THE GREAT STONE by Francis M. Wilcox

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Aug 22, 1900

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 26, No. 34.

THE GREAT STONE.

By Francis M. Wilcox

IN the prophecy of the book of Daniel, we have very striking evidences that the reign of sin in this world will not be broken until the coming of our Lord. Proof of this is found in nearly every line of prophecy in this book. That presented in the second chapter is of special emphasis. Let the following narration justify this conclusion:—

Daniel was a captive in Babylon, taken there by King Nebuchadnezzar in his first overthrow of the city of Jerusalem. With several others of his companions, he was placed under special tutorage, with a view to educating him to a place in the council of the nation among the so-called wise men. Sometime soon after the beginning of his captivity, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, had a most striking dream, and one very peculiar thing connected therewith was the fact that, altho so striking as to make a deep impression upon the mind of Nebuchadnezzar, in the morning he was unable to recall a single feature of the same. Naturally he had recourse to the counsel of those who pretended to possess the power of forecasting future events, and to give the meaning of mysterious signs and omens. He logically concluded that if these wise men could tell the meaning of mysterious questions and hard problems, they could likewise tell what these questions and problems were. Imagine his chagrin and surprise to find that among his counselors there was not one who even dared presume to tell the king the subject matter of his dream. The king gave decree that the wise men, in consequence of this failure on their part, and of the deception they had played upon him in the past, should be destroyed.

It was at this juncture that Daniel comes into the question. He was not called with the other wise men. In this there seems to have been a purpose on the part of God, thus leaving him until the last, until the others had tried their strength, that by contrast the relative value and merits of the Christian religion could be compared with that of false systems. Time being given Daniel for the consideration of the matter, he, with his three companions, united in prayer, and the Lord in the night season gave to His servant the same dream that had been given to the king. The following is the dream, as related by the prophet to Nebuchadnezzar the next morning:—

"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 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."

After relating the dream to the king, Daniel next proceeded to reveal to Nebuchadnezzar the interpretation or meaning of the same. This he does in verses 36 to 45 of this same chapter. These verses we would kindly request the reader to peruse from his Bible, as they are too long for quotation here. From this interpretation, however, we glean the following facts: That the four metals of which the image was composed, namely, the gold, the silver, the brass, and the iron, represent four universal kingdoms which should rule successively from the days of Daniel to the end of time. We are not at a loss to find the beginning of these kingdoms, because Daniel plainly declares to the king, "Thou art this head of gold." Then the head of gold represented Nebuchadnezzar, or the kingdom over which Nebuchadnezzar ruled. The breast and the arms of silver were a symbol of the kingdom that succeeded Babylon, Medo-Persia, which overthrew the city of Babylon in 538 B.C. The third kingdom of brass could have reference to none other than the kingdom ruled by Alexander, that of Grecia, which conquered and held possession of the whole world, fighting the last decisive battle with the Medes and Persians at Arbela, in 330 B.C. After the death of Alexander, his kingdom met a division into four parts, among his four leading generals, Cassander, Lysimachus, Ptolemy, and Seleucus. These divisions fell under the power of the Roman Kingdom, which shortly after this came onto the stage of action as the ruling power of the world. Hence the fourth kingdom, as represented by the legs of iron, can be none other than the kingdom of Rome. The admixture of the iron and the clay in the feet of the image, must represent that division which took place in the Roman Empire, caused by the invasion of the Northern Barbarians, resulting in the division of Rome into what has been known as the ten kingdoms of Western Europe, from 356 to 483 A.D.

As brought to view in verse 43, efforts have been made to unite these kingdoms under one universal sovereignty. Such efforts were made by Charlemagne, by Charles V., by Napoleon, and others; but all failed. Efforts have been made by intermarriage, by "the mingling with the seed of men." These efforts have likewise proved futile. This the prophecy foresaw—"these shall not cleave one to another." The iron and the clay, if weakly cemented, could never become united.

Now there comes the objective point in this prophecy,—the fifth kingdom, represented by the "great stone cut out of the mountain without hands." Says the prophet: "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." Thus it will be observed from this prophecy that the wicked nations of earth will continue in the possession of their power until the setting up of the kingdom of the Lord at the last great day. If it be argued that the kingdom here brought to view, the one represented by the stone, was set up at the first advent of Christ, we answer, such could not have been the case, because the God of heaven was not to set up His kingdom until after the kingdom of Rome had been divided. At the first advent of our Lord, Rome was a unit. Luke 2:1. We must come down several centuries this side of that time to find the divisions of the Roman Empire here indicated, from 356-483. Further, the destruction of these earthly kingdoms was not the transforming work of grace established by our Lord through His earthly ministry; the destruction of the earthly kingdom is a violent destruction. They shall be broken to pieces, not absorbed or incorporated into another kingdom, but ground into dust, to be blown away, or carried into oblivion.

Such is the work that Christ will do when He comes the second time, at the end of this world's history. Says the psalmist: "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. 2:8, 9. This same destruction is brought to view in Rev. 18:11-24.

But from the scene of destruction pictured in the scriptures to which we have referred, let us turn now to a more beautiful picture, that of the reward of the people of God. Of God's kingdom He says, "It shall never be destroyed." Throughout its length and breadth shall eternal bliss reign. Then shall the glory of God cover the earth literally, even as the waters cover the sea, and in all His holy mountain they shall neither hurt nor destroy; but the redeemed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with songs of everlasting joy upon their heads, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. No more pain, no more sickness, no more sorrow, no more tearful eyes, or heaving breasts; but joy and gladness and blissful peace shall fill every heart, and songs of praise and thanksgiving shall sound from every tongue. Soon, yes, soon, shall the kingdoms of this earth become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ. May that glad day soon dawn.