The Kingdom-No. 7 by Joseph Harvey Waggoner

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · May 19, 1874

The Kingdom.—No. 7.

By Joseph Harvey Waggoner

The history of the world in the rise and fall of its principal kingdoms from the days of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, to the setting up of God’s everlasting kingdom, is given in the second chapter of Daniel. An image is there described, consisting of gold, silver, brass, iron, and clay. These represent Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, and the divisions of the Roman Empire. A stone is the symbol of the kingdom of God. It is said that the stone smote the image, and “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 threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them.” Verses 34, 35.

In the interpretation of this, the prophet said of the kingdom of God, “It shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.” Verse 44.

The subject of the destruction of the kingdoms of this world is one of great interest to all; and it is one in which all would take an interest, if they had faith in the word of God wherein it is revealed. But the truth on this subject has been greatly perverted. In Ps. 2: 8, 9, are written these words: “Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” Men of vast learning, to whom their fellow-men look with great confidence for instruction in sacred things, entirely losing sight of verse 9, have professed to find in verse 8 a sure warrant for their belief in the conversion of the world and of a “temporal millennium.” When we read these verses in connection we are led to marvel that any person of ordinary intelligence should be so blinded as to find such a theory in such a text.

Also, in Daniel 2, where it is said the stone smote the image and break it in pieces so that it became like the chaff which is driven away of the wind, and all of its parts passed away, so that no place was found for them, the words of the prophet are interpreted to mean the peaceful transformation of the kingdoms represented by the image into the selfsame kingdom represented by the stone! In other words, that theory has those kingdoms converted and saved which the word of God says shall be utterly destroyed.

One point we assume with safety; it will not be denied. The Lord will not first convert, and afterward destroy, the nations and kingdoms of the earth. Therefore, if they will ever be destroyed they will never be converted. The second Psalm, a favorite text with millenarians, is positive proof that they will be destroyed. The second chapter of Daniel is still more explicit on this point. As the subject is of vast importance, and as Dan. 2 and Ps. 2 have been so greatly perverted to teach the opposite, it will be well to show the harmony of the Scriptures concerning it.

While we show by the Scriptures the certainty of the coming judgments and their extent, the reader will please notice that the opposite theory is also a matter of prophecy. The apostle Paul, speaking of the coming of Christ and of the day of

the Lord, says, “For when they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them.” 1 Thess. 5: 1–3.

And so the cry of peace and safety will be made in the last days; but instead of peace there will be war, and instead of safety there will be a snare. Therefore Zion’s watchmen are directed to “sound an alarm in my holy mountain; let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand.” Joel 2: 1. The people are summoned to hear this alarm as follows: “Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people; let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it. For the indignation of the Lord is upon all nations; and his fury upon all their armies; he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter.” Isa. 34: 1, 2.

This day is spoken of by all the prophets. Says one, “The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers. And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men because they have sinned against the Lord; and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord’s wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy; for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.” Zeph. 1: 14–18. Again, in the same book, it is said: “My determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger; for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.” Chap. 3: 8.

Another prophet says: “Howl ye, for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.” “Behold the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate; and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.” Isa. 13: 6, 9. And again, the same prophet says, “Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste.” “The land shall be utterly emptied and utterly spoiled; for the Lord hath spoken this word.” Chap. 24: 1, 3.

Jeremiah gives an account of this destruction more full and emphatic than those already quoted. “Thus saith the Lord God of Israel unto me: Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations to whom I send thee, to drink it. And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them. Then took I the cup at the Lord’s hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the Lord had sent me; to wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, an hissing, and a curse; as it is this day; Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people; and all the mingled people, and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Azzah, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod, Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon, and all the kings of Tyrus, and all the kings of Zidon, and the kings of the isles which are beyond the sea, Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all that are in the utmost corners, and all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mingled people that dwell in the desert, and all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes, and all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world which are upon the face of the earth: and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them. Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink ye, and be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you. And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thy hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts: Ye SHALL CERTAINLY DRINK. For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished; for I will call for a sword upon ALL THE INHABITANTS OF THE EARTH, saith the Lord of hosts. Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them, The Lord shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth. A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the Lord hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh: he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.” Jer. 25: 15–33.

An esteemed friend recently avowed the belief that the heathen must be excepted from these judgments, as God will prove himself unjust if he destroys them in their ignorance and blindness. Such an avowal would not be surprising if it came from an infidel—from one who regarded neither the principles nor the prophecies of the Bible. But coming as it did from a Bible believer, from a professed believer in the fulfillment of prophecy, it is indeed surprising. Reasoning in this manner Prof. Finney argued the necessity of the world’s conversion. Others, discovering that their premises would convict God of injustice in regard to past generations of the heathen, have argued themselves entirely out of the reach of the destruction threatened in God’s word into restorationism. Prominent among these we may mention George Storrs, whose erratic course for years past has been a grief to the lovers of Bible truth.

On the principles of justice, God’s throne is clear in judgment if every soul is destroyed who has been engaged in rebellion against his government. Because the Lord has been merciful to sinful men, and has gratuitously opened a way of salvation, some have gone beyond the plan devised by the wisdom of Heaven, and assumed that God is under obligation to conform his plan to their ideas of the fitness of things. But to the professed lovers of Bible truth it should be sufficient to show what God has revealed in regard to his purposes. The second Psalm, already quoted, says the Lord will break the heathen with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces as a potter’s vessel. See further the following texts:—

Eze. 30: 2, 3: “Thus saith the Lord God; Howl ye, Woe worth the day! For the day is near, even the day of the Lord is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen.”

Obad. 15, 16: “For the day of the Lord is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head. For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually; yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been.”

Joel 3: 9–12: “Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up; beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble yourselves, and come all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about; thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord. Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.”

J. H. WAGGONER.