Good Morning! - Daniel 2:43-45 - God's Coming Kingdom - 2009.12.07

And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.

(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 forever.

(45) Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure (Daniel 2:43-45).

Jesus taught us to pray:

And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth (Luke 11:2).

This is the kingdom Jesus told us to pray about. One of the best study Bibles for the Book of Daniel and these events is the Scofield Reference Bible © 1909. These Bible study notes were copyrighted several years before the Communist Revolution in Russia in 1917.

In those study notes the prophecies pertaining to Israel's return to their homeland is affirmed, long before mainstream theology and the news media were willing to admit the possibility. The notes go further to include the coming of Christ to Jerusalem to sit upon the throne of David as the ruler of the world, ruling with a rod of iron (Psalm 2). Today, a hundred years later, practically all the conservative Bible commentaries and study Bibles agree that the Stone is coming to the earth to set up a literal kingdom that will rule the world.

Of interest is the prophecy in Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39 naming Gog/Magog, the people from the north of Israel. Many if not most conservative scholars believe this to be modern day Russia, which will send an army to take Israel but will be destroyed upon the mountains of Israel. God will send a fire. The source of the fire is not given. It could be similar to the fire of Sodom and Gomorrah in which it is believed that earthquakes opened up the ground and spewed out tremendous fire and hot gas. These two chapters describe the time immediately before the coming of Jesus in the clouds with His saints to set up his kingdom.

I'm reminded that God tells us: My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children (Hosea 4:6).

We do not live in the specific time about which these words were directed, but on the other hand, these words are timeless and will apply to any place on the earth. It says: "My people." I believe it certainly applies to us in the United States of America. It is obvious to me and obvious to many other Christians that American Christianity, for all of its generosity, is weak. Christians tend to know little about their Bibles. How many Christians do you know who are familiar with the writings of Daniel and Ezekiel and Hosea and of the words of Jesus and the apostles that pertain to the end times?

Memory Verses for this week:

And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. (31) And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. (32) He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: (33) And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end (Luke 1:30-33).