IN our last issue was presented in brief the great alphabetical symbolic prophecy of the Scriptures, the dream of Nebuchadnezzar. Under the symbol of a great metallic image was shown in epitome the rise and fall of the four great universal empires of the Bible, the head of gold representing Babylon, the original apostate kingdom; the breast and arms symbolizing Medo-Persia; the belly and thighs of brass standing for Grecia; and the legs of iron and feet of iron and clay symbolizing Rome in its united and divided states. The whole sweep of earthly empire is comprised in this brief prophecy. It begins at that kingdom which had its origin just this side of the Deluge, and carries us forward to the last of all earthly empires. But the vision does not pause here. After describing the image, the prophet proceeds:— "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 to 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." Dan. 2:34, 35. This was the dream. What does this stone not of man symbolize? What does it mean? Here is the interpretation:— "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. For as much 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." Verses 44, 45. The stone which became a great mountain represents, therefore, a kingdom established of God. That stone primarily is Jesus Christ. "Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner-stone, a sure foundation." Isa. 28:16. The apostle Peter quotes this prophecy and applies it to the Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:6-8. See also Ps. 118:22; Rom. 9:33, and others. But when is this kingdom of Christ set up? and how? It is sometimes supposed that it was set up at the first advent of Christ, and from that time forward the kingdom of Christ was to progress, the stone to grow by accretion, till it embraced, or gathered to itself, all other kingdoms. Thus, it is said, the nations of earth are to become Christian; they will yield to Christ. One writer tells us that the kingdom of Christ will enter the world "through the gateway of politics," and then he will be "King of its camps, its courts, its cloisters." Congress and Legislatures are besieged to make this a "Christian nation" by law, or to acknowledge it as such. "National Reform" and "Christian Citizenship" are working on these political lines. But all such views are erroneous, however honest may be those who cherish and promulgate them; and the greater the sincerity, the more potent for evil are such theories. That these views are not scripturally correct may be seen from the following considerations:— 1. Jesus Christ did not come to establish his reign upon earth at his first advent. He expressly declared to Pilate, "My kingdom is not of this world;" it is not of the present order of kingdoms; it does not know the spirit and methods of the world; for "if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now is my kingdom not from hence." John 18:36. The nations that use worldly methods, that "war after the flesh" with "carnal weapons," are not Christian nations nor kingdoms of Christ. They are of the earth, earthy. As an avowed agnostical writer recently remarked, "it should be sufficient to say that if the modern Greek were a Christian, Christ was not." But the "Christian" Greek nation is of the same spirit and nature as the "Christian" English nation, the "Christian" Russian nation, the "Christian" American nation, or the "Christian" Austrian nation. Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world." Is not that sufficient? 2. When our Lord was here upon earth, the people wanted to make him a king. They would then have elected him, and the kingdom of Christ would have come "through the gateway of politics." But no, he refused, and "departed" from those who would thus honor him. John 6:15. When on the Mount of Temptation, the devil offered him the kingdoms of the world on certain conditions. Luke 4:5-8. But Jesus refused what now many of his followers seem too ready to accept. On the other hand, he taught by a striking parable that he must go away into "a far country [implying long absence] to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return." Luke 19:12. He is absent yet. His true servants are carrying out his instruction, "Occupy till I come." From hearts sick and weary of the world's wo, and sin, and folly, rises the oft-repeated petition, "Thy kingdom come." It is yet future. 3. The iron legs represent Rome in her united state; the intermixture of the clay, her division. If the kingdom of Christ were set up at his first advent, the stone should have smitten the image on the legs; but such was not the case. The stone smote the image on the feet, showing that the kingdom of Christ would not be established until the close of earthly rule. 4. Neither is our blessed Lord reigning a king upon the throne of his kingdom now. He sits a high priest "on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens." Heb. 8:1; Ps. 110:1. While there, by his mediation and intercession he gathers out of all nations of earth his people, converts them, writes his law and the principles of his kingdom in the heart, and by his Spirit makes his abode there, till that time shall come when he shall gather all such home to his own glorious kingdom of light. To such he says: "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne." Rev. 3:21. 5. The kingdom of Christ upon this earth will not be established "till he come." "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory. . . . Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." Matt. 25:31-34. "At his appearing and his kingdom." 2 Tim. 4:1. Now he is on the Father's throne of grace, gathering out subjects, inhabitants, for his everlasting kingdom (Zech. 6:12, 13), but then, in the end of this age, the children will be gathered home, and the righteous shall "shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father."3 6. The everlasting kingdom of Christ will not be established in this world by gathering to itself all earthly kingdoms, or by converting the various governments. Not so does the stone kingdom succeed the Roman Empire. The figure used is the very opposite of conversion. The stone "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 to 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." Verses 34, 35. Nothing could more forcibly illustrate the utter destruction of all earthly rule than the vision of the dream. And this is the interpretation: "The kingdom [represented by the stone] shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever." Verse 44. Breaking in pieces and consuming is not conversion, but destruction. The same truth is taught in Ps. 2:8, 9. The Father says to the Son: "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." Many more proofs might be given to show that the kingdom of Jesus Christ succeeds on the same territory the empires of earth; but before its establishment here, it destroys all sin, and all that is identified with sin, "all rule and all authority and power" which is opposed to the blessed rule of Christ. It is not established by human politics or invention or effort; "the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this." Read Isa. 9:6, 7. We are in the divided state of the Roman Empire, and rapidly nearing its closing days. Soon it will be said, "In the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom." Earthly dominion will pass away. Earthly glory will perish. Those whose hopes are centered in earthly things, whose hearts are twined about the kingdoms of earth, who identify themselves with and of and for these kingdoms or governments of earth, will perish with them. Those who take the sword, who depend upon what the sword stands for—civil power—"will perish with the sword." The kingdom of God will have its subjects. Jesus Christ is now, and has been during all the days of sin, gathering "out a people for his name." His reign over man must be by man's choice. His law must be received into the heart; Christ must be his Saviour, his Leader, his Teacher, his King, even now, while he wanders in earth a pilgrim and stranger. When Christ comes, he gathers his subjects, his children, his co-heirs, home to the redeemed earth, to the first dominion restored. It is theirs forever. It will not succeed to coming powers. It will "not be left to other people." It will know no wars, no strife of battle, no captives' chains, no moans of suffering and want, no wholesale murder of battle, no death, because in all that glorious domain, there is no sin. Jesus Christ invites all to share in that kingdom by giving all to him now.