Then Darius the king wrote to all the peoples, nations and men of every language who were living in all the land:  “May your peace abound!  I make a decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom men are to fear and tremble before the God of Daniel; for He is the living God and enduring forever, and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed, and His dominion will be forever. He delivers and rescues and performs signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, Who has also delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.”  Daniel 6:26-27 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

If you are unfamiliar with the story, here is what happened in brief:  The second world kingdom (from a Judahite point of view) was set up after Babylon’s fall–the Medo-Persian empire, headed by King Darius.  In order to trap Daniel, a righteous Jew, who served the king, jealous colleagues prevailed upon King Darius to pass a law that no man could petition any man or god except King Darius under penalty of being thrown into the lions’ den.

The colleagues did this because they knew Daniel prayed to God every day, and the Medes and Persians had a law:  once the King issued a decree, it could never be changed.  Daniel 6: 12 says “…according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which may not be revoked.”

Sure enough, Daniel prayed to God in disregard of the law, and his colleagues got what they wanted–Daniel was thrown into a pit, a “den”, with hungry lions, shortly after King Darius realized his mistake.  Daniel made it through the night, reporting that Father sent an angel to shut the lions’ mouths.  King Darius gave orders that Daniel be removed and that the colleagues, their wives and children be immediately thrown to the lions, whose mouths by now had been released, and all of them were killed.

King Darius issued the decree that opens this post.  As Dr. Stephen Jones has pointed out on numerous occasions, that decree has never been revoked and by the law of the Medes and Persians, it may not ever be revoked.

So who were the Medes and Persians, anyway?  According to Wikipedia, the Medes and Persians were the ancestors to modern Iran, with the Medes being the northern relatives and the Persians being the southern relatives.

The Medes and Persians overthrew the Babylonian empire established by Nebuchadnezzar, and were themselves later overthrown by Alexander the Great.  Each empire was ultimately set up by God for an appointed time to accomplish His purposes, all as prophesied by the angel to Daniel.  However, as is often the case, such prophecies have more than one fulfillment.

The “Babylonian” banking-political-religious worldwide system, which is more symbolic than geographic, has far outgrown its original boundaries in what is now modern Iraq.  So look for modern Persia, i.e., Iran, to play a significant role in again defeating the Babylonian system.  The Babylonian system has run out of time and Father has decreed that the world systems have had their chances and run their courses, and the time has come to establish the Stone kingdom that “became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.”

Look at how Daniel himself described what he saw in a prophetic vision:

13 I kept looking in the night visions,
And behold, with the clouds of heaven
One like a Son of Man was coming,
And He came up to the Ancient of Days
And was presented before Him.
14 “And to Him was given dominion,
Glory and a kingdom,
That all the peoples, nations and men of every language
Might serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
Which will not pass away;
And His kingdom is one
Which will not be destroyed.  Daniel 7:13-14 NASB

Do you notice, dear Reader, that Daniel used the same language that Darius had used when addressing his subjects:  all the peoples, nations and men of every language.  Here’s an important thing to learn:  when Father says “All”, He means all!  All the Sunnis, all the Shi’ites, all the Jews, all the Moslems, all the peoples, all the nations, and all the men of every language–in short, the whole earth.

We respectfully believe that Iran will play a major part in bringing this news to the whole earth.  Yes, some time will pass, because they must first learn that political influence/power and the world’s riches, both of which they have been deprived for so long, will not satisfy or fill the aching abyss in their collective hearts.  (If you don’t believe us, ask the Republicans and the Democrats!)  Only Jesus the Messiah can fill that emptiness.

If Iran has not already been demonized by the Western press to the point of no return in your mind, consider the following quote, and see if you can guess who said these words:

  1. The World:

God Almighty purposefully created the world….No phenomenon, creature, or indeed anything has been created in vain. Together they all pave the ground for the flourishing of mankind in a complex and purposeful system, and they are, each, one of the signs of God Almighty. All are His creations and He is the sole creator and ruler of the world. All existence including power, knowledge and wealth come from Him.

2.  Humankind:

God created the world for humans and humans for Himself. He created humans from mud and in the soil, but He did not want them to remain in the soil and with animal instincts. He kindled the light of guidance in their souls and asked them to rise from the soil to the heavens and to Him with the help of wisdom, prophets and perfect men. The world will ultimately disappear, but God has created man for eternity and has made them a manifestation of Himself.

Creativity, mercifulness, kindness, knowledge, wisdom, zeal, concealment of sins, splendor, justice, bounteousness, generosity, greatness, love, glory, dignity, forgiveness, insight, kingship and all other goodness and beauty are attributes of God.

The foregoing are excerpts from a speech delivered by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of Iran, to the United Nations on September 24, 2008.  We apologize for the lengthy quote, but say in all sincerity:  Not bad, Mr. President, not bad!  One might even say that President Ahmadinejad’s words are a second witness to the words of King Darius–and by the mouths of two or more witnesses every fact is established.

You have heard it said that God loves his friends but hates his enemies, but we say Father loves his enemies, does good to them, causes the sun to rise on them, and sends rain to them.  For God so loves the world (including Iran) that he gave his only son Jesus, that whosoever believed into him would not perish, but have everlasting life!  Because of Christ Jesus’ sacrifice, Father has conciliated the world to Himself, no longer counting their trespasses against them!  If you don’t believe us, click on the preceding link and see for yourself!  It is the kindness of God that leads men to repentance.

We respectfully suggest a new approach to foreign policy.  Instead of bombing them to smithereens, perhaps believers in America could pray for Iran’s blessing instead.  Perhaps it is time to petition Father to carry out the law of the double witness, fulfill the words of these two leaders quoted above, and grant repentance to Iran and, moreover, send them forth into the rest of the world proclaiming the name of Jesus.  Allah would be very pleased.

Rachem, Adonai, rachem!  Grant repentance to all who live in Iran, that they may seek for you, find you, and reconcile themselves to you through the blood of Jesus.  We say Amen to the words of King Darius, that your glory may go forth from Iran and other places and fill the whole earth.