The Colossus is Back

By Marvin J. Rosenthal - Zion’s Fire - July/August 2006 Issue

As I write this article on July 27, 2006, the nation of Israel is at war with the terrorist organization Hezbollah in Lebanon. I suspect the war will last a few more weeks. And then, in all probability, when Hezbollah is neutralized, some kind of military force will be embedded into southern Lebanon to stabilize the area and prevent renewed rocket attacks against Israel. In no sense will this be a permanent solution to the conflict. It’s only delaying it for another day. I do not attempt to justify Israel’s military action in Lebanon. The issues involved are so transparent that Israel needs no defense for her actions. Only those totally ignorant of the historical context of the conflict, brainwashed by some of the radical and perverted reporting in the media, or simple anti-Semitic, can blame Israel for the war or the extent of her response.

Tragically, many nations and millions of people fall into one or more of these categories. Some choose to remain ignorant of the real facts; some, like sheep, have been willingly led astray; and some hate the Jewish state for no better reason that its citizens are Jewish. Unfortunately, anti-Semitism is alive and well on Planet Earth. It has been so since the time of Abraham and will continue until the return of Christ. There is a reason for that hatred and it is not the wealth, power, influence, or character of the Jewish people. These excuses are vain attempts to justify hatred. The real reason for Antisemitism will be addressed later in this article. But for the moment:

• No nation places a higher value on human life than Israel.
• No nation has attempted to avoid war more than Israel.
• No nation has worked harder to avoid civilian casualties than Israel – sometimes at the risk of her own soldiers. It is her strength; it is also her weakness.
• No nation has made more major compromises since 1948, in attempt to achieve genuine peace than Israel.

She has refused, however, to roll over and capitulate to her enemies. When surrounded by a host of nations and terrorist organizations who believe the highest good under their religion is a holy war, or jihad, to annihilate the Jewish state, Israel has chosen to fight in order to survive. And she is hated all the more because she has chosen to defend herself rather than go silently to the slaughter.

The situation is only aggravated by the fact that many nations of the world are like a bowl of fruitless gelatin. They are pagan and without moral conviction. They have neither backbone nor moral fiber. Like a prostitute, they have sold themselves to the enemy of Israel and biblical Christianity for thirty pieces of silver (or barrels of oil, if you prefer). And all the while they embrace a misguided hope that through appeasement they can escape the terrorist acts against their own nations. Perhaps the greatest offender is the United Nations. She is a classic example of the patients running the asylum. War is terrible and the fruit of a sinful humanity. In war non-combatants are always killed. Sometimes, however, war is necessary, justifiable, and unavoidable.

When President Harry Truman ordered the dropping of the atomic bombs during World War II, he understood that tens of thousands of civilians would die. Truman also knew that tens of thousands of Americans would live because they would not have to land and fight on the Japanese mainland. Today, few question the rightness of Truman’s decision. The late Golda Meir, while Prime Minister of Israel, said of her country’s antagonists, “We can forgive you for killing our boys, but we cannot forgive you for making our boys kill your boys.” One cannot even remotely imagine those words from a Muslim leader. When Israel kills civilians in combat, she mourns. When the terrorists kill civilians they celebrate – and why not? That’s exactly whom they target.

Perhaps the most telling comment of the present war between Israel and Hezbollah comes not from the media or government, but from an e-mail to Fox News. It went something like this: “If the terrorists laid down their weapons today, there would be peace. If Israel laid down her weapons today, there would be another Holocaust.” A Jewish state surrounded by an ocean of Muslims is like a bone in the throat which the Muslim world cannot extricate. The bone is not the result of Israel being a bad neighbor, but of Islam’s teaching that Jews are “pigs and monkeys” and worthy of destruction. Those who are interested in the truth (and many in today’s world are not) must come to grips with the reality that what we are seeing and hearing in the Middle East is the outward manifestation of a much greater spiritual battle which we cannot see, hear, or touch but which is equally real. It is battle between God and Satan, Christ and Antichrist, angels and demons, and good and evil over the souls of men and the destiny of the earth. Even as I write these words I fully realize this is foreign to the thinking of many and, in their eyes, is pure folly. They would call my words non-intellectual, non-scientific, religious nonsense, or worse.

They are wrong, grievously and tragically wrong, and one day soon they will see how wrong they are. The present conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has clear, far-reaching prophetic implications and is a strong indicator that we are nearing the end of the age and the return of Christ to the earth, as He promised.

NEBUCHADNEZZAR’S DREAM

The second chapter of the Book of Daniel centers around a pagan Babylonian king, by the name of Nebuchadnezzar, and a Jewish youth named Daniel. King Nebuchadnezzar was the most powerful ruler of the world in his day. From a human perspective, his power was absolute. It was said of the king that “all the peoples and nations and men of every language dreaded and feared him. Those the king wanted to put to death, he put to death; those he wanted to spare, he spared; those he wanted to promote, he promoted; and those he wanted to humble, he humbled” (Daniel 5:19). He was an absolutely sovereign monarch. In contrast, Daniel was a youth, about nineteen or twenty years of age. He and three friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (more popularly known by their Babylonian names of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego), had been forcibly kidnapped from their families and homeland to be trained and serve in the court of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar, totally different in every way, were drawn together because King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream which greatly troubled him (Daniel 2:3), and “Daniel had an understanding in visions and dreams of all kinds” (Daniel 1:17). The Lord Himself gave credibility to Daniel’s gift when He spoke of him in his Olivet Discourse as “Daniel the prophet” (Matthew 24:15). The dream which Nebuchadnezzar dreamed was of an image, or colossus. But this was no ordinary colossus:

• The Colossus was very large.
• The Colossus was made from a number of different materials.
• The Colossus was in the form of a man, in contrast to the many grotesque idols in Babylon.
• The Colossus glowed in appearance as a manifestation of the glory of the nations, which it represented.
• The Colossus was at the same time both magnificent and fearful to look upon.

But Nebuchadnezzar had a problem. When he awakened the morning after his dream, he remembered that he had a dream; somehow he sensed that the dream was very important; but he could not recall its content and, therefore, its significance. The king was greatly troubled. He called for his advisors. Among them were magicians, astrologers, sorcerers, and Chaldeans (Daniel 2:1-2). He wanted two things from them. First, he wanted them to tell him the dream, which he evidently could recall if they “primed the pump” of his memory. And second, he wanted them to interpret the dream.

But that was not the end of the king’s dream. Daniel said, “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. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth” (Daniel 2:34-35).

DANIEL’S INTERPRETATION

Then Daniel said to the king, “This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king” (Daniel 2:36). The dream depicts events which could occur during a period of time called by the Lord “the times of the Gentiles” (Luke 21:24). Astoundingly, in less than one hundred and fifty words, Daniel recalled the king’s dream and gave him its interpretation. In those few words, Daniel summarized:

• The course of Gentile history from the days of Nebuchadnezzar to the end of the age.
• The condition of Israel among the nations during the same period of time.
• The ultimate triumph and reign of Christ over the whole earth.

The interpretation by Daniel of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream is history prewritten from the divine perspective. It is the backbone of biblical prophecy. Some of it has already literally occurred. The rest of the prophecy will literally occur, I believe, in the not-too-distant future. The dream depicts a period of time when no divinely appointed Jewish king from the tribe of Judah and the family of King David would be ruling over Israel. Instead, the holy city of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount, the place of God’s home on earth, would be under Gentile control. In the context of God’s redemptive plan for the earth, this was highly alarming and of great significance.
The Lord Jesus referred to this period of time with these words, “Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled” (Luke 21:24). The “times of the Gentiles” cam about as a direct result of my people’s sin and failure to fulfill the purpose for which God brought them into existence.

IMPORTANT DIGRESSION BEFORE GETTING BACK TO THE COLOSSUS

In the days of Nimrod, the great grandson of Noah, men rebelled against God. They built the tower of Babel as an aid in their worship of the sun and moon. It was the beginning of idolatry. Babylon is rightly called in the Scriptures “the mother of harlots” because all idolatry and false religions can trace its origin back to her (Revelation 17:5). Nimrod and his followers also built the city of Babylon. This was in defiance of God who wanted man to be fruitful and spread across the earth. It was an attempt at centralization and the development of a one-world government apart from God. Before Nimrod and the Tower of Babel, there were sinful and disobedient men. But there was no idolatry. That began with Nimrod, whose very name may mean “revolt.” As a result of this rebellion, God confounded their language and by that means scattered man across the face of the earth. This was not only the beginning of languages (Genesis 11:7) but more than that, it was the beginning of nations.

Tragically, as men were forced out, these newly formed Gentile nations carried with them the virus of idolatry and rebellion against their creator. God now needed a new people, a people free of idolatry, through whom He could fulfill his plan of redemption. These rebellious actions of Nimrod and his followers are recorded in the eleventh chapter of Genesis. But in the very next chapter, God called a man by the name of Abram (later changed to Abraham). He would be God’s man – in contrast to Nimrod, who was Satan’s man. And with this man God made an unconditional covenant. Among the ingredients of the covenant were these:

• Through Abraham God would establish a new nation, distinct from the Gentile nations; a nation free from idolatry – the first commandment He gave them was, “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3) - and through this man and his descendants, God would bring His King into the world.
• God would give to that nation a new land.
• Through that nation the Messiah would come to bring blessing to people who would believe from every kindred, tongue, and tribe.
• God assured Abraham that those who blessed his descendents through Isaac and Jacob would be blessed, and those who cursed his descendents would be cursed.

This promise to Abraham was based on the reality that since the Messiah would come through his descendants, his descendents would also be the target of Satan and all those who oppose God. If at any time during the Old Testament period the Jewish people were killed off by marching armies, or assimilated during her captivities, Jesus could not have been born in Bethlehem. His express purpose of dying for the sin of the world could not have occurred, and men would be dying in their sins. And, if on this side of Calvary, the Jewish people were assimilated during their world wide dispersion, which began in A.D. 70, or got killed off by persecution and attempts at genocide, Jesus could not return to Israel at the end of time as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah to recapture man’s lost destiny of king of the earth and consummate the salvation of the redeemed.

The Son of God is not a usurper. He will return as a legitimate heir to a legitimate throne over a legitimate people with a legitimate capital called Jerusalem. He is a descendent of King David according to the flesh. You have heard it many times – that which gives value to property is “location, location, location.” The most important location in the world is the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. It is God’s home on earth. Today, it is under the control of Islam. On its top they have built the Dome of the Rock and the El Aska Mosque. In the future, the Antichrist will make the Temple Mount his headquarters (Daniel 11:45). At the end of time as we know it, a Jewish man named Jesus will control the place of God’s home on earth.

I recently saw a bumper sticker which simply read “My King is a Jewish carpenter.” He is that – but He is also the Son of David and Son of God. It is as the rightful King of Israel that he will rule as King of all kings and Lord of all lords. It is in that capacity that he will defeat Satan, judge the wicked, purge the world of sin, and bring in a golden age upon the earth. He will not turn the world upside down; He will turn it right side up. For the last four thousand years anti-Semitism has simply been a Satanically driven attempt to thwart God’s purposes through Christ by attacking the people through whom He would be born and to whom He will return. In God’s later covenant with King David, He promised David that “your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.” (2 Samuel 7:16). God told David that if his descendents, the kings of Israel, sinned, He would punish them. They might experience famine; they might lose wars; they might be taken into captivity; they might be subjected to Gentile powers; but in the end, His greater Son would rule in righteousness (2 Samuel 7:12-17).

These things bear directly on the Colossus in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and Daniel’s interpretation of it.
The head of gold represented Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian empire. Nebuchadnezzar conquered Israel, destroyed the Temple, killed and plundered the people, and took back captives to Babylon. But more than that, his soldiers captured King Zedekiah as he fled the city by a secret passage (Jeremiah 39:4-5). They forced the king to watch as his two sons were slain before his eyes. It would be the last image the king would see, for then his eyes were plucked out, and he was taken to Babylon in chains (Jeremiah 39:7). Zedekiah, to this very hour, is the last Davidic king to have ruled over Israel. His sons were slain but descendents of king david still remained. Thus began “the times of the Gentiles” when no Jewish kings from the lineage of David were on the throne.

The chest and arms of silver represent the Medo-Persian Empire. Their army surrounded the city of Babylon, and by diverting the aters of a tributary of the Euphrates River which ran under the walls of the city, the Persians gained entrance to the city on the dry riverbed and defeated the Babylonians in one night. The Book of Esther finds its setting during this empire when wicked Haman, the prime minister sought to annihilate all the Jews within the vast 127 provinces of the Persian Empire (Esther 3:12-14).
The belly and thighs of brass represented the Grecian Empire of Alexander the Great. In the fourth century B.C., in one of the greatest military campaigns of history, the Greeks defeated the Persians and they, in turn, ruled over Israel.

The fourth empire in the Colossus was Rome. About 27 B.C., they emerged as the new super power. They were represented by the legs of iron on the Colossus. Rome was ruling over Israel when Christ was born. Herod the Great was a Roman puppet. He was placed in power and kept in power by Rome. It was Herod who killed all the male children in Bethlehem two years of age and under in attempt to slay the Son of God at birth. Warned by God in a dream, Joseph took Mary and the child down to Egypt to escape Herod’s massacre. The New Testament opens with the declaration, “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham” (Matthew 1:1). Matthew, with great excitement, is saying, Here he is! – the Messiah God promised – the One we longed for – the One who can bring peace between God and man, and man and man – He is among us.

To prove this declaration, Matthew presented Christ’s genealogy to substantiate the He is the Son of Abraham, of the tribe of Judah, and family of King David – that He has the right to the throne of Israel. And remember that no Davidic king since the days of Zedekiah, almost six hundred years earlier, had ruled over Israel because it was “the times of the Gentiles.” Matthew concludes the genealogy by noting that there are fourteen generations from Abraham to David. He is reminding his readers that it was the best times of Israel during King David’s reign. He then says it was fourteen generations from David to the Babylonian captivity. He is reminding his readers that the Babylon captivity was the worst of times. Israel was now under Gentile domination with no king of her own. Finally, Matthew calls attention to the fact that it was fourteen generations from the Babylonian captivity until Christ. What potential! The Son of David and the Son of God was among them. He was the rightful King. “The times of the Gentiles” could now be ended.

There was only one requisite for Christ to rule over Israel. It was the sin of Israel which had brought the Babylonian captivity and “the times of the Gentiles.” Israel needed to repent of her sin for the Davidic throne to be reinstituted. And so the message proclaimed to the nation by John the Baptist, the disciples, and the Lord Himself to Israel was, “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matthew 3:2; 4:17; Mark 6:12). The credentials of Christ were impeccable. His life was sinles; His miracles, authenticating; His teaching, amazing. Men would say, “no one ever spoke the way this man does” (John 7:46). And yet, the nation did not repent of her sin. Concerning their rejection of Christ, the apostle John wrote, “Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in Him.” (John 12:37). Concerning Israel’s unbelief, the Lord said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.” (Luke 19:42).

King David’s greater Son was in their midst. Had they repented of their sin, “the times of the Gentiles” would have ended, and the Davidic glory would have returned. Again, Jesus was speaking of this issue when he cried out: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord’” (Matthew 23:37-39). The “house” Jesus spoke of was the Temple on hallowed Mount Moriah. It was the home of God on earth. God’s presence left that “house” (Temple) immediately before the Babylonian captivity (Ezekiel 9-11). God’s presence would have returned in the person of the Lord Jesus had the nation repented of their sin. Now Christ’s rule on earth would await His second coming , and for the time being, the “times of the Gentiles” ruling over Jerusalem would continue:

• Rome continued to rule over Jerusalem until the fourth century.
• Then the Byzantine Empire ruled over Israel from Constantinople.
• In the seventh century Islam emerged in the Arabian Desert and ruled Israel.
• In the eleventh and twelfth centuries the Crusaders from Europe ruled Israel.
• The Ottoman-Turkish Empire ruled Israel from 1517-1917.
• The British defeated the Turks in World War I and ruled Israel from 1917-1948.

Each nation came to conquer and rule. They were all illegal squatters. The land felt violated and spewed them out – one after another. On May 14, 1948, Israel, after almost nineteen hundred years, once again became a nation. But the “times of the Gentiles” has not yet ended. The status of Jerusalem is still undecided in the minds of men. Some want it to be a divided city; some want it to become the international capital of the world. But none of the world’s nations recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. For that reason, they place their embassies in Tel Aviv rather than Israel’s capital – Jerusalem. Concerning other entities: The United Nations opposes Israel’s right to Jerusalem; Most liberal, mainline church denominations oppose Israel’s right to Jerusalem; The Papacy opposes Israel’s right to Jerusalem; And Jerusalem today is a divided city with Arabs in east Jerusalem and Jews in West Jerusalem.

In Nebuchadnezzar’s dream the feet and toes of the Colossus were a composite of iron and clay – partly strong (the iron) and partly fragile (the clay). It represents a revived Roman Empire at the end of the age. Because Israel rejected Christ at His first coming, “the times of the Gentiles” continued. And at the end of the age, the Roman Empire, which was in power at Christ’s first coming, will be revived under Antichrist to rule over Israel at the end of the age leading up to Christ’s second coming. In Nebuchadnezzar’s dream he saw a stone that “struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them” (Daniel 2:34). As a consequence of the stone smiting the Colossus, Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar, “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. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth” (Daniel 2:35).

THE PREACHER’S ANALYSIS

The Colossus represented four specific and consecutive nations which would emerge and rule over Israel during “the times of the Gentiles.” There were other powerful nations but they were not mentioned in Scripture because they did not directly impact Israel, and Israel is important because she is inseparably connected to the Savior. The Colossus had a glow about it because it represented the glory of the nations apart from God. The metals of the Colossus grew stronger as viewed from head to feet (silver is stronger than gold, brass is stronger than silver, and iron is stronger than brass). The exception was in the feet and toes, which were a mixture of iron and clay indicating the final kingdom would be partly strong and partly weak, or “fragile.”

The Colossus’ head of gold represents Babylon, located along the shores of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Ancient Babylon is modern-day Iraq – and we have not heard of the end of Iraq yet. The Bible has much to say about Babylon in the last days.
The silver chest and arms of the Colossus represent Medo-Persia. Persia changed its name to Iran in 1935, and Iran still speaks the language of ancient Persia. Iranians were largely behind the recent conflict between Israel and Hezbollah and are well on their way to developing atomic bombs which their president threatens Israel with. The brass belly and thighs of the Colossus represent the Grecian Empire of Alexander the Great. Ancient Greece is modern-day Syria. If it is asked how Greece became Syria, history provides a clear and convincing answer.

In the year 322 B.C., Alexander moved his army east from Macedonia across the Aegean Sea into Asia Minor. In the years that followed, with rapid and amazing strategy, Alexander defeated the Persian army. He continued east, conquering everything in his path, all the way to the border of India and south Egypt. In all his areas of conquest Alexander spread the Greek language, dress, philosophy, and gods. Alexander died without ever returning to Greece in Macedonia, and all his vast, conquered territory became a part of the Greek Empire. Following Alexander’s death at thirty-two or thirty-three years of age, his empire, after a period of struggle, was divided up among his four generals, Cassander, Lysimachus, Ptolemy, and Seleucid. Two of the generals, and the dynasties which they established, are prophetically important. Ptolemy controlled the area of Egypt, and Seleucid, the area of greater Syria.

In the year of 168 B.C., Antiochus Epiphanes of the Seleucid dynasty marched his army against Israel. He attempted to outlaw the observance of the Mosaic Covenant with all of its practices. And he substituted the worship of the true God for the worship of the Grecian god Zues (or Jupiter). Almost the entire eleventh chapter of Daniel is given over to the Greek Empire. and the attempt of Antiochus to convert Jews to paganism. Syria represents the Grecian Empire of the Colossus. The iron and clay feet and toes of the Colossus are the reconstituted Roman Empire. The Roman Empire, in its final phase, is repeatedly said to be different than all the other empires (Daniel 7:23). It is to be identified with the European Union. At present, there are twenty-five member nations in the European Union. Two more nations have applied for membership. It has the strength of iron because it is a union of nations with a citizenry and economy already larger than America. It has the weakness of clay because its members each want to contain their own uniqueness and culture (nations like France, Spain, Belgium, etc.) and, therefore, do not always act in concert with the whole.

Within the larger body is a smaller body known as the W.E.U., or Western European Union. Their very first meeting was held in the Vatican in 1951. By 1981, there were ten member nations. These ten member nations of the W.E.U. represent the ten horns of the fourth beast empire (Rome) of Daniel 7. It is the ten W.E.U. nations which control the military of the European Union as well as their budget.
It is no longer twenty-five independent nations but one voice which speaks for much of Europe and represents the Roman Empire. His name is Javier Solana of Spain, of whom I shall say nothing further at this time, except Christians should watch him closely. The important prophetic concept to understand is this: The Colossus is back. Most commentators, in interpreting Daniel 2, suggest that Persia defeated Babylon, Greece defeated Persia, and Rome superseded Greece. And at the end, what remains is the revived Roman Empire of ten nations, over which the Antichrist will rule and be the final persecutor of Israel. In this approach, a critical component of understanding Daniels interpretation of the Colossus has been largely overlooked. It is not just a revived Roman Empire that will reemerge at the end of time, but all four empires that make up the entire Colossus. These nations are now back as persecutors of Israel. Persia defeated the Babylonians, but that was not Babylon’s end. Rome superseded the Greeks, but that was not the end of Greece. In the fourth and fifth centuries A.D., Rome faded into insignificance, but that was not Rome’s end. Just as Israel has been “resurrected” in recent years, the four kingdoms of the Colossus have also been “resurrected” to oppose Israel in the last days. Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar that at the end of the age a stone will smite the Colossus on the feet and toes and the entire Colossus would come tumbling down. That requires that all four kingdoms be present at the end of the age.

Look at them. I mean really take a look. Babylon is Iraq, Persia is Iran, and Greece is Syria. And what do they want to do above all else, even if it requires suicide bombers, atomic bombs, and the destruction of their nations? Annihilate Israel!
These three nations pose the greatest danger to Israel today. And if they could destroy America along the way, they would be delighted. The real reason is this: The Jews are God’s covenant people and the people of the Old Testament. America is the most Christian nation and greatly influenced by the New Testament. Together, they stand in direct conflict with Islam and its prophet, Mohammad, and pagan deity, Allah. But what about the revived Roman Empire? In the cease-fire to come between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanese soldiers and United Nations forces will be inserted into southern Lebanon. If history tells us anything, they will be ineffective peacekeepers. But I believe a third force will be inserted – soldiers from some of the nations of the European Union and possibly, in time, under the control of Javier Solana. This will place the revived Roman Empire into a strategic location on the border of Israel to eventually, through the Antichrist, become the great persecutor of Israel and initiator of the Great Tribulation.

THE SMITING STONE

Daniel spoke of a “stone” that would smite the Colossus on the feet. The stone is Christ. He is referred to as the “chief cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:20) and as the “stone of stumbling” (1 Peter 2:8). In Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, Christ d the smiting stone (Daniel 2:34-35). As the Lion of the tribe of Judah, Son of David, and bonafide King of Israel, He will smite the image on its feet and the image will, all at the same time, come tumbling down. It will bring about the end of “the times of the Gentiles” and the ultimate defeat of idolatry and all false religion. But more than that, the stone that smote the image will become a great mountain and fill the whole earth (Daniel 2:35). The “great mountain” that fills the whole earth is interpreted by Daniel so that we are not left in doubt as to its meaning: “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).

Here, then, is the ultimate answer to the prayers of God’s sons and daughters through the centuries, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).

***

MY NOTE: The reign of Nebuchadnezzar is recorded in history – not just in the Bible, but in many other ancient texts that are accepted as being legit. What you just read really happened. Daniel was a real person. Nebuchadnezzar was a real king who reigned over Babylon in the years of 605 B.C. to 502 B.C. King Zedekiah was a real king who ruled over Jerusalem in the years of 597 B.C. to 587 B.C. and was dethroned by Nebuchadnezzar. The Persians really conquered Babylon as Daniel predicted. ALL of the mentioned rulers were real. ALL of the mentioned events happened and are recorded in history for everyone to see. Some of the historical events that Daniel interpreted have LITERALLY occurred – and the book of Daniel was written well before their actual occurrence. The rest of the interpretation has yet to occur. The dating shows us that this much is true. These simple facts cannot be refuted. Upon agreeing with this obvious truth, you must then come to a conclusion: The encounter the king had with Daniel (a person who is proven to have existed) was either made up by historians and the king’s scribes, or it literally happened. However, you must take into account that much of the historical events predicted did occur after the text was written. If this is true (which that much obviously is), then the message it contains holds all the significance in the world. I believe there is a large amount of evidence favoring the truth of this documentation. As a result, whether one believes it is bogus or not, more attention should be paid to this text. If one thinks it is a stupid fairytale, they should definitely step back and really extensively examine the historical facts and only afterward make a proclamation. It would be ridiculous for anyone to not look into the details: believer or not. The truth matters. Seek the truth, it means everything.