Participants:
Series Code: TIJ
Program Code: TIJ001124A
|
00:01 ♪ ♪
00:27 On Thursday the 23rd of June 2016 the British people stunned 00:31 the world with a vote to leave the European Union. For the 00:36 first time ever one of the 28 nations of the European Union 00:41 had voted to leave. It was a political and economic bomb 00:48 shell. The prime minister resigned, the head of the 00:50 opposition faced a leadership crisis. The pound went into 00:55 freefall plunging 10 percent. The historic vote called Brexit 01:01 sent shock waves across Europe and around the world. It sent 01:06 global markets reeling. Equity and oil markets went into a 01:11 tailspin. In Europe, the vote was called an earthquake in the 01:17 politics and economics of Britain and the continent. 01:20 Political pundits feared the end of the European dream, the union 01:27 of European countries. For those wanting Britain to stay in the 01:30 E.U. Brexit meant shattered dreams. However, for 01:35 those who wanted 01:37 Britain to leave the E.U. it was independence day. Freedom from 01:42 the shackles and bureaucracy of Brussels. They had dared to 01:47 dream and won an historic victory. In our program Brexit 01:52 When Dreams Collide we're going to consider the big 01:57 picture. We're going to reflect on the Biblical and prophetic 02:00 implications of the British vote to leave the European Union and 02:06 we're going to consider a truly big dream, one that will amaze 02:10 you, surprise you and give you real hope for today. 02:14 Don't miss it. It could change your life forever. 02:20 ♪ ♪ 02:47 England is full of pageantry, history and tradition and 02:51 nowhere else is that on display so vividly than here in London 02:55 the capital of the United Kingdom. This is a 21st century 03:00 city stretching back to Roman times. It's no wonder London is 03:06 the world's top tourist destination attracting 16 03:10 million visitors each and every year. London boasts one of the 03:15 planets greatest concentrations of cultural and historic 03:19 attractions. From royal palaces to castles and cathedrals and at 03:25 its center stands the imposing palace of Westminster the iconic 03:31 Big Ben clock tower and Westminster Abby site of British 03:35 royal coronations. The palace of Westminster is the largest 03:41 in Britain and is the meeting place of the two houses of the 03:44 parliament of the United Kingdom the House of Commons and the 03:49 House of Lords. Today politicians from across Britain 03:53 are here debating, discussing and strategizing Brexit, 03:59 Britain's exit from the European Union. And that's because on the 04:03 23rd of June 2016 British voters went to the polls to cast their 04:10 vote in the historic European Union Referendum. The 04:14 Referendum was to decide whether the United Kingdom should leave 04:18 or remain in the European Union, an international organization 04:23 comprising 28 European countries It was the biggest decision faced 04:30 by Britons in a generation. The British people surprised and 04:35 shocked the world by their stunning decision to leave the 04:39 European Union and in doing so they may have struck a death 04:43 blow to an age old dream, a united Europe. In about three 04:51 decades from 1914 to 1945 two world wars devastated Europe. 04:58 These wars laid waste to homes farms, cities and factories 05:05 virtually eliminating two generations of men and countless 05:10 women and children. They destroyed priceless cathedrals 05:14 architectural wonders and hundreds of irreplaceable works 05:19 of art. In a desperate effort to ensure that this terrible 05:24 situation would happen again European leaders began planning 05:29 what later became known as the European Union, the E.U. 05:33 The idea was to unite the countries of Europe under a 05:38 common currency, foreign policy, and common government in the 05:43 hopes that this political and economic union would prevent 05:47 further conflict and war. And for a time it seemed to be 05:52 working. Indeed, there were many who refused to believe it 05:57 could fail. It seemed the perfect solution for peace and 06:01 prosperity. It was a dream come true. But then came Brexit, 06:09 Britain's vote to exit the European Union. As late as the 06:14 very afternoon of the vote many believed that Britain would 06:18 remain part of the E.U. The stunning result of the Brexit 06:23 vote shocked most of the world. It occurred on a Thursday and by 06:28 Friday the financial markets around the world went into a 06:33 tail spin and were registering the emotional trauma. Financial 06:39 markets dislike uncertainty and the Brexit vote brought with it 06:43 waves of uncertainty. Many other E.U. member states experienced 06:49 discontent with the E.U.'s increasing federalization and 06:52 bureaucracy and there were fears that Poland, the Czech 06:56 Republic, Hungary and Slovakia might vote to leave. Even in 07:02 France, Poland and Italy far right politicians experienced a 07:08 surge in popularity as they pulled for a referendum on the 07:11 E.U. in their countries. This continuing political unrest 07:17 within the E.U. followed several years of economic and financial 07:21 conflict within the organization that continues today. Now that 07:26 it's threatened with both economic and political 07:29 instability the European Parliament faces two 07:33 contradictory impulses from within. Some concerned that 07:39 Brexit may serve as an excuse for other nations to leave 07:42 counsel caution and a relaxation of some of the 07:46 financial and bureaucratic pressure and more independence 07:51 from Brussels. However others are pressing for even more 07:55 political and economic integration. Many are reluctant 08:00 to surrender their dream of a united Europe. The last time 08:06 anything approaching unity existed in Europe was during the 08:10 period of a Roman empire. When the Roman empire fell no great 08:15 single imperial power replaced it. Instead like a pack of dogs 08:21 tearing at a carcass the empire was torn to fragments by 08:26 Germanic and other barbarian tribes when they turned against 08:30 each other. Nevertheless the memory of a united European 08:35 empire lingered on and the dream of bringing about this 08:40 unity continued to fire men's imaginations. They wanted to 08:45 unite the nations of Europe into one great empire again. That's 08:52 the first person to seriously attempt it, Charlemagne, king 08:56 king of the Franks, now France. He tried to unite Europe 09:00 scarcely three centuries after the fall of the Roman empire. 09:05 He brought much of what today is central Europe under his rule 09:08 and led an expedition into Muslim dominated Spain. Pope 09:13 Leo III crowned him Emperor of the Romans, but everyone 09:18 realized that great as he was Charlemagne fell well short of 09:25 uniting Europe and reestablishing an empire. 09:29 Seven hundred years passed before Charles V of Burgundy 09:32 tried to unite Europe again. He defeated the Muslims at Alhambra 09:37 in 1492 and brought Spain back under European control. He 09:43 thought that he was on track to unite Europe but wars with 09:47 France and rebellion in Europe as well as continued fighting 09:51 with the Ottoman Turks denied Charles V the realization of his 09:56 dream. And exhausted by the demands of rulership, he 10:00 abdicated all his titles between 1554 and 1556 and he died in a 10:07 monastery two years later. Next it was Louis XIV of France, the 10:13 great sun king who also caught the dream of uniting Europe into 10:18 one great empire. But even after 72 years as king and 10:23 concentrating power in himself, Louis XIV fell short of unifying 10:30 the continent of Europe. After the French revolution Napoleon 10:34 Bonaparte came to power in France. He was a brilliant 10:39 military tactician and led armies all across Europe. He was 10:43 one of the greatest commanders in history and he too dreamed of 10:48 uniting Europe into one great empire again. And for a time it 10:54 appeared that he might finally be able to realize the age old 10:58 dream of a united Europe. He came close. But it was not to be 11:04 He was defeated in Russia and finally at Waterloo. Napoleon 11:10 died in exile on the lonely island of Saint Helena in the 11:15 South Atlantic. Well when military conquest failed to 11:19 unite Europe, the royal families of virtually all the states of 11:24 Europe conspired to unite the continent through marriage. When 11:28 World War I broke out nearly all the European nations involved 11:33 were ruled by descendants of Queen Victoria of England, King 11:38 George V of England, Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany and Czar 11:42 Nicholas II of Russia were all cousins. King Wilhelm of Germany 11:48 again dreamed of uniting Europe under his rule. But ironically 11:53 his ambitions were thwarted by his cousins and so these two 11:58 strategies of uniting Europe, military conquest and family 12:03 consolidation actually foiled each other. And then there was 12:08 Adolph Hitler. His dream of a thousand-year Reich was built 12:15 on the idea of establishing an empire that would emulate the 12:19 power and reach of ancient Rome. But he ended his own life in a 12:24 bunker in Berlin, the city he had dreamed would be the capital 12:28 of his united Europe. For well over 1000 years every attempt 12:35 to unite Europe has failed. Every time the dream of the 12:40 united Europe has appeared near to its fruition something has 12:45 always happened to derail it. How can it be that something 12:49 that so many of the most powerful men on earth have 12:53 desired and dreamed about has always ended in futility and 12:59 frustration. The answer may well be in another dream, a dream 13:04 that came to an ancient king. The dream came by night to 13:10 Nebuchadnezzar the emperor of Babylon, but interestingly by 13:15 morning he had forgotten the dream. However, even though he 13:26 couldn't remember the details he did remember the sense of 13:29 urgency and personal destiny he had felt. The story of 13:34 Nebuchadnezzar's dream is recorded in the Bible book of 13:37 Daniel, chapter 2. This dream troubled the Babylonian king so 13:43 much that he summoned his wise men who claimed to be able to 13:47 read minds and predict the future. This group of wise men 13:52 was made up of magicians, astrologers, sorcerers and 13:56 enchanters. They claimed to be able to interpret dreams and 14:01 predict the future. Well, these wise men were summoned to the 14:05 royal palace to tell the king the meaning of the dream. But 14:09 since the king couldn't tell the wise men what he had dreamed 14:13 they were unable to help him. Notice what the wise men said 14:18 as recorded in Daniel chapter 2 verses 10 and 11: 14:37 Furious at the wise men's inability to tell him about his 14:40 dream, the king decreed that all of them should be executed. One 14:46 of his wise men, a captive from Jerusalem named Daniel, heard of 14:51 this death sentence. He believed that God would know what the 14:54 king had dreamed and so prayed that God would reveal the dream 14:58 and its interpretation. And God did and what an amazing dream 15:04 it was. Here's what Daniel said to the King: 15:31 Very simple. Nebuchadnezzar dreamed of a huge towering 15:37 metallic statue. The head of this great image was made of gold 15:41 it's shoulders and chest of silver, it's belly and thighs of 15:46 bronze and it's legs of iron. The feet and toes were composed 15:51 of iron and clay, an odd mixture because these two substances 15:56 don't adhere to each other. Now that seems like a pretty boring 16:01 dream doesn't it. I mean for most of us when we dream 16:06 something happens in the dream, there's action, often something 16:10 really intense. Well this dream isn't over yet. Daniel continued 16:48 Well here's the action. While the statue was standing there 16:53 a stone comes down and smashes it to smithereens and then a 16:57 wind comes and blows away the remains. And that stone becomes 17:02 a mountain that covers the whole earth. Now what could this 17:07 strange dream have to do with Brexit and the European Union 17:11 and what message does it contain for us today? Well as we will 17:17 discover the dream outlines the future in an amazing way. In 17:23 only 150 words the dream sketched the main course of 17:27 history from Babylon's day, 600 B.C. to the climax of 17:32 earth's history including the period of modern Europe and 17:36 Brexit. But what does it all mean? Well, not only did Daniel 17:42 describe the dream and the statue to Nebuchadnezzar, he 17:45 supplied the interpretation, the meaning, as well. He declared 17:50 that the God of heaven had sent the dream to show the king the 17:55 future. Here's what Daniel said: 18:07 Daniel then began to explain to Nebuchadnezzar what the dream 18:12 means. This is the dream and now we will interpret it to the king 18:18 You are that head of gold. In other words, the Babylonian 18:24 empire that Nebuchadnezzar embodied was the top of the 18:27 statue and the most glorious since gold is one of the most 18:32 valuable of all metals. The head of gold represents the 18:36 Babylonian empire and we'll find out as the interpretation 18:40 unfolds that each part of the metal image represents a world 18:46 empire or nation that follows one another. When Babylon 18:52 eventually came to its demise, another great power ruled the 18:56 middle eastern world but it was less glorious just as silver is 19:01 less valuable than gold. A third great empire followed again 19:05 declining in glory as represented by the belly and 19:10 thighs of bronze. After that a fourth empire of iron would rule 19:15 the entire Mediterranean world. So the bottom line is that this 19:21 was indeed a dream about the rise and fall of great world 19:26 empires starting with Babylon. Now just as this prophecy 19:31 predicted three other great world empires arose. History 19:35 shows that after Babylon fell the Medo-Persian empire came. 19:40 That was the second empire. After Medo-Persia came the vast 19:46 Greek empire which expanded under Alexander the Great and 19:50 then the predicted fourth kingdom, the Roman empire 19:54 followed after the fall of Greece. All this just as Daniel 19:59 had predicted. So there we have them; four great world empires 20:04 following one after another: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and 20:11 Rome. But there was to be no fifth empire. When Rome fell 20:15 it was not going to replace by a new empire. It would be 20:21 divided up. Notice what Daniel said: 20:48 And that's exactly what happened When the Roman empire fell it 20:53 was divided up, carved up in what had become, and still are 20:57 now the nations of modern Europe and they are still divided and 21:03 some are strong and others are fragile. This prediction was 21:08 made about 600 years before Christ and look how accurately 21:12 it depicts the situation in Europe today. But notice what 21:17 else it said about them: 21:32 You'll notice it said that they will not adhere to one another. 21:36 That is, these nations of Europe will never be united. And look 21:42 at the history of Europe for the past 1000 years. Unity? Not even 21:48 close. And Brexit is just the latest confirmation. It's a 21:54 reminder of how uncertain, unstable and divided Europe is. 21:59 Great generals, ruthless despots clever strategists all have 22:04 tried and failed to unite Europe because when dreams collide the 22:11 one given by God in prophecy will always prevail. Like the 22:17 iron and the clay no great imperial power will be able to 22:21 forge a lasting rule over the lands of ancient empires. The 22:27 European Union, whatever it's lofty goals may be, was doomed 22:32 from the beginning because the dream of united Europe 22:36 contradicts the dream God gave Nebuchadnezzar and it appears 22:41 that Brexit could be the beginning of the E.U.'s demise. 22:45 Today we live on the toes of the great image that Nebuchadnezzar 22:51 saw in his dream. And now we await the final act of that 22:55 dream, the stone cut out without hands which will topple the 23:00 entire statue and obliterate all traces of the ancient empires 23:05 and their residue in the feet and toes. Daniel explained 23:10 what's going to happen next: 23:30 The next great event on the stage of history is the coming 23:35 of Jesus and the setting up of his kingdom. The next world 23:40 empire will be the kingdom of Jesus Christ. The best news of 23:45 all is this kingdom of peace and happiness will last forever. 23:51 Jesus is coming soon. He's coming to set up his kingdom. 23:55 He wants you there. Are you ready? Why not make a decision 24:01 to be a citizen in God's kingdom right now while we pray. 24:07 Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for the great prophecies of 24:11 the Bible that clearly tell us that Jesus is coming soon to 24:16 establish your eternal kingdom. And I thank you that because of 24:21 Jesus all who chose to accept you and follow you can be 24:25 citizens in that kingdom as well We all want to be ready when 24:30 Jesus comes. Please grant each of us a place in your kingdom. 24:34 We pray in Jesus 'name. Amen. 24:41 The Bible book of Daniel contains some of the most 24:46 amazingly accurate predictions ever made about the future. If 24:52 you'd like to know more about Bible prophecy and what the 24:56 future holds in store for you and your family, then I'd like 25:00 to recommend a free gift we have for all our viewers today. It's 25:05 a booklet called A King, A Dream and You. This booklet is our 25:13 gift to you and is absolutely free. There are no costs or 25:17 obligations whatsoever. This booklet will give you a fresh 25:22 understanding of Bible prophecy and provide you with new insight 25:26 into your future, one that is filled with hope. So please 25:31 don't miss this wonderful opportunity to receive the gift 25:35 we have for you today. Here's the information you need: 25:39 Phone or text us at 0436333555 or visit our website www.tij.tv 25:52 to request today's free offer and we'll send it to you totally 25:55 free of charge and with no obligation. So don't delay. 25:59 Call or text 0436333555 in Australia or 0204222042 in 26:11 New Zealand or visit our website www.tij.tv to request today's 26:19 offer. Write to us at: 26:37 Don't delay. Phone or text 0436333555 in Australia or 26:45 0204222042 in New Zealand or visit our website www.tij.tv 26:56 to request today's free offer. Call or text us now. If you've 27:07 enjoyed today's journey to London and our reflections on 27:11 Brexit and what it really means be sure to join us again next 27:16 week when we will share another of life's journeys together and 27:20 experience another new and thought provoking perspective 27:23 on the peace, insight, understanding and hope that only 27:28 the Bible can give us. The Journey truly is television that 27:33 changes lives. Until next week remember the ultimate 27:38 destination of life's journey. Now I saw a new heaven and a 27:42 new earth. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes 27:46 there shall be no more death nor sorrow nor crying. There 27:51 shall be no more pain for the former things have passed away. 27:56 ♪ ♪ |
Revised 2020-09-23