Daniel 5 is the prophet’s account of the night that Babylon fell to the Medes and Persians. These events also set the pattern for a future event, the fall of Mystery Babylon, as described in Revelation 17 and 18. Since we are now living in the time of this latter-day event, it will be of great help to us if we understand the original pattern that was set in the days of the prophet Daniel.

Such understanding will also help to remove our fear of present circumstances, especially when Mystery Babylon seems to be falling down around our heads. Most people, including Christians, are totally unaware and unprepared for the events that are soon to come, because they do not know the prophecy of Cyrus, and they take false comfort in their expectation of escaping via a “rapture.”

The Cyrus prophecy begins in Isaiah 44:24, which is where Isaiah’s chapter 45 really starts. The first point of interest is that Isaiah was prophesying to Israel, not Judah. (See Isaiah 44:21.) When the prophecy was fulfilled two centuries later under King Cyrus himself, he overthrew Babylon and set Judah free. But in the latter-day fulfillment of the passage, it applies more broadly to the house of Israel.

Hence, Isaiah directs his prophecy toward Israel—not to be confused with the Jewish state that calls itself Israel. (Jacob gave Joseph’s sons the name Israel.) Isaiah’s prophecy is addressed to the ten tribes of Israel, who were deported to Assyria—an event Isaiah personally witnessed.

And so, in the greater fulfillment of the prophecy, as it is emerging in the world now, the fall of Babylon will not benefit the Israeli state, but the nations of the West, which are populated largely by the descendants of the “lost” ten tribes of Israel. They are not Jews, but came to be known as Caucasians, because so many of them crossed the Caucasus Mountains on their journey from Assyria into Europe. A century ago these Western nations were put into bondage by Mystery Babylon by the Federal Reserve Act.

Mystery Babylon today is no longer the defunct city-state in Iraq, for that city is now abandoned, except as an archeological site. Babylon today is a world-wide banking empire, controlled by wealthy families who own the large international banks and most central banks of the world. It is ironic that the slaves of Mystery Babylon, through the control of money, are known as “the free world.”

Babylon today is a secret, or hidden government that uses presidents and prime ministers, parliaments and congresses as their agents while remaining hidden in the background. This form of control was chosen in order to give the illusion of freedom and “democracy,” perpetuated by the editors of the controlled news media. People are content to be slaves only if they believe they are free.

This illusion will soon end, however, and we must be prepared for the coming of a great disillusionment as men discover that much of what they believe has been a lie. Most important, we must know that God is the Author of this huge shift in world history from the illusion of freedom to actual freedom found in the Kingdom of God.

The Original Pattern

Isaiah 44:24 begins this section of the prophecy by setting forth the sovereignty of God, “I, the Lord, am the Maker of all things, stretching out the heavens by Myself, and spreading out the earth all alone.”

God then takes credit for raising up “His servant” to overthrow Babylon and to set the people free. Verse 26,

²⁶ Confirming the word of His servant, and performing the purpose of His messengers. It is I who says of Jerusalem, “She shall be inhabited!” And of the cities of Judah, “They shall be built.” And I will raise up her ruins again.

This prophesied of King Cyrus of Persia, God’s servant, whose decree to allow the Judeans to return to their land and to rebuild Jerusalem was but an earthly echo of the decree of God Himself. Keep in mind that this prophecy was given by Isaiah more than two centuries earlier. Isaiah saw the captivity of Israel, but Judah’s captivity did not even begin for another 120 years. The captivity then lasted 70 more years before the decree of Cyrus was issued.

King Cyrus of Persia overthrew Babylon two centuries later, and he issued an edict (or decree) that allowed the people of Judah to return to their land. The edict is recorded in Ezra 1:1-4.

Isaiah also prophesied of the way in which Babylon was captured. Isaiah 44:27 says,

²⁷ “It is I who says to the depth of the sea, ‘Be dried up!’ And I will make your rivers dry.”

Cyrus diverted the waters from the River Euphrates, which flowed through the city, so that his troops could march into the city. The Babylonian army was not expecting this, so they were having a party within the thick walls of the city. The gates of the city leading to the river were left unlocked. The army of the Medes and Persians walked in and took the city intact.

Herodotus, the Father of History, told the story in Book 1 of The Histories, Par. 191, saying,

“The siege dragged on, no progress was made, and Cyrus was beginning to despair of success. Then somebody suggested, or he himself thought up the following plan… Then taking with him all his non-combatant troops, he withdrew to the spot where Nitocris had excavated the lake (which was then a marsh) and in this way [reopening the canal] so greatly reduced the depth of water in the actual bed of the river that it became fordable, and the Persian army, which had been left at Babylon for the purpose, entered the river, now only deep enough to reach about the middle of a man’s thigh, and, making their way along it, got into the town….

“The Babylonians themselves say that owing to the great size of the city, the outskirts were captured without the people in the centre knowing anything about it; there was a festival going on, and they continued to dance and enjoy themselves, until they learned the news the hard way. That, then, is the story of the first capture of Babylon.”

The “festival” that night is described in the early verses of Daniel 5, telling us how the hand of God wrote on the wall the ominous prophecy of Babylon’s fall while the king and his government officials were partying.

Thus, Isaiah’s prophecy of drying up the river was quite literally fulfilled. I believe also that Jeremiah’s prophecy of the fall of Babylon was discovered that same night by the Persian troops. A century earlier, Jeremiah had sent Seraiah to Babylon, instructing him to throw it in the Euphrates River (no doubt sealed in a container). It was a prophecy for a future time. Jer. 51:60, 63 says,

⁶⁰ So Jeremiah wrote in a single scroll all the calamity which would come upon Babylon, that is, all these words which have been written concerning Babylon… ⁶³ And it will come about as soon as you finish reading this scroll, you will tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates.”

Thus, when the time came for Jeremiah’s prophecy to be fulfilled, I believe that it was discovered when a Persian soldier stepped on it while walking in the shallow river bed the night Babylon fell.

Isaiah then identifies the Persian king who would do God’s work in overthrowing Babylon. Isaiah 44:28 says,

²⁸ “It is I who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd! And he will perform all My desire.’ And he declares of Jerusalem, ‘She will be built,’ and of the temple, ‘Your foundation will be laid’.”

The next verse calls Cyrus a messiah, or “anointed one.” Isaiah 45:1, 4 says,

¹ Thus says the Lord to Cyrus, His anointed, whom I have taken by the right hand to subdue nations before him, and … to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut… ⁴ For the sake of Jacob My servant, and Israel My chosen one, I have also called you by your name; I have given you a title of honor though you have not known Me.

Cyrus is thus a type of Christ (Messiah), in that he is the conqueror of Babylon, who later rode into the city on a white horse in October (feast of Tabernacles). In doing this, he prophesied of Christ who is also said to come on a white horse (Rev. 19:11). However, he did not rule from Babylon but from Shushan, which was the capital of Elam (now southern Iran). Hence, God says in Jer. 49:38, “Then I shall set My throne in Elam.”

It is apparent from this that the actions of King Cyrus prophesied of the overthrow of the hidden, “Mystery” Babylon in our own time.

The Kings from the East

The fall of Babylon is described in Rev. 16:12, saying,

¹² And the sixth angel poured out his bowl upon the great river, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up, that the way might be prepared for the kings from the east.

This speaks of the overthrow of Mystery Babylon in our own time. But instead of specifically naming King Cyrus of Persia and King Darius of Medea, we read only of “the kings from the east.” The prophecy is being carried out by China and Russia today, which are today’s “kings from the east.” This is the key to understanding modern events.

World events show that China and Russia are working steadily to replace the current Babylonian-style banking system of the West with an asset-backed currency and to reform the banking rules for world trade. This is a massive change which, when implemented, will change the course of history and remove the Western bankers from their current positions of power.

The owners of the Western banks are fighting hard to retain power. For this reason, the US Congress has thus far refused to ratify the IMF Reform bill of 2010. In the end, the changes probably will be implemented without the approval of the US Congress. Reports say that they have until April 10, 2014 to ratify these reforms, after which time the reforms will be implemented anyway, and the USA will start to be isolated by other nations.

Many Christians can hardly believe that God would use China and Russia to accomplish His will. They view these nations as the enemies of God. Isaiah 45:4 admits that Cyrus did not even know God, but insists that this fact was irrelevant in the face of the sovereignty of God. The next verses tell us,

⁵ I am the Lord, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God; I will gird you, though you have not known Me; ⁶ that men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun that there is no one besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other…

In other words, God proves His sovereignty by showing that kings will do His bidding even if they do not know Him. Most Christians are blinded because they have been taught that Russia is the “Gog” and “Magog” of Ezekiel 38, 39, when in fact this is not true. Gog and Magog are Russian and Eastern European Jews who have already invaded the mountains of Israel in the past century.

They are the descendants of the Khazars who converted to Judaism about 740 A.D. Two centuries later, in 960 A.D., King Joseph of the Khazars wrote a letter claiming that his people were descended from Togarmah, the son of Gomer and grandson of Japheth. According to Gen. 10:3, Togarmah’s brother was Ashkenaz, and so these Eastern European Jews are known today as the Ashkenazim.

Furthermore, Togarmah’s uncles included Magog, Tubal, and Meshech, who are mentioned in Ezekiel 38:2 as being among the invaders of Israel, along with Gomer and Togarmah (Ez. 38:6). In other words, the invasion prophesied in Ezekiel 38, 39 has already occurred, but it was a conquest by immigration that took place a century ago by the movement called Zionism.

For documentation and further details of this, see chapter 15 of my book, The Struggle for the Birthright.

Those who believe that Russia is Gog and Magog and that Russia will attack the Israeli state to fulfill Ezekiel’s prophecy are unaware of the history of Eastern European Jewry and its roots in the Khazar Kingdom that converted to Judaism more than a thousand years ago. If they had bothered to study the Jewish Encyclopedia’s account under the section “Chazars,” they would learn much of this truth.

Hence, Russia and China are playing much different roles in prophecy than most Christians believe.

The Four Beast Empires

Daniel prophesied that there would be four world empires arising before the Kingdom of God would be set up on the earth. In Daniel 2 these are pictured in metallic terms: gold, silver, bronze, and iron. In Daniel 7 they are pictured as “beasts”: lion, bear, leopard, and a nameless beast with iron teeth.

They are identified in later history as Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. Out of the final iron kingdom of Rome would also come a religious extension of Rome, which would make war on the saints. Dan. 7:25 says that this extension-beast would “make alterations in times and in law.” This happened when the Emperor Justinian I changed the calendar to date all events from the birth of Christ, rather than from the founding of Rome. He then replaced the laws of the Roman Empire with Church law, which is even today the foundation of Western law systems. (All legal terms are written in Latin.)

Justinian did not realize that he was placing himself and the empire under the authority of the Church by instituting Church law. The emperor was reduced to be the enforcer of Church decrees. As such the “little horn” of Daniel 7:20 was empowered as the extension of the iron kingdom of Rome. We know this as the Roman Church.

Daniel 7:22 makes it clear that at the end of this final iron extension, the dominion would be given to the saints of the Most High. It is plain, then, that there is a huge difference between the Roman Church and the saints of the Most High whom they persecuted.

We are now watching the fall of the final beast system (2009-2017), as Russia and China dry up the river of Babylonian money and introduce a new banking system.

This collapse of Mystery Babylon is playing out by the original pattern of the fall of Babylon at the hands of Cyrus and Darius. In other words, it is as if we are seeing the rise of Medo-Persia all over again, except that this time it is no longer those original nations, but Russia and China, “the kings from the east.”

Two Layers of Prophecy

Cyrus had two roles to play and two hats to wear when he overthrew Babylon. First, he was the head of the second beast empire, the “bear” in Dan. 7:5. Second, he was the messianic agent of God Himself.

History shows that he played both of these roles very well. In His messianic role, he ordered the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem and even funded its construction (Ezra 1:2-11). But the dominant role Cyrus had to play was his “beast” role, for it was far too soon for the Kingdom of God to be established. And so his role as the Messiah was subordinated to his role as a bear (beast).

But today, we are seeing a second round of prophetic fulfillment. This time the priorities are reversed. We again see the rise of earthly nations, again pictured as beasts, but their dominant role in our day will be to support the building of the Kingdom of God, the Stone Kingdom.

In times past, we thought that Christ Himself would come to do this personally and all by Himself, with little thought that God might again use nations as His agents. By not recognizing the role of “the kings from the east” that were prophesied in Rev. 16:12, we could not see the big picture until recently. In fact, most prophecy teachers assume that these “kings from the east” are coming to attack Israel, and so they see those “kings” in a bad light.

Yet those “kings” are clearly modern counterparts to Cyrus and Darius in ancient times, for they are described as drying up the river Euphrates. Hence, we ought not to fear them, but to celebrate, for they come to overthrow Mystery Babylon and fund the Kingdom of God.

When Cyrus and Darius took the city of Babylon, their actions revealed prophetic types for a future time. We have already seen the role of Cyrus in rebuilding the temple. But Darius also plays a role in this. He is not mentioned in Isaiah’s prophecy, but it is clear that he plays a supporting role as the chief ally of King Cyrus.

Daniel 6:1-3 tells us what Darius did that supported Cyrus’ prophetic role.

¹ It seemed good to Darius to appoint 120 satraps over the kingdom, that they should be in charge of the whole kingdom, ² and over them three commissioners (of whom Daniel was one), that these satraps might be accountable to them, and that the king might not suffer loss. ³ Then this Daniel began distinguishing himself among the commissioners and satraps because he possessed an extraordinary spirit, and the king planned to appoint him over the entire kingdom.

When we apply this act to the modern overthrow of Mystery Babylon, we might call this the reorganization of the New World Order into the Kingdom of God. Darius appointed 120 satraps, or officers. The number 120 is the biblical number of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

More important, it foreshadows the prophecy at the end of the beast empires in Dan. 7:27,

²⁷ Then the sovereignty, the dominion, and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One [Most High]; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him.

Therefore, we see that Darius’ reorganization set the prophetic pattern for the transfer of the Dominion Mandate to the saints of the Most High.

The Dominion Mandate

The Dominion Mandate is the Scepter, or throne. It was originally part of the Birthright, but Jacob gave it to Judah temporarily until the second coming of Christ, when it was to return to Jesus Christ in His Joseph calling. Judah was to hold it “until Shiloh comes” (Gen. 49:10). In the end, even Judah was to bow to Joseph (Gen. 37:8-10).

Jesus came of the tribe of Judah the first time, but He comes of Joseph in His second appearance, not to claim the stripped down version of the birthright, but to claim the entire birthright as it existed before Jacob divided it among his sons.

God stripped Judah of the Dominion Mandate in 607 B.C. and gave it to Babylon and the other beast nations. This was a 2,520-year contract, known in Leviticus 26 as the “seven times” contract. The kings of Judah refused to obey God, so He judged them “seven times” (360 x 7 years). This contract might have ended in 1914, except that Judah was independent from beast rule for a hundred years from 163-63 B.C. So an extra century had to be added at the end from 1914 to 2014.

We are now at the end of that judgment contract. The dominion is now ready to be given to the Joseph company.