Agents of Babylon by Dr. David Jeremiah

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Agents of Babylon by Dr. David Jeremiah

Agents of Babylon by Dr. David Jeremiah is a study of the book of Daniel. Jeremiah does a great job at making this book of difficult prophecies clear to the reader. I reviewed his books What Are You Afraid Of? (here) and then Agents of the Apocalypse (here). Like his previous book on prophecies in the book of Revelation, Agents of the Apocalypse, Jeremiah uses the pattern of connecting a fictional story with the Scripture. He weaves a possible narrative in the beginning of each chapter. He follows that with a verse-by-verse commentary on the Biblical text.

In chapter 3, Jeremiah makes a great contrast concerning the great statue in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel 2. Daniel interprets the dreams and establishes that there will be five great Gentile kingdoms or powers: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, and then a revived Roman Empire. Jeremiah makes the following statement about these five kingdoms:

Although the value of the metals decreases from the top to the bottom of the statue, their strength increases (from gold to iron). In other words, as the kingdoms degenerate in morality, they increase in force. The result is a devastating combination of continually stronger power yoked with continually weaker character.

The kingdoms will expand in influence and strength, but weaken in morality. when one looks at a map, one will see that these kingdoms will increase their borders of influence. The last kingdom will be worldwide. At the same time, the Jewish kingdom has continued to decrease its boundaries until there will be almost nothing left. When Jesus returns, their boundaries will increase significantly.

In chapter 4, Jeremiah makes the keen observation that King Nebuchadnezzar did not turn into a wolf-man, but had a mental illness named lycanthropy. The fact that the king returned to sanity shows that mental illness can be healed.

In chapter 8, Jeremiah shows from Daniel 8 how God has and will use the Gentile kingdoms to further God’s agenda. For example:

God used the Gentile nations in His prophecies of Daniel for His long-term plans:

Babylon to set things in motion. 

Medo-Persia expanded the influence of an empire. 

Greece to bring civilization and a unified language

Rome to bring peace and travel for the Gospel

Future Revived Roman Empire to bring about the return of Jesus Christ.

Through these Gentile kingdoms, God was building infrastructures that would facilitate His long-term plans.

Jeremiah also shows evidence that Alexander the Great read the prophecies of Daniel in chapter 8. Alexander was so confident in the prophecy that he went about to conquer the Medo-Persian empire. Jeremiah highlights the principle that prophecy should encourage us to trust the Bible and its promises. Jeremiah concludes his discussion of Alexander the Great by comparing the similarity and differences of his life with Jesus Christ.

In chapter 9, Jeremiah continues through Daniel 8. He gives eight characteristics of the Antichrist from Daniel 8. In chapter 10, Jeremiah describes the prayer that Daniel prays, a model prayer of national confession:

Daniel’s prayer, one of the longest in the Bible, is a model for the public confession of national pride and sin. Daniel confessed the sins of “kings . . . princes . . . fathers and all the people of the land” (Daniel 9:6). No one—from the greatest to the least—was exempt from bearing guilt for Israel’s fall.

Based on Daniel 9:24, Jeremiah describes six things Israel needs to do before Jesus returns. In Daniel 9:27, Jeremiah correctly identifies the length of the Great Tribulation. The Great Tribulation is 3.5 years into the 70th. week of Daniel’s prophecy. The persecution will not last seven years. At most, it will last 3.5 years. Yet, Jesus said that unless those days are shortened, no one would survive. So Jesus returns before the end of the 70th. week, even before the end of the persecution period. If one looks at the speed at which Hitler used to exterminate the Jews, it would make sense that this last period of persecution would be shortened.

From Matthew 24:22, we know that Jesus Christ Himself will shorten those horrific days by returning to earth to judge the Antichrist and his armies and quell the rebellion on earth against God (Revelation 19:11-21).

Jeremiah correctly states in chapter 11 that Daniel 10 and 11 are linked. Spiritual warfare is linked to the Gospel. Spiritual warfare is linked to Bible prophecy because prophecy reveals God’s plan. Satan does not want God’s plan to be revealed. So he will prevent its transmission and acceptance.

Jeremiah describes that the five kings prophesied in Daniel 11 all begin with the letter A: Ahasuerus (Xerxes) 486-465 BC (Daniel 11:2), Alexander 336-323 BC (Daniel 11:3-4), Antiochus III (The Great) 223-187 BC (Daniel 11:10-20, Antiochus IV Epiphanes 175-164 BC (Daniel 11:21-35), and Antichrist – who comes at an unknown time in the future (Daniel 11:36-45). While Daniel 8 described the characteristics of the Antichrist, Daniel 11:36-45 focus on the “career ladder” of the Antichrist.

In the final chapter, Jeremiah expounds on Daniel 12. Daniel 12:1-3 provide four prophecies about Israel. Daniel 12 and Revelation 12 are related. In Daniel 12:2, then, we notice a one-thousand-year time gap. Time gap between two resurrections – the righteous at the beginning of the Millennial reign and the unrighteous. Just like Isaiah 9:6-7. Christ had a ministry of 3.5 years. The Antichrist will have a ministry for only 3.5 years.

In Daniel 12:8, the angel’s question was about “when”; Daniel’s question was about “what.” Daniel was begging to know more, saying, in essence, “What last things will happen before the very end? Please, give me more details.” Daniel 12:9 shows that just as with Jesus in Acts 1:8, the answer to the what question will be: get busy doing what God wants you to do, and don’t worry about the details.

Jeremiah provided an epilogue, and then an appendix. In the appendix, he provides a list of all the times (more than one hundred instances) God appears in the book of Daniel under the title, The Agent of Agents.

Agents of Babylon by Dr. David Jeremiah is perhaps the best resource book to use alongside the Bible when one wants to study the book of Daniel. His approach makes the difficult passages easier to understand and comprehend. I would highly recommend this book to any student of the Bible or student of prophecy.

Per Federal Trade Commission guidelines, Tyndale House Publishers has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book.