In "Daniel" of Old Testament, The Bear From the North Will Surprise You

 Nadene Goldfoot                                            

We've gone through the 4 great empires, with Rome destroying Jerusalem in 70 CE.  That was 1,955 years ago.  In 1955, Persia/Iran was a nation undergoing significant political and economic shifts under the rule of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the ruler kicked out by the Ayatolah, who was a friend of Israel.  

Many people believe that we are now living in the End of Times prophesied in the Old Testament.  

The imagery of the "Bear of the North" in end-times lore primarily originates from interpretations of biblical prophecy, particularly from the Book of Daniel. 

Daniel's Vision:

• In Daniel Chapter 7, Daniel describes a vision of four great beasts arising from the sea, representing successive kingdoms or empires.
• The second beast in this vision is described as being like a bear, raised up on one side with three ribs in its mouth.
• Many scholars interpret this bear as representing the Medo-Persian Empire, known for its strength and ferocity.
• The detail of the bear being raised on one side and having three ribs is seen as symbolizing the dominance of Persia within the empire and its conquests of three key nations (Lydia (Turkey today) , Babylon (Iraq today), and Egypt). 
  
  Roughly 50 miles south of Baghdad was Babylon. The city originally dates to around 2,000 BCE, and over several millennia it has encompassed a blend of artistic, architectural, and cultural achievements under different empires.                                    The Bear, however,  The second beast, which appears like a bear, represents the Medo-Persians (Iranians) . In the ancient middle east, bears were primarily associated with great strength, and that empire's military was powerful. They were not thought of as graceful, as were lions or eagles: the animals associated with the preceding Babylonian Empire.

Daniel the Hebrew prophet in Babylon, at the time Persia takes over as the superpower, speaks of Greece being a goat and Persia being a ram. This was a good call. As late as 1524 the Persians were happy to identify themselves with sheep. The goat won when Alexander the great stamped on the ram of the Persian empire. But Daniel also writes of Persia being like a bear.  And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said this to it, Arise, devour much flesh. (Daniel 7:5)

Several archaeological discoveries provide evidence of bears in ancient Israel. Excavations at Tel Dan, a site dating back to the Iron Age, have uncovered bear bones, suggesting that bears lived in the area during that period. Additionally, ancient texts and artwork from the region also depict bears. 

Then there's Gog  and Magog. Gog and Magog are first introduced in the Book of Ezekiel, specifically in chapters 38 and 39. These chapters describe a future attack by a figure named Gog, from the land of Magog, against the people of Israel. The subsequent verses in Ezekiel 38 and 39 detail the attack, its aftermath, and God's intervention. While the exact geographical location of Magog is not explicitly defined in the Bible, it is described as being "from the farthest north". 

 Some post-Cold War millennialists still identify Gog with Russia, but they now tend to stress its allies among Islamic nations, especially Iran. For the most fervent, the countdown to Armageddon began with the return of the Jews to Israel, followed quickly by further signs pointing to the nearness of the final battle – nuclear weapons, European integration, the Israeli annexation of East Jerusalem in the Six-Day War in 1967, and America's wars in Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf.

Some people would remark that these prophecies are "Spot On!"  Many religions have beliefs about the end times, often referred to as eschatology. These beliefs vary, but generally involve a final period of destruction or transformation followed by a new era or state of being. 

• Judaism, Christianity, and Islam:

  All three Abrahamic religions have historical eschatologies, with concepts of the end times rooted in their scriptures. These beliefs often involve divine judgment, the destruction of the wicked, and the redemption of the righteous. 

While some Oriental religions, like Hinduism and some forms of Buddhism, believe in cyclical time with periods of destruction and rebirth, they don't typically have a concept of a single, definitive "end of the world" like some Western religions. Instead, they often envision a continuous cycle of creation, preservation, and destruction on a cosmic scale. 

My son asked me if the rabbis say we're in the end of Times, 

and I don't know, but I think we are.  Just think how far back

Daniel lived and what he saw in his mind;  utter devastation, 

and then look at our screen and see-and hear in English, not

Hebrew, what is happening to Tel Aviv right now.  To him, it

would have been the end of Times.  

Resource:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gog_and_Magog#:~:text=

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