THE KINGDOM WHICH WILL STAND FOREVER.
By William W. Prescott
It is also declared of this fourth kingdom that it “shall be divided.” This reveals the fact that it will not be an everlasting kingdom; for “every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand.” The effort to impart strength and stability to this kingdom by royal alliances, as “they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men,” is no more successful than the effort to mix iron and clay. Strength is not found in cleaving to men. That union which is merely outward, and is dictated simply by self-interest, will not stand the strain of changed and trying circumstances. It is only that love which “endureth all things,” love as the life, binding hearts together, which will bring permanent union and strength. This is the experience of the kingdom of God within, and the law of the kingdom is the life of love, and the love which is life. By this means divisions are either prevented or are healed, and those who are far off “are made nigh by the blood [the life] of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both [or two] one.” But the interpretation is not completed yet. It has been shown that neither of these four kingdoms will endure; what is to happen next?235 “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.” The secret is now made known to Nebuchadnezzar. His false view of the course of history has been corrected. The kingdom of Babylon will not endure forever. “The things which are seen are temporal.” “There is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets,” and he who is thus making himself known to Nebuchadnezzar is the only King whose kingdom “shall stand forever.” And this kingdom is not set up by a gradual process of absorbing the fourth kingdom; for “it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms.” The stone “smote the image upon its feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.” “Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. 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.” Ps. 2:6–9. It is “all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men,” rather than the men themselves, against which “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven.” Through the working of the power of the gospel, God is able to set up his kingdom within man, separating this “ungodliness and unrighteousness” from him, so that when “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven” against the ungodliness and the unrighteousness, the man is not destroyed. “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life.” But those who reject the gospel of the kingdom reject “the law of the Spirit of life,” and make themselves the objects of the wrath. “He that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” We are living “in the days of these kings,” in the divided state of the fourth kingdom; and from the fulfillment of many signs and prophecies we know that the time is just at hand when all earthly kingdoms will pass away, and the God of heaven shall set up his kingdom in their place. This will be consummated “when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe . . . in that day.” 2 Thess 1: 7–10. The preparation for that greatest event of the ages, is to receive the gospel of the kingdom of God, to recognize and accept in our own lives the truth that God is “above all, and through all, and in all,” and that “all flesh is grass: . . . but the word of our God shall stand forever.” Being thus identified with “the eternal God,” and becoming “heirs of God,” “children of the kingdom,” when “the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat,” and when “the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up,” we “shall dwell with the devouring fire,” we “shall dwell with everlasting burnings,” we “shall see the king, in his beauty.” Oh that all might listen to “the voice” that is now sounding throughout all the earth, “Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” By this message a people is to be gathered out from “every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, whose citizenship is in heaven,” who are “strangers and pilgrims on the earth,” who “declare plainly that they seek a country,” and who will be citizens of that kingdom which “shall stand forever.” “And the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.” “Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshiped Daniel and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odors unto him. The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret. Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon. Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.” Although Daniel was a captive, and Nebuchadnezzar sat upon the throne, yet Nebuchadnezzar recognized Daniel as a greater man than was himself. It was Daniel’s acquaintance with God that made him great. It was his acceptance of the principles of the kingdom of God that had made him ruler over himself and over Babylon within, and now these kingly qualities were recognized. His ability to tell the dream and the interpretation showed that he was chief “over all the wise men of Babylon,” and the king simply gave to him the position that belonged to him. Faithfulness to principle and loyalty to the King of heaven have made Daniel and his companions truly great. They did and taught the commandments of God, and so they were “called great in the kingdom of heaven.” And now, in order that the gospel of true greatness may be preached to all the people, they were given the place that really belonged to them “over the affairs of the province,” and “in the gate of the king.” And as Babylon was then a universal kingdom, so the experiences of these Hebrew captives preached the gospel of the kingdom “in all the world for a witness unto all nations.” And in these last days the same devotion to principle is needed in order that the same work may be accomplished, and the setting up of the kingdom of God may be hastened. “Dare to be a Daniel! dare to stand alone!
Dare to have a purpose firm! dare to make it known.”