The Stone Kingdom and the return of Jesus
The prophet Daniel saw the rise of the Stone Kingdom of Christ. I refer to it as a stone kingdom because of the imagery revealed in King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. The king saw a rock that came out of heaven and dramatically crushed all the kingdoms of men upon the earth. In the dream and the interpretation of it, we see God’s revelation of a long span of history that leads through fallen empires and then up to the establishment of the kingdom of God on earth. That final kingdom will last forever. I call it the stone kingdom because of the Rock of Ages, Jesus, the cornerstone will sit on the last throne and rule forever.
Mark 12:10
Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture: “‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.”
Isaiah 28:16
So this is what the Sovereign LORD says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic.
This article concludes a series that focused on two key chapters in the Book of Daniel.
See the following links to the previous articles.
Iron and clay mixed and shattered.
History is revealed in a dream
Both of the key chapters, two and seven, reveal a succession of kingdoms that ruled over much of the known world. But it’s important to note that the focus of the biblical narrative is the Middle East and more specifically, the land of Israel and the nations that surrounded that tiny country.
Four kingdoms or empires are brought into focus. First by way of a dream and then a vision. The dream is found in chapter two. King Nebuchadnezzar saw four kingdoms combined in a statue. A stone kingdom, represented by a rock falling from heaven, crashed into the statue and destroyed it. In chapter seven, Daniel saw the same four kingdoms but they were depicted as beasts that devoured everything in their path. In my opinion, chapter seven is one of the most revealing passages in the entire Bible. Particularly because of the vision of the Ancient of Days.
The Ancient of Days Reigns
Daniel 7:9“ I kept looking
Until thrones were set up,
And the Ancient of Days took His seat;
His vesture was like white snow
And the hair of His head like pure wool.
His throne was ablaze with flames,
Its wheels were a burning fire.
Daniel 7:10“A river of fire was flowing
And coming out from before Him;
Thousands upon thousands were attending Him,
And myriads upon myriads were standing before Him;
The court sat,
And the books were opened.
The Prophet began his ministry in service to the king of Babylon. As time passed, King Nebuchadnezzar had a troubling dream. God’s man, the Prophet Daniel, was ready for the Lord to put him into service. A synopsis of the history of conquest in the Middle East soon followed.
Daniel 2:34-35
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 all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The windswept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.
A Stone Cut out: An Everlasting Kingdom
In the last phase of the King’s dream, a stone kingdom rose to power
- The dream involved four great empires/kingdoms that reigned over the “world” of the Middle East.
- At the end of his dream, King Nebuchadnezzar saw a stone that shattered the statue into pieces.
- That stone kingdom represented God’s kingdom. It will be more powerful than all the kingdoms of men.
- During the time of Daniel, the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed. The Jews of Israel were in captivity. The ten northern tribes were scattered to the four corners of the earth. The remaining southern tribes were taken captive to Babylon.
- In this dream and its interpretation, God signaled a distant hope in the midst of despair. Despite the power of great kingdoms, God maintains control of human affairs. Kingdoms and rulers come and go, but God will establish his rule when man’s kingdoms fail.
- Babylon enjoyed great wealth and power and was represented as the head of gold. But the greatest wealth and power will fall under the crushing might of God’s kingdom.
- God did not forget his promises to his people. Even though Israel rebelled against the Lord’s rule, he would keep his covenant. And now God’s promises have been fulfilled in the Son of Man. Jesus came to Israel and preached repentance and told his disciples about a coming kingdom. The stone kingdom, ruled by King Jesus, will crush a final empire in the last days.
The Divine Kingdom
Daniel 2:44“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.
Daniel 2:45“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.”
The Rock shattered the statue. The Stone Kingdom will last forever
- In his dream, the king saw a stone cut out but not by human hands. That reminds us of a verse in Exodus. Human hands often defile what they touch.
- Exodus 20:25 If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it.
- The stone struck the statue at its feet of iron and clay. The rock shattered the entire statue into pieces.
- And then, the power of the great kingdoms ended. What remained became dust. The wind blew the chaff away.
- Then the rock became a stone kingdom ruled by God. Then it became a great mountain that filled the whole earth.
- Daniel told the king about God’s kingdom that would crush all earthly kingdoms, bringing them to an end.
- God’s kingdom, ruled by Christ, will never be destroyed. The time of mankind’s dominion will give way to God’s reign.
The Son of Man Presented
Daniel 7:13“ I kept looking in the night visions,
And behold, with the clouds of heaven
One like a Son of Man was coming,
And He came up to the Ancient of Days
And was presented before Him.
Daniel 7:14“And to Him was given dominion,
Glory and a kingdom,
That all the peoples, nations, and men of every language
Might serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
Which will not pass away;
And His kingdom is one
Which will not be destroyed.
The vision of Beasts — The Son of Man will sit on the throne of the stone kingdom Daniel 7
- Daniel saw four beasts in his vision. Each beast presented a different perspective of the four kingdoms in the king’s dream.
- The king saw four empires from man’s point of view.
- Daniel saw the kingdoms from God’s point of view. To God, they were brutally savage beasts.
- We see a fantastic image in the middle of chapter seven. The Son of Man approached the Ancient of Days. The heavenly Father sat upon his throne.
- Daniel saw a glimpse of the throne of God. And he also saw a glimpse of the future. The Father gave Jesus the right to rule all the kingdoms of men.
- All cultures, nations, tribes, and people of every language will worship him. The prophet saw it in a dream that revealed the future. It’s a future that hasn’t yet been fulfilled.
- The sun is certain to rise every morning. But it’s more certain that the Son of Man will rise up to rule over the failed kingdoms of mankind.
- The dominion of Christ will be everlasting. It will not pass away. The rule of Christ will not see destruction like the failed empires.
And here’s another excellent video from the folks at “The Bible Project.”
Let me know what you think.