way down even into the feet and toes where it was mixed 19:16 with clay. This prediction was made about 600 years before 19:21 Christ. And look how accurately it depicts the situation in 19:25 Europe to this day. The Roman Empire was divided into 19:30 different powers that ultimately became modern Europe. But notice 19:35 what else it said about them in Daniel chapter 2 and verse 43: 19:53 You notice it says they will not adhere one to another. That is 19:59 these nations will never be united. Two world wars in the 20:05 last century alone were nothing but these nations massacring 20:09 each other. And even today in many places things are still 20:14 very touchy. Sure there's been a European Union and a single 20:18 currency at least in part of Europe, but even all this is in 20:23 danger of fraying. You only have to look at what's happening in 20:27 Greece and Britain to see how unstable, uncertain and divided 20:32 Europe really is. The Bible predicted that the nations of 20:38 Europe would mix together and try to unite. However, the Bible 20:41 also predicted that no matter how hard they try they would 20:47 never become fully united: 20:54 The most powerful military men in history have tried. 20:57 Charlemagne tried and failed. Charles V tried and failed. 21:02 Louis XIV tried and failed and Napoleon Bonaparte tried and 21:09 failed. And then came Kaiser Wilhelm II. He set out to unite 21:14 Europe in 1914. But we all know the tragic end of the Kaiser's 21:20 story. He plunged the nations into World War I with terrible 21:26 consequences. Over 16 million soldiers and civilians lost 21:31 their lives. And then came Adolph Hitler. With an army of 21:42 five million, Hitler promised to do what the Kaiser couldn't. 21:45 Here he was building the largest indoor arena the world had ever 21:52 seen. He promised his people to unite Europe and build an empire 21:56 that would last for a thousand years, a Thousand Year Reich. 22:00 Well, we've already seen the results of his attempt to unite 22:04 Europe. His mega complex is nothing but a pile of ruins and 22:10 he perished amidst the ruins of his own bunker. 22:13 Hitler could have 22:15 saved himself, his people and the world a lot of pain and 22:20 heartache if only he'd taken notice of that prophecy cast in 22:24 stone over the entrance to the Old Town Hall in Nuremberg. You 22:29 see it's another of Daniel's prophecies. It's found in Daniel 22:32 chapter 7 and builds on the foundation provided by Daniel 22:37 chapter 2. It follows the same historical outline as Daniel 2. 22:42 It's a parallel prophecy. It also predicted the same four 22:47 great world empires: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome. 22:53 But instead of using metals to represent these empires, it uses 22:59 animals. So the lion with wings is matched with a statue of 23:03 Nebuchadnezzar symbolizing Babylon and the gold head of 23:07 the Daniel 2 statue. The bear is matched with Cyrus the Great 23:11 symbolizing Medo-Persia and the silver chest and arms of the 23:15 great statue. The leopard is matched with Alexander the Great 23:19 symbolizing Greece and thighs of bronze in the statue. And 23:24 finally the beast with 10 horns is matched with Julius Caesar 23:29 symbolizing Rome and the legs of iron of the statue. Like 23:34 Daniel 2 and the great metal image, Daniel 7 and it's animal 23:38 symbols predicted that there would only be four great world 23:42 empires: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome. That's it. 23:49 There wouldn't a fifth one. Now why is this ancient king's dream 23:54 relevant to us today? Simply because it shows us where we are 24:00 living in the stream of time. Where are we living? Not in the 24:06 time of the head of gold, not in the time of the chest and 24:08 arms of silver, not in the time of the thighs of bronze and not 24:13 in the time of the legs of iron, but in the feet and toes of iron 24:19 and clay. Where are we living today? In the toenails of 24:24 history. So what's going to happen next? Well the prophecy 24:28 give us the answer in Daniel chapter 2 and verse 44: 24:49 You'll notice it says, in the time of those kings. Which 24:55 kings? The nations of today. The nations of modern Europe that 25:01 have been attempting to unite. In the time of those nations, 25:05 the God of heaven will set up a kingdom symbolized by the stone 25:10 cut out without hands. The next great event on the stage of 25:15 history is the coming of Jesus and the setting up of his 25:19 kingdom. The Bible predicts that it will be Jesus who will set up 25:25 his kingdom. The next world empire will be the kingdom of 25:28 Jesus Christ. And the best news of all is this kingdom of peace 25:34 and happiness that will last forever. Do you remember Franz 25:38 Hassel, the German soldier who believed God's word with simple 25:42 faith? He believed the predictions of Bible prophecy. 25:46 He trusted in a God who is in control of the future no matter 25:51 what. He accepted the promise of Jesus found in Luke chapter 25:55 12 and verse 32: 26:06 Jesus is coming soon. He's coming to set up his kingdom. 26:10 He wants you there. Are you ready? Why not make a decision 26:17 to be citizen in God's kingdom right now while we pray? 26:22 Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for the great prophecies of 26:29 the Bible that clearly tell us that Jesus is coming soon to 26:34 establish your eternal kingdom. We all want to be ready when 26:40 Jesus comes. Please grant each of us a place in your kingdom, 26:44 we pray in Jesus' name, Amen. 26:53 If you'd like to know more about Bible prophecy and what the 26:56 future holds in store for you and your family, then I'd like 27:01 to recommend a free gift we have for all our viewers today. It's 27:06 a booklet called A King, A Dream and You. This booklet is our 27:13 gift to you and is absolutely free. There are no costs or 27:17 obligations whatsoever. This booklet will give you a fresh 27:22 understanding of Bible prophecy and provide you with a new 27:26 insight into your future, one that is filled with hope. Here's 27:31 the information you need: Phone us now on 0481315101 or 27:41 text us on 0491222999 or visit our website: 27:48 theincrediblejourney.tv to request today's free offer. 27:53 So don't delay, contact us right now. 28:00 Until next week remember the ultimate destination of life's 28:04 journey: Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth. And God will 28:09 wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more 28:12 death nor sorrow nor crying. There shall be no more pain for 28:17 the former things have passed away. 28:20 ♪ ♪ |
Revised 2020-08-10