The Changeless Kingdom…Our Divine Citizenship

By Brent T. Willey

Introduction

Truth is eternal. The Psalmist wrote: “The entirety of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever” (Psalm 119.160). This suggests some very awesome facts, especially concerning the matter of prophecy and the promises that God made in the Old Testament.

The second chapter of Daniel is comprised of a dream and an interpretation of that dream that is couched in prophetic language with some extremely significant promises. Since this is to be the subject we are to discuss, we would do well to briefly consider the following truths:

1. God is faithful in these matters. “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10.23). We can rely upon God. He will do what He promised.

2. Prophecy is a form of promise. What God tells us is coming to pass He will cause to be done. Only in the circumstance when God makes His promise dependent on the conduct of man is this not absolutely true. Certain promises were conditional, usually indicated by the word “if.” God’s promise through Isaiah serves as an excellent example: “If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken” (Isaiah 1.19-20).

3. God’s word never fails. These promises of this prophecy involve the knowledge, wisdom, power, and the goodness of Almighty God. We are told: “Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world” (Acts 15.18). Speaking of God in the matter of Abraham’s faith, Paul says of Him: “even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist” (Romans 4.17).

4. Paul also informed the Christians in Rome: “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Romans 15.4).

5. Finally, truth anticipates and refutes every error of man as it arises. Though written hundreds of years before the particular error arose, truth foresees and exposes the error. This is the infallible character of divine revelation. (Doctrine of Last Things, Ellison, 84)

With these thoughts, I now invite your attention to the second chapter of Daniel and to the consideration of the mighty wisdom and power of our God.

Body

Little did King Nebuchadnezzar realize that his dream would be the medium God would use to foretell the most significant history affecting the ancient world. The Babylonians were the self-acclaimed masters of astrology, divination and the interpretations of dreams, especially when the astrologers had the advantage of knowing the particulars of the dream in advance! Interpretation came so easy…

Nebuchadnezzar invaded Judah and carried away many Judeans to Babylon in 606 b.c. (Dickson, 1454) Exiled to Babylon in 605 b.c. Daniel was one of several young men chosen to serve in Nebuchadnezzar’s court. The complete fall of the Southern Kingdom of Judah occurred in 587 b.c. Daniel and his three friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, were graduates of the Chaldean school of language and literature (Daniel 1.3-7). God had given to these four young Jewish men superior knowledge and understanding of all kinds and they immediately impressed not only the chief official of the school, but Nebuchadnezzar himself (Daniel 1.17-20). Verse 20 states, “In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.”

The Unidentified Dream – Daniel 2.1-16

There appears to be a chronological discrepancy in the year cited regarding Nebuchadnezzar’s reign as king over Babylon. The text says, “In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar” (verse 1). Expositors have called this into question based on a statement found in Jeremiah 25.1: “The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon).” It is said that the first year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar corresponded with the fourth year of Jehoiakim, and as the captivity was in the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim (Daniel 1.1), the time here would be the “fourth” year of Nebuchadnezzar, instead of the second. This difficulty is somewhat increased from the fact that when Nebuchadnezzar went up to besiege Jerusalem he is called “king,” and it is evident that he did not go as a lieutenant of a reigning monarch; or as a general of the Chaldean forces of another (2 Kings 24.1, 11). I believe, however, the problem is easily rectified.

The most plausible solution is that Nebuchadnezzar reigned some time conjointly with his father, Nabopolassar, and, though the title of “king” was given to him, yet the reckoning here is dated from the time when he began to reign alone, and this was the year of his sole occupancy of the throne. Berosus, a third century b.c. Chaldean priest, that wrote three books about the creation and the early history of the world (Lost Works of Berosus, www.annomundi.com), states that Nabopolassar was aged and infirm and that he gave up a part of his army to his son, Nebuchadnezzar, who defeated the Egyptian host at Carchemish on the Euphrates, and drove Neco out of Asia. The victorious prince then marched directly to Jerusalem, and Jehoiakim surrendered to him; and this was the beginning of the seventy years of captivity. Nabopolassar probably died about two years after that, and Nebuchadnezzar succeeded to the throne. This would mean that the period of their reigning together was two years, and of course the second year of his single reign would be the fourth of his entire reign. (Barnes, Daniel; 34)

It should be noted that the text from this point (Daniel 2.4) to the end of chapter seven is in Aramaic, an ancient Semitic language. (ESV, 936) This was the Syriac language (Aramean-Chaldee), that is, the Eastern Aramaic dialect. It would seem that Daniel wrote this and the following chapters in Aramaic that he might give the prophecy regarding the world-power in the language of the world-power, which under the Chaldean dynasty was native in Babylon, Eastern Aramaic. The formula, “O king, live forever,” was the usual salutation when the king was addressed, both at the Chaldean and Persian court (cf., Daniel 3.9; 5.10; 6.6, 21). (Keil & Delitzsch, Daniel; 18)

Nebuchadnezzar’s challenge to his own court of magicians, enchanters and sorcerers was both firm and threatening: “if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruin. But if you show the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor” (Daniel 2.5-7). Once again the Chaldeans requested that the king tell them the dream. Sensing their stalling for time because of the firmness of his word, Nebuchadnezzar became enraged “and commanded that all of the wise men of Babylon be destroyed” (Daniel 2.12). Included in this condemned number were Daniel and his companions. However, Daniel prudently contacted “Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon” (Daniel 2.14). Daniel requested an appointment to meet with Nebuchadnezzar that he might have opportunity to reveal the dream and give an accurate interpretation.

The Dream Revealed – Daniel 2.17-30

Some might think that this was a last moment effort of Daniel to somehow deter the king from his decision, but in reality Daniel had the absolute faith that God would be merciful and would reveal to him the facts of the dream that had eluded all of the Chaldean wise men. In humility Daniel asked Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah (Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego) “to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning the mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men from Babylon. Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven” (Daniel 2.18-19).

God’s ability to control the events of human affairs is beautifully detailed in Daniel’s blessing: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; He removes kings and sets up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; He reveals deep and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him. To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for You have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of You, for You have made known to us the king’s matter” ( Daniel 2.20-23). This reminds me of the revelation given to John on the island of Patmos: “For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled” (Revelation 17.17 – nkjv). God may not necessarily always exercise this power, but He may do so at His own discretion!

Daniel went back to Arioch and said to him, “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show the king the interpretation” (Daniel 2.24). Fascinatingly, God’s providence not only works through Daniel in the revealing of history in advance, but ostensibly, all of the wise men of Babylon are spared from brutal executions – men who would later be subservient to Daniel!

Nebuchadnezzar asked Daniel, “Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?” (Daniel 2.26). The attitude displayed in Daniel’s response is a valuable lesson in itself. “Daniel answered the king and said, ‘No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these: To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be after this, and he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be. But as for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your mind’” (Daniel 2.27-30).

The Dream Interpreted – Daniel 2.31-45

The dream and the interpretation were not a fabrication of Daniel. They were the revelation of God of what was to be. Without question, the second chapter of Daniel is one of the great chapters of the Bible!

Daniel identified the sections of this great image as four world dominions, beginning with Nebuchadnezzar and his empire. He said to the king: “You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all- you are the head of gold. Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall break and crush all these” (Daniel 2.37-40).

The kingdoms represented in the great statue are real kingdoms that succeeded one another. Nebuchadnezzar was the head of fine gold. This empire existed from about 600 to 536 b.c. The second kingdom (silver) was that of the Medo-Persians and dated from 536 to 330 b.c. Third, came the kingdom founded by the conquests of Alexander the Great in particular. It was the Macedonian or Grecian Empire (bronze), and its various stages continued until 30 b.c. In that same year, a Caesar named Octavian (later named Augustus) established the fourth prophesied kingdom (iron & iron mixed with clay), the Roman Empire. This fourth world dominion, the Roman Empire, definitely held sway when John the Baptist began his ministry of preparation, which preceded the ministry of Jesus and His disciples. (Ellison, 85-86) The accuracy of this fact is established by Luke in his gospel account: “Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness” (Luke 3.1-2). Tiberius was the second emperor of Rome, following Augustus. He was born in 42 b.c. and reigned as emperor from 14 a.d. until his death in 37 a.d. (www.roman-emperors.org/tiberius.htm)

We would do well to take a closer look at these four prophesied kingdoms…

The Neo-Babylonian Empire

This was the empire that broke the power of Assyria, and in its westward sweep, destroyed Judah and conquered Egypt. This empire lasted seventy-three years (612-539 b.c.). The seventy-year prophecy runs from the fall of Jerusalem in 587 b.c. until 517 b.c. at the worship rededication in the restored temple. Cyrus, king of Persia, conquered Babylon in 539 b.c. and in 538 b.c. he authorized the return of the Jews to their own land, in which the first return was in 536 b.c.

Isaiah sang of the fall of Babylon 100 years before its rise in 612 b.c. (Isaiah 13.1; 13.19; 14.22). Its splendor as “the city of gold” was clearly envisioned (Isaiah 14.4). Its fall is also pictured in detail, naming the unknown Medes as destroyers (Isaiah 13.17-19). Isaiah accurately predicted that Babylon would supersede Assyria (Isaiah 14.25), Media would supersede Babylon (Isaiah 13.17), and that Babylon would pass away forever (Isaiah 12.19-22; 14.22-23). The Persian army took Babylon without a battle during the days Nabonidus and his first son Belshazzar. (www.biblestudy.org/prophecy/empire)

The Persian Empire

The Persian Empire, often called the Medo-Persian Empire, was the second great world empire represented in the dream of Nebuchadnezzar. A Persian named Cyrus conquered Babylon in 539 b.c. as prophesied by Isaiah over 150 years before it ever took place (Isaiah 44.28; 45.1). The policy of Assyrian and Babylonian kings had been to deport the conquered peoples out of their home lands and scatter them into other lands; however, the policy of the Persian kings were more humane. One of the first acts of Cyrus, who was a “singularly noble and just monarch,” in his first year, was to authorize the return of the Jews to their own land. Persia was the mountainous plateau east of the lower end of the Euphrates-Tigris Valley. The Persian Empire was vaster in extent than its predecessors. It extended eastward into India and reached westward to Greece. Its capitals were Persepolis and Susa, with its kings sometimes residing in Babylon. As a world empire, it lasted for 200 years (536-331 b.c.). (ibid.)

The Macedonian (Grecian) Empire

Alexander the Great, also known as Alexander III, was a Greek king (basileus) of Macedon (336-323 b.c.). He was one of the most successful military commanders in history and was undefeated in battle. By the time of his death he had conquered most of the world known to the ancient Greeks.

Following the unification of the multiple city-states of ancient Greece under the rule of his father, Philip II of Macedon (something Alexander would have to repeat because the southern Greeks rebelled after Philip’s death), Alexander conquered the Achaemenid Persian Empire, including Anatolia, Syria, Phoenicia, Judea, Gaza, Egypt, Bactria and Mesopotamia, and extended the boundaries of his own empire as far as Punjab, India.

Prior to his death, Alexander had already made plans for military and mercantile expansions into the Arabian Peninsula, after which he was to turn his armies to the west (Carthage, Rome and the Iberian Peninsula). His original vision had been to the east – to the ends of the world and the “Great Outer Sea,” as described by his boyhood tutor Aristotle. However, at the young age of 33, Alexander died in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar after twelve years of constant military campaigning. Poisoning, typhoid fever or the consequences of alcoholism may have brought about his early death. His legacy and conquests lived on long after him, and ushered in centuries of Greek settlement and cultural influence (aka the Hellenistic Age) over different areas. (ibid.)

It was no coincidence that Daniel prophesied what would happen to the reign and family of the king of this third empire after his death:

“And the goat is the king of Greece. And the great horn between his eyes is the first king. As for the horn that was broken, in place of which four others arose, four kingdoms shall arise from his nation, but not with his power.” (Daniel 8.21-22)

“Then a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion and do as he wills. And as soon as he has arisen, his kingdom shall be broken and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not to his posterity, nor according to the authority with which he ruled, for his kingdom shall be plucked up and go to others besides these.” (Daniel 11.3-4) (ibid.)

The Roman Empire

For more than seven centuries Rome had been developing from a miscellany of tribes and city-states in northern and central Italy – Etruscans, Sabines, Latins, Umbrians, Samnites and others – into a world power that surrounded the Mediterranean Sea. Its territory extended from Britain and Spain in the west and present day France and Germany in the north to the Euphrates in the east and Egypt and North Africa in the south. Rome awed the world; its power seemed infinite, unlimited.

The century before Christ saw the empire torn by strife and civil wars, which resulted in the collapse of the old city-state form of government. This was replaced by the development of an imperial rule that would endure for four or five centuries. The wars produced wretched conditions in the east; taxes, plundering, and a broken and depressed spirit left that section in a shambles. Out of these civil wars Julius Caesar (ca. 102-44 b.c.), an able general, statesman, and author, emerged victorious. Caesar never assumed the title king, but maintained that of imperator, usually reserved for generals in the field. His rule was short-lived, from 48 b.c. to March 15, 44 b.c., when a group led by former associates, Brutus and Cassius, assassinated him. With him began the imperial nature of Rome’s rule. He had the audacity to present himself as a god, and upon his death the loyalists in the senate deified him. (Hailey, 59)

With the death of Caesar the empire was again plunged into civil war. There was a power struggle between Octavian Caesar (nephew and adopted son of Julius) and Mark Antony on the one hand, and Brutus and Cassius on the other. Octavian and Antony defeated Brutus and Cassius in the battle at Philippi in 42 b.c., following which both men committed suicide. Antony’s infatuation with Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, and her arrogance led to war between Octavian and Antony and Cleopatra. The forces of Antony and Cleopatra were defeated at the battle of Actium, in western Achaia, in 31 b.c., after which Antony and the queen committed suicide. This left Octavian the undisputed master of both East and West! Octavian ruled from 31 b.c. to 14 a.d. (Hailey, 60-61) In 27 b.c. he assumed, or had bestowed upon him by the senate, the title Augustus, which “signified the possessor of superhuman increase, the ‘augmented’ and ‘sanctified. The same term had of old been applied to temples and sacred objects.” (Grant, 402)

It is felt by many historians that the empire was built by the genius of Augustus. He was a man of tremendous intuition and leadership ability. And in spite of many selfish, irrational, and incompetent rulers who followed Augustus, the empire was able to experience the golden age of her history in the first and second centuries a.d. (Hailey 62)

 These are the four ancient world dominions of political history. The historicity is without question, even Nebuchadnezzar proclaimed, “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery” (Daniel 2.47). While Nebuchadnezzar graciously accepted the revelation and interpretation of Daniel, it no doubt created a mixture of emotions, particularly upon hearing that his kingdom of gold would fall to an inferior kingdom. The accuracy of Daniel’s interpretation is further enhanced when to him was revealed a vision during the reign of Belshazzar, the last king of Babylon, who reigned as a co-regent with his father, Nabonidus, from 553-539 b.c. Interestingly, for years Daniel’s record was called into question because there was no verifiable information regarding Belshazzar. However, with the archaeological discovery of the Nabonidus Cylinder and the Nabonidus Chronicle the accuracy of the biblical record was confirmed. In 1854, it was Sir Henry Rawlinson that first discovered an inscription of Nabonidus that referred to his eldest son, Belshazzar. (www.christiananswers.net/dictionary/belshazzar.html)

 During the days of Belshazzar, Daniel was told, “‘Understand, O son of man, that the vision is for the time of the end.’ And when he had spoken to me, I fell into a deep sleep with my face to the ground. But he touched me and made me stand up. He said, ‘Behold, I will make known to you what shall be at the latter end of the indignation, for it refers to the appointed time of the end. As for the ram that you saw with the two horns, these are the kings of Media and Persia. And the goat is the king of Greece. And the great horn between his eyes is the first king. As for the horn that was broken, in place of which four others arose, four kingdoms shall arise from his nation, but not with his power. And at the latter end of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their limit, a king of bold face, one who understands riddles, shall arise. His power shall be great- but not by his own power; and he shall cause fearful destruction and shall succeed in what he does, and destroy mighty men and the people who are the saints. By his cunning he shall make deceit prosper under his hand, and in his own mind he shall become great. Without warning he shall destroy many. And he shall even rise up against the Prince of princes, and he shall be broken- but by no human hand. The vision of the evenings and the mornings that has been told is true, but seal up the vision, for it refers to many days from now’” (Daniel 8.17-27; emphasis mine- btw). In this quotation, Babylon is represented in the historical figure of Belshazzar, and two of the world dominions are specifically named: Media with Persia and Greece. Though not the purpose of this study, this prophecy spells out what would happen to the Grecian Empire after the death of Alexander the Great. (Keil & Delitzsch, Daniel; 20)

Without equivocation, Daniel told the king of Babylon: “You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all – you are the head of gold. Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall break and crush all these. And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage,but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever, just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure” (verses 37-45).

The significance of this passage is much greater than merely giving an advance preview of some fascinating world history. These four kingdoms span a period in history, during which God would accomplish His task of setting up a kingdom that would never be destroyed. In verse 44, when Daniel states, “in the days of those kings,” many seem to think that this refers only to the fourth or Roman kingdom and that the others are not included in the prophecy at all except that they go before the Roman. However, Daniel had said, “As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth” (verses 34-35). And be reminded of verse 45 again: “just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.”

So what is the prophet saying? Simply, the image of the dream is one great whole. It stood as one and was destroyed as one. While it is true that the kingdom of Christ actually made its appearance during the fourth kingdom, the latter is simply a part of the whole image of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. All the image was destroyed together. And destroyed by what? “A stone was cut out by no human hand” – unquestionably, the kingdom of the Messiah. The “stone” (/b#a#) cut out of the mountain, which destroys the image, is the very foundation of the church. Do not forget, Isaiah prophesied that “it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it” (Isaiah 2.2). Did not Jesus promise, “and on this rock I will build My church” (Matthew 16.18)? Accordingly, the little stone was about to appear and begin to become a great mountain that should fill the whole earth. Though this is the same stone that was rejected by men, it became the “chief corner stone” (Psalm 118.22; cf., Matthew 21.42; Acts 4.11; 1 Peter 2.7), and though it also became a “stone of stumbling” to unbelieving Jews (Isaiah 8.14; cf., Romans 9.32), to true believers this stone is the “Rock of Ages!” In another prophecy of Isaiah we find: “ thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste’” (Isaiah 28.16). The author of the book of Hebrews linked “Mount Zion” with “the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven” (Hebrews 12.22-23). The oft-repeated metaphors of “stone,” “rock,” “mountain” and “Mount Zion” hardly fall into a category of coincidence in our study of Messianic and kingdom prophecies. Daniel’s prophetic imagery of “a stone cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold” (verse 45) points directly at Jesus Christ and His kingdom. The reverse order of the represented kingdoms confirms that the establishment of the God’s spiritual kingdom, a kingdom that would never be destroyed, “shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever” (verse 44).

This has been fulfilled. However, the future kingdom advocates (primarily the premillennialists) tell us that our Lord came to set up the kingdom foretold by Daniel, but then affirm that the Jews, in their rejection of Jesus as the Messiah, overturned the original purpose of God. This is to say that because the Jews rejected Christ, God was unable to carry out His purpose and promise concerning His kingdom. In its place, they say, God gave us a church. This theory makes the church a substitute for the kingdom of promise and prophecy. It puts our Lord in the position of being dependent upon the acceptance of the Jews in order for His purpose to be fulfilled. So, then they tell us, that the Lord will in the millennium and those things that will accompany it, carry out His original intended purpose. I have always wondered why they now think there will be none to make it impossible again. After all, if God’s plan could be rejected once, rendering it non-operational, what is to say that rejection and failure would not occur again?

What is wrong with the theories (for there are many) of the future kingdom advocates? In brief, the four universal (world-wide) kingdoms, represented by the great image of the king’s dream, have long since passed out of existence. No other world empires have been since Rome’s fall in 476 a.d. If Daniel’s prophecy has not been fulfilled, then the four world empires must be re-established. And they must all appear at once, as Daniel says their demise would take place together: “Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together (emphasis btw) were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth” (verse 35). Unless, of course, the sections of gold, silver, bronze and iron do not actually represent the ancient kingdoms of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Macedonia and Rome. This notion is preposterous!

Sadly, the premillennialists’ understanding of God’s kingdom is not much different than the ancient Jews. Two questions are in order: (1) Were the Jews’ expectation of the Messiah as a great conquering king, coming to restore the glory and power of the kingdom of David and Solomon, the accurate representation of the prophets as they foretold the coming of Christ? (2) Did our Lord, when He came, set up the kingdom of Daniel’s prophecy? Or, was it delayed because of the rejection of Jesus by the Jews?

I have long believed that there are no prophecies in the Old Testament concerning Christ and His kingdom that have not been fulfilled. The apostle Peter affirms this in his second sermon as recorded in Acts 3: “But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. For Moses truly said to the fathers, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you. And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’ Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days” (Acts 3.18-24).

Brother Foy E. Wallace, Jr. astutely observed: “The ‘things’ of verse 18 and the ‘times’ of verse 21 are all embraced in the events of the gospel dispensation ‘which God before had showed by the mouth of the prophets’ and which, Peter says to the Jews, ‘he hath so fulfilled.’ The term ‘hath fulfilled’ is past tense and shows that ‘those things’ belonged to something already come to pass. The word ‘so’ indicates how ‘those things’ had been fulfilled – namely, in connection with the first coming of Christ, his suffering (incarnation), resurrection and exaltation in heaven.” (Wallace, 59) The future kingdom advocates regularly associate many of the first coming prophecies to Christ’s second coming. This is a tragic mistake! They know that Daniel 2 presents a huge problem for their “future kingdom” view. To pacify this historical discrepancy they have come up with something called the “postponement theory.” In other words, unforeseen circumstances delayed the complete fulfillment of certain prophecies, such as Daniel 2. In reality, this theory suggests two things: (1) mere mortal men can thwart the plan and purpose of God. (2) God does not possess complete omniscience and omnipotence, because He must have failed to see that His own plan was going to be prevented by the sinful Jews. Has Daniel 2 been completely fulfilled, and was Jesus successful in establishing His spiritual kingdom? According to the New Testament – absolutely!

However, it is further argued by the premillennialists that the image in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream had ten toes, which represented ten future kingdoms, in addition to the four kingdoms specifically detailed in the image proper. Where are they going with this theory? They are forced to believe that the four kingdoms (Babylon, Medo-Persia, Macedonia and Rome) were in fact destroyed in the next 600 years or so, but that the toes have continued to survive for more than 2,000 years! In Daniel’s interpretation, he said the image was completely destroyed – toes and all. There is absolutely no mention of surviving toes. The feet and toes mixed partly of clay and iron simply indicate the fourth kingdom’s being a “divided kingdom,” and being “partly strong and partly brittle.” This is a fit description of the Roman Empire, which was not brought down by another world empire, but by its own internal weakness that allowed various barbarous peoples to bring it to its knees! Daniel saw only four world kingdoms, and since God’s kingdom was going to be set up in the “days of these kings,” it only makes sense that the kingdom had to come while the Caesars were ruling, and before the Roman Empire ceased. (Wallace, 170)

Furthermore, Jesus said in Mark 1.15: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” A little earlier, John the Baptist had declared the same message (Matthew 3.2). What kingdom was this if it was not the kingdom predicted in Daniel’s interpretation – which brings me to another point.

I have also long believed that in many respects Daniel 2 (like Psalm 2, Isaiah 2 and Joel 2) points to Acts 2. Earlier, Jesus had said to a gathering of people, including His disciples, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power” (Mark 9.1). At the end of His earthly ministry, Jesus reminded His apostles: “‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem’” (Luke 24.44-47). Luke, the author of the gospel is also the author of the Book of Acts. Where he leaves off in Luke 24 he picks up in Acts 1, with a little overlapping. In Acts 1, the apostles ask Jesus, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (verse 6). Still confused about the spiritual nature of Christ’ kingdom, Jesus instructs them to go to Jerusalem where they will receive the Holy Spirit. After they witness the ascension of Jesus, they dutifully went to Jerusalem and waited. It was on the day of Pentecost when they were in fact filled with the Holy Spirit and given an opportunity to preach for the first time the glorious message of the cross. When many of the conscience-stricken Jews asked Peter and the other apostles, “What shall we do?” – Peter promptly replied, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2.37-38). Verse 41 tells us, “So those who received the word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.” When the repentant Jews were baptized into Christ for the remission of their sins they were simultaneously added to the body of Christ, the church – tantamount to the “kingdom of His beloved Son” (Colossians 1.13).

• Luke tells us: “Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, ‘The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed, nor will they say, “Look, here it is!” or “There!” for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you’” (Luke 17.20-21).

• Again, Jesus told Pilate: “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, My servants would fight to prevent My arrest by the Jews. But now My kingdom is from another place” (John 18.36).

• The kingdom of God is spiritual. It is the reign of Christ in the hearts of men and women who have been delivered from the power of darkness through their obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ! (See Romans 1.16-17; Colossians 1.13-14)

• It is not the government of an organization; it is rule in the life of a Christian, a subject or citizen in Christ’s kingdom. In fact, Jesus Christ is the “King of kings” and He now possesses “all authority in heaven and in earth.” (See Matthew 28.18; cf., 1 Timothy 6.15; Revelation 17.14)

• The author of Hebrews quoted the Psalmist: “But about the Son He says, ‘Your throne, O God, will last forever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of Your kingdom’” (Hebrews 1.8; cf., Psalm 45.6).

• God had also declared through the Psalmist: “Yet I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You’” (Psalm 2.6-7). For this purpose Jesus was “born king of the Jews” (Matthew 2.2).

• Indeed, our citizenship is divine because Jesus Christ is our King! “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body” (Philippians 3.20-21).

The basic message is this: the spiritual kingdom of God would supersede these four, great, imposing physical kingdoms of men – not by virtue of physical warfare in some futuristic nuclear holocaust, but in the enduring nature of God’s kingdom, a kingdom that is not restrained by physical boundaries and is not ruled by mortal men. Remember, Jesus told Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18.36) – men should stop trying to make it so!

Homiletically, as Christians we come to the understanding that our divine citizenship is a part of a changeless kingdom that is not of this world! As such, a kingdom not of this world…

1. Must have King not of this world – Jesus Christ! (John 8.23)

2. Must have laws not of this world – the gospel of Christ! (Romans 1.16-17; Galatians 1.6-11)

3. Must have subjects not of this world – Christians! (Hebrews 11.10, 14-16)

Conclusion

God’s providence in the life of Daniel is reminiscent of the life of Joseph, in that Daniel was given “high honors and many great gifts, and made ruler the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon” (Daniel 2.48). But equally as impressive is Nebuchadnezzar’s recognition of God’s power in the preceding verse: “The king answered and said to Daniel, ‘Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery’” (v. 47).

Nebuchadnezzar may never have become a monotheist by embracing only the one, true God of heaven – but like the Pharaohs of old (in the days of both Joseph and Moses), he came to understand that the God of the Judeans was above all!

The second chapter of Daniel is a great chapter…

Works Consulted

Ancient Empires and Bible Prophecy. www.biblestudy.org/prophecy/empire

Barnes, Albert. Notes on the Old Testament. Ed. Robert Frew, D.D. Vol. 13. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House1982

Bible Encyclopedia. Belshazzar. www.christiananswers.net/dictionary/belshazzar.html

Dickson, John A. The New Analytical Bible. Chicago: Dickson Publishing Co., 1973

English Standard Version. The Holy Bible. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Bibles, 2007

Ellison, Oscar. The Doctrine of Last Things: Revival of Ancient Kingdoms. Ed. Melvin D.

Curry. Temple Terrace, Florida: Florida College Bookstore, 1986

Grant, Michael. The Annals of Imperial Rome. Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1968

Hailey, Homer. Revelation – Introduction and Commentary. Grand Rapids: Baker Book

House, 1979

Keil, C.F. & Delitzsch, F. Commentary on the Old Testament. Vol. IX. Grand Rapids:

Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1975

Lost Works of Berosus. www.annomundi.com

Roman Emperors. www.roman-emperors.org/tiberius.htm

Wallace, Foy E. God’s Prophetic Word. Forth Worth: Foy E. Wallace Publications, 1960