Read Daniel 2
Daniel 2 tells us Nebuchadnezzar dream implies that Christ's kingdom will grow into its fullness. It's not going to suddenly appear over the whole face of the earth. Verse 35 says that Christ's kingdom (5th kingdom) starts as only a stone when it strikes the feet of the image becomes a great mountain that fills the earth. This stone, Jesus' kingdom became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. This shows a gradual growth of the Kingdom. Jesus being the stone does not allow for the sudden appearance of a Christ's kingdom. Why? because its without observation. The great mountain is the start of the church, which is ongoing today, and will never end.
Futurists cannot imagine Christ now ruling on earth because they cannot see it, yet this is exactly what Scripture teaches.
Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
Psalm 2:8-9
'Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very
ends of the earth as Your possession.
9 'You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like potters
clay.'"
Psalm 110:1
The Father Gives Dominion to the King.
The Lord says to my Lord: "Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a
footstool for Your feet."
1 Corinthians 15:25
For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.
The process of making His enemies his footstool, Peter says, was begun at the ascension of Christ (Acts 2:34-36; quoting Ps. 110:1), not at some yet long-distant second coming.
Paul quotes Ps. 110:1 again to refer to this "abolishing" until it is accomplished (1 Cor. 15:25).
So the New Testament is clear: Christ's rule of earth and the defeat of His enemies began after the resurrection when Christ ascended and sat down at the right hand of the Father, and it will continue until all of His enemies are defeated, at which time Christ will present the finished kingdom to His Father. Most Christians do not understand the meaning of Jesus delivering the Kingdom to the Father which will be our next study. I will say Jesus does not just hand over the kingdom and give up His authority like most believe. Let's move on. There is no break in the timeline of Daniel's vision. The stone struck during the time of the fourth kingdom. Many believe the fourth Kingdom is the Roman Empire, Is it really. Later I will show why I believe it is not. Anyway, The Rock has been growing into a great mountain ever since. Which is the Kingdom today.
By verse 44 the interpretation describes the future day of Christ's reign.
This text of Daniel, then, plays a key role in determining the establishment of Christ's rule during the time of the fourth kingdom.
Futurists simply cannot accept that this defeat happens as Christ rules earth from His seat in heaven during the age of the church.
Daniel 2, clearly says that Christ's rule will be set up during the days of the kingdoms in the image. (in the days of these kings, Daniel 2:44) Whether you see the image spiritually or physically you cannot deny the fact that it would all happen during these four kingdoms.
Christ's rule was established at that time means that the process of that Stone becoming a great mountain must be a historical victory that is still in progress.
God has already establish his New Empire is a fact derived from the plain reading of Daniel 2 and the New Testament references to Psalm 110:1 among other verses. That this rule shall last until Christ's enemies are "abolished" (1 Cor. 15:24) means that this work is now occurring in some way.
Now that we have set the stage, Let's dive
into this study even deeper. In Daniel 2:1, this vision occurs "in
the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar" (603 BC). In this chapter,
Daniel interprets a dream for King Nebuchadnezzar. It's important to note that
Daniel had the same dream or vision, because he first tells the king the
contents of the dream.
"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 for
ever" (Daniel 2:44).
Daniel tells us that Messiah's
kingdom will advance in the whole world from "generation to generation" (Daniel
4:34). Let's read it Daniel 4:34
34 "But at the end of that period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward
heaven and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and
honored Him who lives forever; For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And
His kingdom endures from generation to generation. This clearly states that the
Kingdom will exist from generation to generation. Those that claim we are not in
the kingdom now are confusing scripture. Even Nebuchadnezzar knew when the
Kingdom would be established, why can't some today that deny it. Christ's dominion is
"given to the people of the saints of the most
High" (Daniel 7:22). Our purpose then is to see "all people, nations, and
languages ... serve and obey him" (Daniel 7:14,27).
Daniel 2:31-35
The King's Dream
31 "You, O king, were looking and behold, there was a single great statue; that
statue, which was large and of extraordinary splendor, was standing in front of
you, and its appearance was awesome. 32 The head of that statue was made of fine
gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, 33
its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. 34 You continued
looking until a stone was cut out without hands, and it struck the statue on its
feet of iron and clay and crushed them. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze,
the silver and the gold were crushed all at the same time and became like chaff
from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that not a
trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great
mountain and filled the whole earth.
(Notice all the metals were crushed all at the
same time)
Daniel then interprets the dream.
Daniel 2:36-39
The Interpretation-Babylon the First Kingdom
36 "This was the dream; now we will tell its interpretation before the king. 37
You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the
kingdom, the power, the strength and the glory; 38 and wherever the sons of men
dwell, or the beasts of the field, or the birds of the sky, He has given them
into your hand and has caused you to rule over them all. You are the head of
gold.
Medo-Persia and Greece
39 After you there will arise another kingdom inferior to you, then another
third kingdom of bronze, which will rule over all the earth.
Another kingdom inferior to thee - This refers to the Medes and the Persians.
Another third kingdom of brass - This refers to the conquest of the world by
Alexander the Great. The successors of Alexander, the kings of Syria and Egypt,
arose after Alexander's untimely death. This includes the entire Seleucid period
up to 64 BC.
Daniel 2:40
Rome
40 Then there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron; inasmuch as iron
crushes and shatters all things, so, like iron that breaks in pieces, it will
crush and break all these in pieces.
The fourth kingdom - This refers to the Roman Empire. Up until the time of the
birth of Christ, the Roman Empire was plagued by numerous civil wars. The Fourth
Kingdom includes the entire era of the Roman Caesars, who brought Pax Romana
("Roman peace") to the empire, which ironically was a time of great internal
strife among the nations Rome subjugated.
Daniel 2:41-43
41 In that you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of
iron, it will be a divided kingdom; but it will have in it the toughness of
iron, inasmuch as you saw the iron mixed with common clay. 42 As the toes of the
feet were partly of iron and partly of pottery, so some of the kingdom will be
strong and part of it will be brittle. 43 And in that you saw the iron mixed
with common clay, they will combine with one another in the seed of men; but
they will not adhere to one another, even as iron does not combine with pottery.
Iron mixed with miry clay - This refers to the military might of the Roman
Empire which brought a forced union of all the nations of the world including
Judea and Samaria.
The seed of men - The Jews at the time of the Roman Empire were mixed with the
iron military might of the Empire, but did not come fully under the dominion of
Caesar.
Daniel 2:44
The Divine Kingdom
44 In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will
never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it
will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure
forever.
And in the days of these kings - Simply put, in the days of the Roman Empire. At
that time, the Gospel of the kingdom of God would be preached to the nations of
the world by Jesus Christ and His Church. This Kingdom shall never be destroyed,
but it shall war against the kingdoms of this world and they shall become part
of the kingdom of God and of His Christ (Revelation 11:15).
The question answered by this verse is when God will set up a kingdom on earth
as it is in heaven. He will set up His kingdom "in the days of these kings."
Luke begins his Gospel with an account of Jesus birth: "And it came to pass that
in those days ... [of] Caesar Augustus" (Luke 2:1). The beginning of Christ's
ministry began "in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar" (Luke
3:1).
When will Christ and the kingdom of God come on earth as it is in heaven? It
will be "in the days of these kings" (Daniel 2:44).
Daniel 2:45
45 Inasmuch as you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands
and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold, the
great God has made known to the king what will take place in the future; so the
dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy."
A stone made without hands - This refers to the kingdom of God. This does not
refer to the Second Coming of Jesus as some have imagined. The text plainly
states that the stone is the kingdom of God. This kingdom appeared in the days
of the Roman Empire at the coming of Christ.
Nebuchadnezzar rewarded Daniel for correctly telling the dream and giving the
interpretation. Like Joseph in captivity in Egypt, Daniel's gifts made room for
him. The king made Daniel the ruler over Babylon. Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego became rulers over the provinces of Babylon.
Let's review some facts.
1. Daniel 2 reveals that God would set up His
kingdom before Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome had all expired as
kingdoms/empires.
2. Daniel 7 reveals that Jesus would receive His kingdom at the time of His
ascension to His Father's throne. It also confirms that God's kingdom would be
put into the hands of His people, the church, during the time of the Roman
empire and immediately following a vicious campaign of persecution meant to
eradicate the church.
3. John the Baptist and Jesus repeatedly proclaimed that the kingdom of God was
near in their day. Jesus promised to come in His kingdom while some of His
disciples were still alive, and He revealed that His kingdom would be given to
His church at the same time it was taken away from rebellious Israel at the time
of their judgment.
4. Hebrews 12 reveals that God's people were receiving an unshakable kingdom in
the first century, and that they would receive it at a time when all that could
be shaken would be shaken.
The nation of Israel, as a whole, was found unworthy to steward God's kingdom.
Jesus, on the other hand, was perfectly obedient, laid down His life, rose
again, and was found worthy to receive the kingdom. He came to take it out of
the hands of Israel's leaders, and He placed it into the hands of His church. We
have been given the privilege of being the stewards of God's kingdom. How much
is the church being limited in its ability to spread God's kingdom, and walk in
its realities and power, because of the pervasive belief that it hasn't even
come yet?
God's kingdom has come, and God's kingdom will remain forever.
In verse 39 each empire is to "rule over the whole earth." The word translated earth in this verse can also be translated land. This would have been a more accurate translation since each empire did not rule over the entire world. This fact would have been well known to Daniel. Having served in the Babylon court, Daniel would have been well aware of the boundaries of this empire. Since all four empires of Nebuchadnezzar's dream ruled over Israel before Jesus' inauguration of the kingdom of God in the first century A.D., Daniel's use of earth or land in this verse appears to be the land of Israel.
This is the same symbolism found in the Book of Revelation where earth also represents Israel and sea, the Gentile nations. "Earth" Signifies the Specific Land Addressed While "Sea" Symbolizes Foreign Nations. The scroll sealed in Daniel 12:4 is later opened in Revelation 5 and 6. In other words, both books seem to have received their information from the same heavenly scroll.
As stated above, earth represents Israel. The clay or earth portion of the feet of this statue is Israel. The fact that the final kingdom is a mixture of clay or earth and iron points to a blending of clay (Israel) and iron (Rome) at the time of the end. Furthermore, along similar lines the fact that the iron and the clay or earth do not mix seems to represent the fact that Israel, the earth or clay, revolted against Rome, the iron part, in A.D. 66 during the Jewish War.
According to verse 44 this kingdom "will never be destroyed" implies that it is a spiritual kingdom. Throughout His ministry, Jesus taught that the kingdom of heaven had arrived. As the Jewish Messiah, Jesus identified Himself as a king but not a king of this world. He had come from heaven and His kingdom was a spiritual or heavenly one: "My kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36)." The kingdom that Jesus referred to in John 18:36 is the same kingdom He discussed over and over throughout His ministry, the kingdom of heaven also called the kingdom of God. This is the same kingdom foreseen in Daniel 2 as the rock that grew into a mountain.
In this spiritual kingdom, flesh and blood cannot enter into it (1 Corinthians 15:50) The Romans heard about it and began converting to Christianity. Then the kingdom spread like yeast through dough just as Jesus predicted in Matthew 13:31-33. This gradual conversion symbolized in Daniel 2:35 when the rock that struck the statute is said to grow to become a huge mountain.
In Matthew 21:43-45, Jesus said, '"Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.' When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus' parables, they knew he was talking about them." This is a direct reference to Daniel 2. Here Jesus identifies himself as the rock cut, but not by human hands and the fifth kingdom as the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven in Daniel 2:44-45. The rock in Daniel 2:45 is cut out of a mountain. This mountain is a kingdom, the earthly kingdom of Israel. However, this mountain kingdom is also the kingdom of heaven which came from heaven to earth with Jesus. Jesus' heavenly origin is made known in John 3:13. Here Jesus says, "No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven-the Son of Man."
After Jesus' death, Jesus needed someone to lead and teach His people. Jesus told Simon to do this. In the symbolism of Daniel 2:34-35, Jesus gave Simon the name Peter, a name meaning rock, because it was Peter who would build the Christian church: "And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it (Matthew 16:17-18)." Jesus' teachings spread. And the rock grew into a mountain that filled the land. As stated in Daniel 2:44-45, this mountain is a kingdom. Interestingly, throughout the Gospels Jesus referred to His church as the kingdom of God. The church is also called a kingdom or nation in 1 Peter 2:9 and Matthew 21:43. (Matthew 21:43 reads, "Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people [nation] who will produce its fruit." People should actually be translated nation.) Therefore, the mountain in Daniel 2:44-45 is a metaphor for the church, the kingdom of God.
Luke 20:17-18 is similar to Matthew 21:43-44 and further shows the fact that the mountain of Daniel 2:34-35 is the church: "'The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed (Luke 20:17-18)." Luke 20:17-18 also directly points to Daniel 2. However, in Luke 20:17-18 the stone that breaks the statue in Daniel 2 is identified as a cornerstone. The cornerstone is the first stone to be set in place in the construction of a building's foundation. The building in which Jesus identifies himself as the cornerstone in Luke 20:17-18 is the Christian church which is said to be a temple in 2 Corinthians 6:16: "For we [the church] are the temple of the living God." When the stone which breaks the feet of the statue and then grows into a mountain in Daniel 2:34-35 is likened to a cornerstone, the first stone set in the construction of a building, in Luke 20:17-18 this fact echoes the idea that the mountain that replaces the statue in Daniel 2 is the Christian church also known as the Temple of God or the kingdom of God throughout the New Testament.
Now get this! Daniel 2 and Matthew 21:43-45 shows
that the clay portion of the statue most certainly represents earthly Israel.
Let's read it again Matthew 21:43-45: '"Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of
God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its
fruit. Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom
it falls will be crushed.' When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus'
parables, they knew he was talking about them."
Notice that Jesus was talking to the chief priests and the Pharisees when He
said that the kingdom of God would be taken from them and given to a people who
would "produce its fruit." This change appears to occur at the time in which the
stone falls and crushes the kingdom of the chief priests and Pharisees. This
change in which the kingdom would transition between the old covenant Jews and
the kingdom of God, the Christian church referred to in Matthew 21:43-45, is a
direct allusion to the rock shattering the feet of the statute in Daniel 2:34:
"While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck
the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them." Notice that according
to Daniel 2:34 the feet hit by the rock are composed of both iron and clay.
According to Matthew 21:43-45 Jesus says that the rock would strike Israel since
after saying that the rock would shatter anything it falls on the Pharisees
"knew he was talking about them (Matthew 21:45)." The fact that the Pharisees
knew that Jesus was saying that the rock would strike them, of course, implies
that the rock would strike Israel or the Jews. Given the fact that all the metal
of the statues represent the four Gentile empires that ruled over Israel before
the establishment of the kingdom of God, this implies that the clay portion of
the feet must represent earthly Israel since the metal portion represents
Gentile Rome.
In Isaiah 64:8 and Jeremiah 18:6 the people of Israel are symbolized by clay like the clay mixed with iron in Daniel 2. Isaiah 64:8 reads, "Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand." Jeremiah 18:6 echoes Isaiah 64:8: '"Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?" declares the Lord. "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel."
Daniel 2:43 says that the iron (Gentile Rome) would not mix with the clay (Israel) and thus the people would not remain united: "And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay." This prophecy in which the iron would not remain united with the clay was fulfilled in A.D. 66 when Israel was about to be crushed.
The mixing of iron and clay (Israel and Rome) is also symbolized in Revelation
17. But first I want to show what the New Revised Standard Version says for
Daniel 2:43
Daniel 2:43 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
43 As you saw the iron mixed with clay, so will they mix with one another in
marriage, but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay.
This version seems to point to the adulterous affair between Jerusalem and Rome
suggested in Revelation 17. Here the Whore of Babylon representing Jerusalem is
depicted siting on the beast which is Rome. This sexual symbolism shows
Jerusalem in the act of adultery with Rome which is why she is called the Whore
of Babylon.
1 Corinthians 6:16 says, "The one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body
with her. For He says, "The two shall become one flesh." This figurative, sexual
union between Jerusalem and Rome which caused the two cities to become one flesh
as in a marriage between husband and wife appears to also be symbolized in
Daniel 2:43 as iron and clay mixing together as in marriage: "As you saw the
iron [Rome] mixed with clay [Israel/Jerusalem], so will they mix with one
another in marriage, but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix
with clay." But as stated in Daniel 2:43 the iron and clay do not remain united.
This separation of the iron and clay fulfilled in Israel's revolt against Rome
in A.D. 66 is also mentioned in Revelation 17. Revelation 17:16 reads, "The
beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to
ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire."
Israel's revolt against Rome in A.D. 66 which caused Rome, the beast of
Revelation 17 and the iron of Daniel 2, to bring Jerusalem, the whore of Babylon
and clay of Daniel 2, to ruin in Revelation 17:16 is how the iron and clay do
not hold together in Daniel 2:43.
We know with out a doubt that the stone in Daniel 2 is Jesus, so think about this, The fact that the clay of the statue represents Israel is also implied by the fact that earth or clay is essentially what stones and mountains are made of like the stone and mountain that crushed the metal statue. Earth or clay is essentially pulverized rock. And rocks are essentially hardened earth. So, it should not be surprising that a rock, hardened earth, which is Jesus, a Jew, shattered the metal statue.
The mountain also represent the Jews and Israel. The kingdom of God, the
Christian Church, is the new Israel. circumcision and uncircumcision means
nothing in the new Israel, what counts is the new creation.
Galatians 6:15-16
15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything,
but a new creation.
Blessing and a Plea
16 And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and
upon the Israel of God.
Here we can clearly see that the Christian church is "the Israel of God."
Galatians 3:9 also indicates that the Church is the new Israel: "If you belong
to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."
Romans 2:28-29 again conveys this idea: "For he is not a Jew who is one
outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a
Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the
Spirit, not by the letter." The fact that the Church is the new Israel is shown
in Romans 11. Here Christians are grafted into an olive tree representing Israel
while many of the old branches representing unbelieving Jews are removed from
the tree. The above verse are just a small sample of those that teach that the
Christian church, the kingdom of God, is the New Israel. Here one can see that
the mountain that shatters the metal statue is this new Israel, the Christian
Church also known as the kingdom of God.
Just like the seven heads of the beast of
Revelation 17:9-10 represent both seven kings as well as seven hills, I believe
that the ten toes of the statue also have dual meaning. (for both clay and iron)
I believe the clay component of these ten toes representing the ten lost tribes
of Israel are also the ten horns mentioned in Revelation 17:12 who had not yet
received their kingdom at the time in which John wrote his vision. I believe the
clay portion of these ten toes who did not remain united with the iron in Daniel
2:43 also represents the ten Zealot leaders who revolted against Rome at the
start of the Jewish revolt. These ten Zealot leaders are listed by Josephus in
The Wars of the Jews.
The fact that the clay portion of the ten toes represents Israel and its Zealot
leaders makes sense of the fact that the iron or Roman component of this statue
does not mix with the clay or Israelite portion in Daniel 2:40-43 as Israel
under the leadership of these ten men revolted against Rome in A.D. 66.
So far we have shown the symbolism of the
mountain, rock, clay and earth and how these symbols all point to Israel and the
new Israel of God. We also pointed out the fact that the clay portion of the ten
toes of Daniel 2 represents the lost ten tribes of Israel as well as the ten
Zealot leaders/governors. Now we turn to the iron component of these ten toes.
The iron or Gentile Roman portion of the ten toes also seems to signify the ten
horns. In Daniel 7, the fourth beast, also representing Rome, has ten horns.
Daniel 7:24 says that these ten horns are ten kings who will arise out of the
fourth kingdom: "The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this [fourth]
kingdom." The fact that these ten toes appear to signify the ten horns of Daniel
7 seems to be implied in Daniel 2:44. In Daniel 2:40-43 Daniel mentions the
fourth kingdom with its toes that were a mixture of iron and clay. Then in the
following verse, Daniel says, "In the time of those kings, the God of heaven
will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to
another people (Daniel 2:44)." When Daniel 2:44 mentions "the time of those
kings" when referring to the time in which the rock strikes the statue on the
ten toes, it seems to me that Daniel 2:44 is implying that the iron portion of
these ten toes are also ten kings. This interpretation appears to be confirmed
by Roman history.
I believe that the iron component of these ten horns (or ten toes) are the first ten Caesars ending in the tenth, Caesar Vespasian. The fact that the statue has ten toes at the time in which it is completely shattered by the stone from heaven representing the kingdom of heaven suggests that the kingdom of God began to take firm hold during the reign of the tenth Caesar, Vespasian. It was during Vespasian's reign (A.D. 69 to A.D. 79) that the Jewish War ended and the customs of the Law were fulfilled as is evidenced by the fact that much of the Law of Moses could no longer be performed after the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70. This event vindicated Christian prophecy and the Christian faith as a whole. The kingdom of God began to grow like the rock from heaven that grew into a mountain in Daniel 2:34-35. Thus there appears to be both a Jewish and Roman component to the ten toes or ten horns as is implied by the fact that the ten toes are said to be a mixture of iron and clay in verse 41: "Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron." The iron component of the ten toes or ten horns represents the ten Caesars mentioned in detail in Daniel 7 while the clay portion of these ten toes or ten horns also referred to in Revelation 17:12 refers to the ten Zealot leaders.
In Luke 17:20-21 Jesus says, "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, "Look, here it is!' or 'There it is!' For behold, the kingdom of heaven is in your midst." In other words, the kingdom of heaven, the rock that grew into a mountain, is the body of Christ representing Jesus and His people, the saints. This is why, while in the presence of His disciples and followers, Jesus says that "the kingdom of heaven is in your midst." The spiritual and therefore invisible nature of the kingdom of God is why "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God." 1 Corinthians 15:50
The conquest and spread of this spiritual kingdom
(Christianity, the kingdom of God, and the new covenant) after the end of the
age is predicted in Daniel 7:26-27:
'But the court will sit, and his power [the beast representing Rome] will be
taken away and completely destroyed forever. Then the sovereignty, power and
greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over to the
saints, the people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom,
and all rulers will worship and obey him.'
The conquest of Christianity predicted in Daniel 7:26-27 is also symbolized in
Daniel 2:44-45:
In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will
never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all
those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. This
is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human
hands-a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold
to pieces.
"The kingdom that will never be destroyed" in Daniel 2:44 is the kingdom of God, the Christian Church which is the new covenant. In the above verses, this kingdom is said to "crush" or conquer all the previous four empires. As Christianity spread throughout the previous four empires, the kingdom of the world had been gradually conquered by the saints as more and more people came to Christ they became part of the kingdom of heaven, the Christian Church.
The church/kingdom in heaven had dominion over
Rome. According to 1 Corinthians 6:2-3 The Lord's people will judge the world.
An in Revelation 2:26-27 Jesus gives authority to His people over the nations.
So how is it that the Christian saints inherited dominion over the earth
(Matthew 5:5)? The answer is in Daniel 4:26 After you realize "Heaven rules"
your kingdom will be assured to you. Of course God rules the world (Daniel 4:17)
from His throne in heaven (Psalm 11:4; 1 Kings 22:19; Isaiah 6:1; 63:15; Matthew
5:34; 23:22). And Jesus also rules in heaven at the right hand of the Father
(John 18:36, Acts 7:56, Hebrews 8:1, Revelation 3:21).
Daniel 4:17 teaches that heaven rules over the earth. Thus just as God and His
Son rule the world from heavenly thrones, the saints having received dominion
and authority from Jesus (1 Corinthians 6:2-3, Revelation 2:26-27) are promised
that they shall also rule when they enter heaven at the resurrection in A.D. 70
and thereafter (Revelation 14:3; 21:24-27). See 1 Corinthians 15:50-54 and 1
Thessalonians 4:13-18: The saints literally and spiritually conquer and exercise
their dominion over the earth including Rome through the authority they receive
while in heaven after the resurrection of the dead in A.D. 70.
Because the dominion of the saints is a spiritual or heavenly dominion and the Christian church on earth is a spiritual or heavenly kingdom, not a earthly one like the previous four kingdoms, the shattering of the statue which signifies the conquest of these empires cannot represent the literal fall of any of these empires in the same way that Medo-Persia defeated Babylon which was then later defeated by Greece and Greece, by Rome. If the shattering of this statue represents the literal fall of these four empires in an earthly sense, this interpretation would imply that the kingdom of God would be a physical kingdom like Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece or Rome that could be observed in violation of Luke 17:20-21 and 1 Corinthians 15:50 that cannot be seen. The kingdom of God on earth and in heaven is not an earthly or fleshly kingdom. Therefore the conquest of these previous empires is not to be understood as a literal, physical military conquest. In other words, the shattering of the statue does not predict the actual fall of the Roman Empire. This interpretation is corroborated by the fact that the Roman Empire did not actually fall until A.D. 476.
So, who rules from Heaven? Most just say "God", some say "Jesus" or both. But you never hear about the Christians in Heaven ruling over the earth. Think about it, Christians are in heaven judging the world right now.
Initially the rise and fall of empires was signified by the gradual transition of metals from the head of the statue to its feet. However, upon the arrival of the kingdom of God the entire statue is shattered. Not only is the entire statue shattered at the arrival of the kingdom of God, the kingdom of God is symbolized by rock or earth rather than metals. Daniel 2 marks the establishment of the fifth kingdom, the kingdom of God, with unique imagery implies that the kingdom of God is somehow different from the previous four earthly empires. (Non physical) Perhaps the shattering imagery in addition to the fact that the fifth kingdom was composed of a nonmetallic material implies that the arrival of this kingdom is somehow different from the rise of the Babylonians, the Medo-Persians, the Greeks and the Romans.
The fifth kingdom is certainly unlike any of the previous four empires because
it was spiritual in nature, made of a nonmetallic substance and conquered the
previous four empires simultaneously by shattering them all at once rather than
just transitioning into a new part of the original statue. Perhaps these
differences imply that the rise of this kingdom was different from the way in
which the previous four empires conquered their predecessors. I believe that the
shattering or conquest of the fourth kingdom, Rome, (as well as the three
kingdoms before it) was fulfilled in the heavenly authority acquired by the
saints at the resurrection in A.D. 70. Interestingly this heavenly authority
also eventually permeated the earth as well by way of the gradual conversion of
the people of the world to the kingdom of heaven by submitting to the heavenly
authority of Christ. Thus the conquest of the four components of the statue was
spiritual in nature as the kingdom of heaven is spiritual in nature.
In Matthew 13:33 Jesus likens the infiltration and conquest of these four kingdoms by Christianity, the kingdom of God, to yeast spreading through dough: "He spoke another parable to them, 'The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened.'" The dough is the kingdoms of the world. The spread of the leaven represents the spread of Christianity throughout the world. Rome, Greece, Medo-Persia and Babylon were also ultimately conquered spiritually by the infiltration of Christianity, the kingdom of God, throughout these earthly empires. Because the kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom; not a physical, earthly kingdom; this conquest was a spiritual conquest, not a military one. Thus the shattering of the fourth kingdom together with all the previous three empires before it in Daniel 2:44 cannot be understood to signify their literal fall.
According to Daniel 2:44 all four parts of the statue signifying this succession of empires were all shattered simultaneously: "While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were broken to pieces at the same time and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer." (Daniel 2:34-35) The shattering of this entire statue represents conquest or dominion. It is important to emphasize that it does not represent the earthly fall of an empire or kingdom. There is a difference between conquest and the fall of an empire. For example, it is possible for a kingdom to conquer part of a neighboring empire's territory and yet still not cause the fall of this empire. This is what is meant when the fourth kingdom is said to shatter the other empires in Daniel 2:40: "Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron-for iron breaks and smashes everything-and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others." If crushing or shattering symbolizes the fall of an empire, than Daniel 2:40 suggests that Rome, the fourth kingdom, caused all three previous empires to fall. Of course Rome did not cause the head of gold, Babylon, to fall in 539 B.C. Rome also had no part in the fall of the Medo-Persian Empire in the fifth century B.C. Thus it is clear that this crushing or shattering symbolism cannot represent the fall of a kingdom. Rather it specifically denotes the conquest of territory once ruled by those empires. Of course, Rome conquered much of the territory once held by its three predecessors.
The fact that Rome conquered much of the territory of the Babylonian, Medo-Perisan and Greek Empires is symbolized in Rev 13:2. Here the beast of Revelation 13 also symbolizing Rome is said to resemble a leopard, have the feet of a bear and mouth of a lion. This chimerical (kīˈmerik,kəˈmerik - a mythical animal formed from parts of various animals) appearance of the beast is an allusion to the four empires of Daniel 7 in which like the transitions of metals in this chapter represent Babylon (lion), Medo-Persian (bear), and Greece (leopard). The fact that Rome is a chimera comprised of Babylon, Medo-Persia and Greece symbolizes the fact that Rome conquered much of the territory of these previous three empires.
The shattering of the components of the statue does not show the fall of any of these empires is again confirmed by Daniel 7:11-12: "Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire. (The other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for a period of time.)" Daniel 7:11-12 explicitly states that at the arrival of the kingdom of God that the first three empires continued to exist at least in a geographical sense but that their political dominion had already been removed. The fact that these three empires had already lost their political dominion upon the institution of the kingdom of God is another way of saying that their empires had already fallen prior to the end of the age, a fact confirmed historically by the fact that Babylon fell in 539 BC.; Medo-Persia, in the fifth century B.C.; and Greece began its decline and eventual fall at the death of Alexander the Great in 323B.C. Thus when the fourth empire is said to shatter the previous three empires in Daniel 2:40, this cannot mean that the fourth kingdom caused the fall of all the first three empires.
Having explained how the shattering of the statue does not represent the earthly fall of an empire, this means that the shattering of the statue in Daniel 2:34-35 also does not and cannot symbolize the geo-political fall of the Roman Empire as is commonly supposed. As stated above, if one assumes that the shattering of the statue in vs. 34-35 symbolizes the earthly political or economic fall of the fourth kingdom, then one is compelled to concede (admit that something is true or valid after first denying or resisting it.) that all the other kingdoms also fell in a political and economic sense at this time (Daniel 2:44). However, as stated above this is not what happened historically. Each empire represented by the different metal components of the statue fell at different times. Thus the complete shattering of the statue symbolizing four different empires in Daniel 2:44 cannot signify the literal, earthly fall of any of these empires. Instead, the shattering of the statue represents the spiritual conquest of these empires by the mountain of v. 35 which as stated above is a spiritual kingdom, the kingdom of God. If the fifth kingdom, the mountain of v. 35, is a spiritual kingdom, would not one expect it to conquer the previous empires in a spiritual sense? Would one expect a spiritual kingdom to conquer an earthly one in a physical way? Thus the political and economic fall of Rome in A.D. 476 is not foretold in Daniel 2, rather the total shattering of the statue symbolizes the spiritual conquest of the saints in heaven and on earth in A.D. 70 and thereafter.
In light of Daniel 2:40; 44; and 7:11-12 it is now clear that the shattering or crushing symbolism of Daniel 2 denotes the conquest of the land once occupied by these empires. As stated above, the people of God where first given dominion over the whole world when they entering heaven in A.D. 70. And perhaps as a consequence or reflection of this heavenly dominion, the kingdom, Christianity spread like wild fire as it spiritually conquered the lands once occupied by Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome as this faith spread throughout the territories of these previous empires like yeast through dough. Therefore, as is made clear in Daniel 2:40; 44 and 7:1-12 because the shattering of the statue cannot symbolize the fall of any empire even in an earthly sense, the fact that the Roman Empire fell in A.D. 476 cannot be used as evidence against the fourth kingdom being Rome.
When the rock shattered the statue in Daniel 2:34, this event signified the beginning of the spiritual conquest of the kingdom of God which is Christianity. Because the fifth kingdom, the kingdom of God, is a spiritual kingdom (Luke 17:20-21), the conquest of the kingdom of God (Christianity) throughout the four earthly empires was a spiritual conquest by way of heavenly dominion and gradual conversion. It does not appear to me to be a coincidence that the feet of the statue was hit by a rock when it presumably had ten toes. If these ten toes are the ten horns of Daniel 7, then the rock hit the statue during the reign of the tenth Caesar, Vespasian. It was during Vespasian's reign that the Temple was destroyed in A.D. 70, an event that marked the end of the Old Covenant and the beginning of the New Covenant, Christianity. The destruction of the Temple during the reign of Vespasian, the tenth toe and tenth horn, made possible a process that ultimately culminated in the Christianization of Israel and the Roman world. Though it is well-known that after the Jewish War the Roman Empire grew to become overwhelmingly Christian, it is often forgotten that during the thousand years between the Jewish War and the Crusades, Israel, and especially Jerusalem, did as well. Thus the shattering of the statue seems to have occurred during the reign of the tenth Caesar and tenth toe, Vespasian. This shattering of the four kingdoms of this statue represents the true start of the spiritual conquest of Christianity throughout Israel and the pagan world. It was the destruction of the Temple during the reign of the tenth Caesar that set in motion the ultimate conquest of Christianity throughout Israel and Rome. This spiritual conquest of Christianity by way of gradual conversion is symbolized by the rock from heaven that grew into a mountain in Daniel 2:34-35.
Adapted in part from revelationrevolution.org