The book of Daniel points out how Israel preserved its Messianic lineage during Gentile captivities through the pages of history. In Daniel Chapter 2 Christ is described as the stone that smote the image and broke them into pieces. This prophecy directly relates to Divine Judgment and shows how Christ will subdue all nations, before Christ establishes His earthly Kingdom in Israel.
· Dan 2:34… 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
· Dan 2:31-34…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:
*The Great Image in Daniel 2 is the Beast Kingdom; a Gentile one-world government that opposes Israel during the Great Tribulation, The beast is also mentioned in the Book of Revelation.
· Dan 7:3…And four great beasts** came up from the sea, diverse one from another
**The four Beasts had reference to Gentile empires…Babylonian, Grecian, Medo-Persian, and Roman that took the nation of Israel into captivity at different periods of time until Christ came.
After Christ defeats the great image* that opposes Israel, He will then set up His earthly Kingdom. This is where the promised Messiah visibly rules from His throne in Jerusalem.
* Beast Kingdom… is a Gentile one world government that opposes Israel and brings in the Battle of Armageddon during the Great tribulation.
· Dan 2:35…and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
· Dan 2:44…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.
· Dan 7:27… And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.
Christ is coming back to set up this visible Kingdom. The Raptured saints will also reign with Him. The present Kingdom of God is invisible, but the future Kingdom of Heaven will be visible. There are more prophecies in the Bible that deal with the Kingdom of Heaven than the Kingdom of God. In fact, there are more prophecies that deal with Christ ruling earth than His death, burial and resurrection. Understanding of the Kingdom of Heaven is what this writing is trying to convey. This is exactly what the ministry of Christ was all about.
No comments:
Post a Comment