THE FOUR TEMPORAL KINGDOMS by John B. Dymot

Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Sep 21, 1882

THE FOUR TEMPORAL KINGDOMS.

By John B. Dymot

BY JOHN B. DYMOT.

THE NAMES.

The names of the kingdoms in Daniel are these:— First, Babylon, Medo-Persia, then Greece. The fourth stands unnamed; while the fifth one—the last— Is the kingdom of God, which shall ever stand fast.

BABYLON.

Dan. 2:31, 32, 36-38; 4:22; 7:1-4, 17. The first, Babylonia, reached forth her long hand, And the nations, subjected, obeyed her command. As the gold of the statue, this kingdom excelled; It was like the fleet lion with valor impelled. But fortune reverses where folly has grown; And the Mede and the Persian dictate from the throne; For luxury, indolence, women, and wine, Had sapped the stout heart, and confirmed its decline.

MEDO-PERSIA.

Dan. 2:32, 39; 5:28, 30, 31; 7:5; 8:1-7, 20; 2 Chron. 36:23. Here history echoes the presage divine; Where dazzled the gold, now the silver doth shine; The lion, defeated, slinks back to his lair, And yields his domain to the blood-thirsty bear. But of Media and Persia, the same must be said As of Babylon, whose monarch and nobles they bled; For softened by ease, and by plenty made weak, They fell 'neath the sword of the forcible Greek.

GREECE.

Dan. 2:32, 39; 7:6; 8:5-8, 21, 22. Again is the echo of history heard, Confirming the truth of the sure-founded word. The silver surrenders its place to the brass; The slow-footed bear from the drama doth pass. As upon him, with swiftness, the leopard doth leap; And the goat takes the field of the two-horned sheep. But the great Alexander, while yet in his prime, The youthful possessor of every clime, Succumbed to the cup amid laughter and mirth; So weak was the mightiest hero of earth. Then Macedon, Syria, Egypt, and Thrace, Like the notable horns, arose in his place.

ROME.

Dan. 2:33, 40-43; 7:7, 8, 23, 24; 8:9, 23; Luke 2:1. What king universal since then has there been, That answers the prophecy, subtle and keen? One there is, and one only; that kingdom is Rome; For the world, at its mandate, for taxing did come. The historical echo has sounded once more; The visions are certain where'er we explore. Instead of the brass, now the iron doth stand; The four-headed leopard has lost his command; The dreadful and terrible monster is here; The fierce little horn in the west doth appear. Yes, this is imperial Rome; but its pride Now bleeds, as a great irresistible tide From the north sallies down. Unnumbered they come, And make the declining dominion their home. Now Rome is ten kingdoms. The statue is made; The horns of the terrible beast are displayed. The echo again—the historian's pen— Proves all to be true with a mighty Amen.