p. 10 | THE PASSING OF EMPIRES by M. N. C.

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Jun 6, 1916

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 43, No. 23.

THE PASSING OF EMPIRES

By M. N. C.

Another Universal Empire About to Be Established

SIX centuries before the birth of Christ, Nebuchadnezzar reigned over the Babylonian empire. Success had crowned his military ventures, until the world was at his feet, and he sat upon the throne of world dominion. Among the nations that had fallen before the victorious march of his

armies was Israel — the chosen people. Continued apostasy had separated this people from the Source of their strength, and they were finally given over into the hands of their enemies, and the seventy years of Babylonish captivity began.

As a nation, they were removed from the sacred hills and vales of the promised land, and carried off to Babylon, where for long years they mourned for the land of their fathers, hanging their harps on the willows, and weeping for Zion, the city of their solemnities.

Counselors of the Empire

AMONG those taken captive from Israel by Nebuchadnezzar were Daniel and his three companions, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, all youths of tender age. Soon after their arrival in Babylon, the king decided to choose the most promising of the youth of his dominion, and give them an education that would qualify them to be the leaders and counselors in his empire. Daniel and the three young Hebrews were among those chosen. Their training, which covered a period of three years, was completed with honor, and they were judged worthy to be numbered among the wise men of Babylon.

About this time, the incident occurred which is recorded in the second chapter of Daniel.

King Nebuchadnezzar retired one night reflecting upon the uncertainty of human greatness, and wondering if the mighty empire that had been built up by his prowess would sink to insignificance after his death. Naturally he hoped that his dynasty would continue from one generation to another for time. With this thought uppermost in his mind, he fell asleep, and dreamed a dream, which, upon his awakening, he felt was in some way connected with the burden of his thoughts. But the substance of the dream faded away as his eyelids opened; and try as he would, he could not recall it.

His inability to remember the dream gave him deep concern and evident dismay. But he had in his courts men known as magicians, astrologers, and soothsayers, who professed ability to unearth hidden mysteries; and they were called in. He told them he had dreamed a dream which had gone from him completely, and he asked them to use their occult powers to bring the matter before him again.

Duped by Deceivers

THIS was a just proposal, in view of their pretentions; but it was one which exposed the fact that they were frauds and impostors. They told the king that if he would tell them what he had dreamed, they would interpret it for him. To this he replied that if they did not in this instance prove their claims to supernatural powers by telling him the dream, they would be slain. Then they admitted that they could not do it; and the king, furious over having been duped by these deceivers, ordered all the wise men to be put to death.

The captain of the guard, setting out to execute the king's decree, called first on Daniel and his three friends, to slay them. To Daniel had been given the gift of prophecy by the Lord; and upon hearing from the executioner the cause of the trouble, he asked to be taken in to the king. Nebuchadnezzar granted Daniel time in which to seek his God for help in this crisis. On his return to his lodgings, he and his three companions prayed most earnestly for help from on high; and in response to these petitions, the Lord revealed to Daniel the dream that had been given to and taken from Nebuchadnezzar.

Events of the Latter Days

DANIEL returned to the king, and unfolded before him that which had been shown in response to prayer. In reply to the question of the king as to whether he could reveal the dream, he said:

"The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, show unto the king; but there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these; as for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and He that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass." Dan. 2: 27-29.

It is evident from these words:

(1) That the dream was prophetic in its nature, for it foretold "what shall be in the latter days." (2) It was given in response to the thoughts which the king was entertaining in his mind the night the dream was given him.

Daniel then proceeds to narrate the 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 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. This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king." Dan. 2: 31-36.

The World's Advance History

It would not be difficult for the reader to imagine the astonishment of King Nebuchadnezzar as he listened to this recital, and recognized in detail the very thing he had dreamed, and concerning which he had felt such anxiety. Daniel not only related the dream, but proceeded to make plain the interpretation of it:

"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. And after thee shall rise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. 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 potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it 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. 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. 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 a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret." Dan. 2: 37-47.

In the explanation, Daniel declared that the image, in its metallic divisions, represented the four great world kingdoms that should successively bear rule over the earth. The head of gold represented Nebuchadnezzar in his capacity as ruler of Babylon. This mighty nation was then in the zenith of its power and glory.

Throne of World Empire Transferred

BUT the king's countenance doubtless fell as Daniel proceeded with the explanation, "And after thee shall rise another kingdom inferior to thee." He had hoped that his kingdom would last forever; but this interpretation, which he could hardly dare gainsay, indicated that his kingdom would pass away, and be succeeded by another of inferior glory.

Babylon was overthrown by the Medes and Persians on that fatal night when Belshazzar was holding his impious feast described in the fifth chapter of Daniel. Two brief verses tell the story: "In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old."

The Medo-Persian kingdom succeeded to world empireship in 538 B. C., continuing until 331 B. C., and was represented by the arms and breast of the image. But this kingdom also was to give way to another. The rise of Alexander the Great marked the decline and fall of the Medo-Persian kingdom. In the battle of Arbela, in which the Grecians under Alexander were far outnumbered, a crushing defeat was administered to the Persians, and the throne of world power was transferred to Grecia. The silver of the breast and arms gave place to the brass of the thighs.

Mistress of the World Broken

FOR a short time only did Grecia pose as mistress of the world. Then the iron monarchy of Rome came upon the stage of action, and thereafter claimed world-wide authority. This power is fitly represented by the iron legs in the image. The infidel historian Gibbon uses the symbolism of Nebuchadnezzar's dream in describing the rise of Rome:

"The arms of the republic, sometimes vanquished in battle, always victorious in war, advanced with rapid steps to the Euphrates, the Danube, the Rhine, and the ocean; and the images of gold, or silver, or brass, that might serve to represent the nations or their kings, were successively broken by the iron monarchy of Rome."

Continuing his explanation of the dream, Daniel said:

"And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' 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." Dan. 2: 41-43.

The Roman Empire began to disintegrate, and was divided into a number of smaller kingdoms. The present divided state of Europe is in direct fulfillment of prophecy. Efforts have been made, from time to time, to weld these nations into one great empire again. Charlemagne, Charles V, Napoleon, and others, each tried it; but the unfailing prophecy had said, "They shall not cleave one to another," and the plan has never succeeded, and moreover, it never will until "He come whose right it is."

All Kingdoms to Crash

BUT the most stirring part of this prophecy is yet to come. The prophet declares:

"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." Dan. 2: 44, 45.

The head of gold, representing Babylon, passed away long ages ago. The breast of silver, symbolizing Medo-Persia, has followed Babylon into oblivion. Grecia played her brief part in the world's drama, and is also off the stage of action. The long, bloody history of Rome, represented by the legs of iron, is a thing of the past. We are now living in the divided state of the Roman Empire, represented by the mixture of iron and clay in the feet and the toes. What next? — The ushering in of the kingdom of God; the destruction and extinction of earthly kingdoms; the resurrection of the dead; the glorious reign of the King of kings, and Lord of lords.

The kingdoms of this world are about to become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.