THE KINGDOM WHICH WILL STAND FOREVER.
By W. W. P.
Without any hesitation, or doubt as to the correctness of the revelation that has been made to him, Daniel relates to the king his dream: “Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken in pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.” It is no wonder that this dream made a wonderful impression upon the mind of Nebuchadnezzar. It was certainly a most striking sight. The image was “great;” there was an outward splendor, or glory, that was “excellent,” and its aspect was “terrible.” And it “stood” there before him with every outward indication that it might continue to stand. But it was struck upon the feet (not upon the head) by a stone “which was not in hands” (margin), and suddenly it all went to utter destruction “together,” and the wind carried away the dust. Not even a remnant was left to remind one of its former greatness, but the stone that did the smiting became greater than the image. It is not surprising that Nebuchadnezzar said, “My spirit was troubled to know the dream.” What can be the meaning of a sight so remarkable? Daniel had informed the king that “He that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass,” and he had promised that “he would show the king the interpretation.” His statement and his promise are now made good. “This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.” A crisis has come in the lives of both Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel. The former is to hear the gospel of the kingdom of God, and the latter has the privilege of proclaiming it to him. If the preacher is faithful, and his message is received, great results will follow. And what is the message?—The same “gospel of the kingdom” that is to be “preached in all the world for a witness.” “Behold your God!” “They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power; to make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom. Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.” Nebuchadnezzar is “a king of kings,” and “all nations shall serve him;” but there is a King greater than he, and a dominion of wider extent. “The Lord is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king.” “His kingdom ruleth over all.” This is the truth that is to be made known to Nebuchadnezzar, and so Daniel testifies to the king that it is the “God of heaven” who has given to him the “kingdom, power, and strength, and glory” that he enjoys, and has bestowed upon him the greatest dominion held by any man since the original dominion was given to Adam. How great is the One who can give such gifts as these! “It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers.” And Nebuchadnezzar must learn that even “the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency,” will pass away. “And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.” Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom was not to stand forever. There was to be “another,” and then “another.” And not only so, but the one that succeeded his was to be “inferior.” “How is the gold become dim! how is the most fine gold changed!” The very metals that formed the different parts of the image told the story of future degeneracy. Gold, silver, brass, iron, clay—each one is “inferior” to the preceding one. “The Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” It is character, not outward splendor that counts in his estimate of real worth. “Righteousness exalteth a nation.” “And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potter’s clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.” The meaning of the image is now made clear. It was to reveal an outline history of the kingdoms of the world, and the truth that they would all pass away. There were to be four universal kingdoms, no more and no less. The first was distinctly stated to be the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon; the others are not mentioned by name, because it was the character of the kingdoms, not their names, that was of importance. It was the life of the history, rather than the mere skeleton, to which the attention was to be directed. But we know from the other prophecies in this same book, and from the historical records, that the second kingdom was Medo-Persia, the third Grecia (Dan. 8: 3-5, 20, 21), and the fourth was Rome. It is worth while to notice that the second and third kingdoms are merely mentioned so as to make the connection between the first and the fourth, Babylon and Rome, and that more details are given concerning the fourth kingdom than the first. God is making known to the king, and by the record is making known to us, “what shall be in the latter days;” and it is evident that the fourth, and last, of these earthly kingdoms holds the most important place in his view of earthly history. Those, therefore, who wish to learn the lessons that the Lord would teach in the world’s history will accept his estimate of the most important period, and will give the most study to the fourth kingdom. The character of this fourth kingdom is plainly set forth. It is “strong as iron,” even as it is known in history as the “iron monarchy of Rome,” but it uses its strength to “break in pieces and bruise.” It is not the mere possession of power by an individual or by a nation that determines its standing in God’s sight: it is the use made of that power. He who is the Almighty uses his power to help the needy, to restore the fallen, to save the lost. Satan, the adversary, uses his power to hurt, to tear down, to destroy. W. W. P. (This article to be concluded next week.)