In the Time of Those Kings

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. (Daniel 2:44, NIV 1984).

My Musings – “In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams.” (Daniel 2:1, NIV 1984). Dreams of a mysterious statue. It had a head of gold, chest and arms of silver, belly and thighs of bronze, legs of iron, and feet of iron mixed with clay. The dreams troubled him deeply. So much so that he did not want his magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers to know what he had dreamed and then concoct some fictious interpretation to fit the dream. They must first tell him what the dream was, and then give its interpretation. Being mere men, this was not something they could do.

Furious, King Nebuchadnezzar ordered the execution of all the wise men in his kingdom. This decree included Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, none of which had been present when the others had failed to meet the king’s demands. After the four petitioned had God, the dreams and the mystery of their meaning was revealed to Daniel. Daniel told the king, “no wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come. As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me.” (Daniel 2:27–28, 29-30, NIV 1984).

Daniel proceeded to tell the king what he had dreamed and what the dreams meant. “You, O king, are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory; in your hands he has placed mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds of the air. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold. After you, another kingdom [one of silver] will rise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth. 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.” (Daniel 2:36–40, NIV 1984).

There was something peculiar about the fourth kingdom. “The feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united.” (Daniel 2:41–43, NIV 1984).

King Nebuchadnezzar would not live to see the kingdoms that came after his. The question for us is, have we seen them all? Biblical scholars generally believe that the silver kingdom was the Medo-Persians who conquered the Babylonians in 539 B.C. The bronze was the Grecian Empire, led by Alexander the Great, who conquered the Medo-Persians between 334 and 330 B.C. Finally, the Roman Empire. This fourth kingdom was the Roman empire who conquered the Greek empire in 63 B.C. Eventually, the Roman empire was divided into two “legs” (Rome and Constantinople), both of which ultimately crumbled just like the iron mixed with clay did in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.

So, it would seem that we have seen them all, except for one troubling thing. The last part of the king’s dream and its meaning. Daniel went on to say, “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 dream].” (Daniel 2:44–45, NIV 1984).

Troubling because no such kingdom (that “will itself endure forever“) emerged that “[crushed] all those kingdoms” “in the time of those kings.” Troubling, because it might appear that Daniel got it wrong. Close, but wrong. And no one can be a prophet of God just by being close. There’s no tip toeing around that.

Which brings us to “the toes [that] were partly iron and partly clay.” In the book of Revelation, John writes about “ten horns [toes] [he] saw [that] are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast [the anti-Christ]. They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings [rock cut out of a mountain?]—and with Him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.” (Revelation 17:12–14, NIV 1984).

My Advice – It appears that there is a gap between the historical fourth kingdom of iron and the ten kings (toes) “who [still] have not yet received a kingdom.” But will for “one hour,” only to be overcome (crushed) by the “rock.” “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone, and a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes [kingdoms] fall.” (1 Peter 2:7–8, NIV 1984).

But we’re not done yet. “Then [John] saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. [He] saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And [he] heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’ He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!'” (Revelation 21:1–5, NIV 1984).

This will take place “in the time of those kings.” It will be “a kingdom that will never be destroyed, but it will itself endure forever.” Perhaps Daniel was more than close enough.” Perhaps he was a prophet of God after all.

As for “the unbelieving…their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” (Revelation 21:8, NIV 1984). We should all choose the place where there “will be no more death” over the “fiery lake of burning sulfur. [That] is the second death. “