The Kingdom Shall Be Divided

Thus the prophetic word foretold the breaking up of the mighty Roman Empire. Out of the welter
of confusion, the wreck of nations, the destruction of institutions, the sacrifice of treasure resultant from
centuries of frugality, through eyes grief-dimmed by the loss of the flower of its young manhood, the
ravishment of its womanhood, the slaughter of infancy and age, through clouds of smoking human blood a
distraught world looks anxiously for its signs of surcease. Will the elusive mirage of world peace based
upon a trust in European solidarity, the result of wishful thinking, again cause men to forget the counsel of
the word of God, "They shall not cleave one to another"?

Alliances may come, and it may appear that the iron and miry clay of the feet and toes of the great
image have finally fused, but God said, "They shall not cleave one to another." It may seem that old
animosities have disappeared and that the "ten kings" have gone the way of all the earth, but "the Scripture
cannot be broken." John 10: 35.

We conclude with a word by William Newton: "And yet if, as the result of these alliances, or of
other causes, that number is sometimes disturbed, it need not surprise us. The iron was 'mixed with clay.'
For a season, in the image, you might not distinguish between them. But they would not remain so. 'They
shall not cleave one to another.' The nature of the substances forbids them to do so in the one case; the
word of prophecy in the other. Yet there was to be the attempt to mingle nay, more, there was an approach
at mingling in both cases. But it was to be abortive. And how marked the emphasis with which history
affirms this declaration of the word of God!" [11]
Verse 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. 45 Forasmuch as thou saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain
without hands, and that it brake 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.

The God of Heaven to Set Up a Kingdom. We here reach the climax of this stupendous prophecy.
Daniel and Revelation by Uriah Smith When Time in his onward flight shall bring us to the sublime scene here predicted, we shall have reached
the end of human history. The kingdom of God! Grand provision for a new and glorious dispensation, in
which His people shall find a happy terminus of this world's sad, degenerate, and changing career.
Transporting change for all the righteous, from gloom to glory, from strife to peace, from a sinful to a holy
world, from death to life, from tyranny and oppression to the happy freedom and blessed privileges of a
heavenly kingdom! Glorious transition, from weakness to strength, from the changing and decaying to the
immutable and eternal!

But when is this kingdom to be established? May we hope for an answer to an inquiry of such
momentous concern to our race? These are the very questions on which the word of God does not leave us
in ignorance, and herein is seen the surpassing value of this heavenly boon.
The Bible plainly declares that the kingdom of God was still future at the time of our Lord's last
Passover. (Matthew 26: 29.) Christ did not set up the kingdom before His ascension. (Acts 1: 6.) It states
further that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of god. (1 Corinthians 15: 50.) It is a matter of
promise to the apostles, and to all those who love God. (James 2: 5.) It is promised in the future to the
little flock. (Luke 12: 32.) Through much tribulation the saints are to enter the coming kingdom. (Acts 14:
22.) It is to be set up when Christ shall judge the living and the dead. (2 Timothy 4: 1.) This is to be when
He shall come in His glory with all His holy angels. (Matthew 25: 31-34.).)

We do not say that the exact time is revealed (we emphasize the fact that it is not) in this prophecy
of Daniel 2 or in any other prophecy; but so near an approximation is given that the generation which is to
see the establishment of this kingdom may mark its approach unerringly, and make that preparation which
will entitle the children of God to share in all its glories.

Time has fully developed this great image in all its parts. Most accurately does it represent the
important political events it was designed to symbolize. It has stood complete for more than fourteen
centuries. It waits to be smitten upon the feet by the stone cut out of the mountain without hands, that is,
the kingdom of Christ. This is to be accomplished when the Lord shall be revealed in flaming fire, "taking
vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." 2
Thessalonians 1: 8. (See also Psalm 2: 8, 9.) In the days of these kings the God of heaven is to set up a
kingdom. We have been in the days of these kings for many centuries, and we are still in their days. So far
as this prophecy is concerned, the very next event is the setting up of God's everlasting kingdom. Other
prophecies and innumerable signs show unmistakably that the coming of Christ is near at hand.
The early Christian church interpreted the prophecies of Daniel 2, 7, and 8 as we do now.
Hippolytus, who lived AD 160-236, and is thought to have been a disciple of Irenaeus, one of the four
greatest theologians of his age, says in his exposition of Daniel 2 and Daniel 7:
"The golden head of the image and lioness denoted the Babylonians; the shoulders and arms of
silver, and the bear, represented the Persians and Medes; the belly and thighs of brass, and the leopard,
meant the Greeks, who held the sovereignty from Alexander's time; the legs of iron, and the beast dreadful
and terrible, expressed the Romans, who hold the sovereignty at present; the toes of the feet which were
part clay and part iron, and the ten horns, were emblems of the kingdoms that are yet to rise; the other
little horn that grows up among them meant the Antichrist in their midst; the stone that smites the earth
and brings judgment upon the world was Christ." [12]

A Stone Smote The Image Upon His Feet

The last act in the drama of world events will be the establishment of Christ's kingdom in the
earth. "Speak with me, O blessed Daniel. Give me full assurance, I beseech thee. Thou does prophesy
concerning the lioness in Babylon; for thou was a captive there. Thou has unfolded the future regarding
the bear; for thou was still in the world, and did see the things come to pass. Then thou spoke to me of the
leopard; and whence can thou know this, for thou art already gone to thy rest? Who instructed thee to
announce these things, but He who formed thee in (from) thy mother's womb? That is God, thou said.
Thou has spoken indeed, and that not falsely. The leopard has arisen; the he-goat is come; he hath broken
Daniel and Revelation by Uriah Smith his horns in pieces; he hath stamped upon him with his feet. He has been exalted by his fall; (the) four
horns have come up from under that one. Rejoice, blessed Daniel! Thou has not been in error: all these
things have come to pass.

"After this again thou has told me of the beast dreadful and terrible. 'It had iron teeth and claws of
brass: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it.' Already the iron rules;
already it subdues and breaks all in pieces; already it brings all the unwilling into subjection; already we
see these things ourselves. Now we glorify God, being instructed by thee." [13]
The part of the prophecy that had been fulfilled at that time was clear to the early Christians. They
saw also that there would develop ten kingdoms out of the Roman Empire, and that the Antichrist would
appear among them. They looked forward with hope to the grand consummation, when the Second
Coming of Christ would bring an end to all earthly kingdoms, and the kingdom of righteousness would be
set up.

The coming kingdom! This ought to be the all-absorbing topic with the present generation.
Reader, are you ready for the issue? He who enters this kingdom shall dwell in it not merely for such a
lifetime as men live in this present state. He shall not see it degenerate, or be overthrown by a succeeding
and more powerful kingdom. No, he enters it to participate in all its privileges and blessings, and to share
its glories forever, for this kingdom is not to "be left to other people."
Again we ask you, Are you ready? The terms of heir ship are most liberal: "If you be Christ's, then
are you Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Galatians 3: 29. Are you on terms of
friendship with Christ, the coming King? Do you love His character? Are you trying to walk humbly in
His footsteps, and obey His teachings? If not, read your fate in the cases of those in the parable, of whom
it was said, "But those Mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and
slay them before Me." Luke 19: 27. There is to be no rival kingdom where you can find an asylum if you
remain an enemy to this, for God's kingdom is to occupy all the territory ever possessed by any and all of
the kingdoms of this world, past or present. It is to fill the whole earth. Happy they to whom the rightful
Sovereign, the all-conquering King, at last can say, "Come you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of the world." Matthew 25: 34.

Verse 46 Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and
commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odors unto him. 47 The king answered unto
Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of
secrets, seeing thou could reveal this secret. 48 Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him
many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over
all the wise men of Babylon. 49 Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.
We must return to the palace of Nebuchadnezzar, and to Daniel, as he stands in the presence of
the king. He has made known to the monarch the dream and its interpretation, while the courtiers and the
baffled soothsayers and astrologers waited in silent awe and wonder.
Nebuchadnezzar Exalts Daniel. In fulfillment of his promise of rewards the king made Daniel a
great man. There are two things which in this life are specially supposed to make a man great, and both
these Daniel received from the king: A man is considered great if he is a man of wealth; and we read that
the king gave him many and great gifts. If in conjunction with riches a man has power, certainly in
popular estimation he is considered a great man; and power was bestowed upon Daniel in abundant
measure. He was made ruler over the province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise
men of Babylon. Thus speedily and abundantly did Daniel begin to be rewarded for his fidelity to his own
conscience and requirements of God.

Daniel did not become bewildered or intoxicated by his signal victory and his wonderful
advancement. He first remembered the three who were companions with him in anxiety respecting the
king's matter. As they had helped him with their prayers, he determined that they should share his honors.
At his request they were placed over the affairs of Babylon, while Daniel himself sat in the gate of the
king. The gate was the place where councils were held and where matters of chief moment were
considered. The record is a simple declaration that Daniel became chief counselor to the king.