Prophetic Expositions, vol. 1

III. THE GENTILES NOW HAVE THE DOMINION OF THE WHOLE WORLD

In the third year of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the first year of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, (Jeremiah 25.) began the famous 70 years’ captivity of the Jews in Babylon. In the second year of Nebuchadnezzar, he had a dream, (Daniel 2.,) which none of his wise men could either tell or interpret. But Daniel, being divinely instructed, did both. He said, “Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee, and the form thereof was terrible. This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. PREX1 11.1

“This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field, and the fowls of the heaven, hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all.” Daniel 2:31-38. PREX1 12.1

The universality of a kingdom could be no more strongly asserted in human language than is this dominion of the king of Babylon. No spot on the round globe, where an animate being dwells, that is not included in his ample dominion. The Jews had previously enjoyed an independent government from the world; but then the Jewish and all other governments were merged in this one government. Whatever historians may say to the contrary, it is certain that, according to inspiration, God looked on that monarchy as being the head and representative of all governments on the globe. The church has never, from that hour to this, either in her Jewish or Christian form, enjoyed an independent government, free from dependence on, or tribute to the Gentiles. Nebuchadnezzar was only the beginning of a series of just such universal monarchies. PREX1 12.2

“Thou art this head of gold.” “After thee shall arise another kingdom (the breast and arms of silver) inferior to thee;” (Medo Persian;) “and another third kingdom of brass, that shall bear rule over all the earth.” This was the Macedonian kingdom, under Alexander the Great and his successors. Here is the same universality again declared as in the Chaldean kingdom. PREX1 13.1

“The fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.” This fourth kingdom is the Roman empire, and was to succeed to the same great government of the world which its predecessors had enjoyed. And to gain that empire, it was to break in pieces and bruise all the former kingdoms. The latter part of the kingdom, shadowed forth by the feet and toes which were to be of iron and clay, was to be of a divided character, partly strong and partly broken. But even in this divided and weakened state, it was to be the great leading government still. PREX1 13.2

In its last extremity, while its feet were in existence, a stone, cut out without hands from the mountain, was to smite the image on his feet, that were of iron and clay, and grind them to powder; iron, clay, brass, silver and gold together, like the small dust of the summer threshing-floors, and the wind carry them away, and no place be found for them. PREX1 13.3

The image is to be annihilated before the stone and wind; for that which has no place cannot exist. To exist, a thing must have place. Hence, that which has no place cannot exist. The governments of this globe, all of them being included in and shadowed forth by the image, will be annihilated by the fall of the stone, and leave the earth vacant or destitute of government, unless some other is provided to fill its place. The reign of these four monarchies is called by the Saviour, (Luke 21:24,) “the times of the Gentiles;” and by Paul, (Romans 11:25,) “until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.” PREX1 13.4

This image is to be destroyed, it should be observed, not by the rolling of the stone until it grinds it to powder, increasing its own size as the image decreases; or in other words, rolling up Anti-Christ, the image, into Christ, the stone, until it becomes a great mountain and fills the whole earth; but by dashing in pieces the image, sweeping it all away; and then, by a sudden expansion, filling the earth. This process of demolishing the image and enlarging the stone, is thus explained in the 44th verse: “In the days of these Kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.” But if it dashes them in pieces and annihilates the Gentile kingdoms, and fills the earth which they now fill, then the two cannot be contemporaneous, but must succeed each other; the last of them to endure eternally. In examining the nature of this kingdom I shall notice— PREX1 14.1