Sometime around 606 BC, an empire was started which would dominate the world. It’s king was Nebuchadnezzar; the land, Babylon.
Because of the sins of the nation of Israel, and the rebellion of the prophet Hananiah (Jeremiah 28), God gave this king dominion over the entire world, including the animals. As had been prophesied concerning the judgment of God’s people, he conquered God’s land and destroyed their city. He enslaved the people. In his pride, he exalted himself, but God humbled him, until the time came when he acknowledged that God alone was on high.
Yet, in the middle of all of this, this king set up an idol on a flat plain and commanded everyone to worship it. He said, whoever does not bow down and worship this image will be thrown into this firey hot place, the furnace. By this demonic act, this pagan king set the stage for the next 1,000 years of history. Erecting this idol erected a veil, and the eyes of men were drawn, through the spirit of Babylon, from the unseen to the seen. Men’s eyes were hindered even more from finding and seeking the one true God and were bound instead to the thing on the plain, to the worship of idols, and hence, to the wicked realms of darkness.
For nearly 1,000 years, this world-ruling dominion continued, through four successive empires, Babylon, Media-Persia, Greece, and Rome. They ruled known world, dominated all men, and trampled down the people and things of God.
But, God had a plan. He told this king, and later his prophet Daniel, that this thing was for a season and would come to an end. In the time of the fourth kingdom, Rome, God would shatter the glory of all four of these kingdoms together, together with the spiritual power behind them, and He Himself would set up His own Kingdom which would endure forever.
In the unfolding of God’s plan, we read of something that reminds us of what God had intended to do in the life of Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar had seen a glimpse of God’s real plan, and, in his human ability, somehow, someway, whether he knew it or not, attempted to act out what he saw. You see, in the establishment of God’s kingdom, God Himself set up His own image, Colossians 1:15. Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God, and God has set Him up to be worshiped and adored by all, so that when they hear the music, all should fall prostrate and bow before Him. And, let it be duly stated, whoever does not bow down and worship this image, this image of the invisible God, the exact representation of the being of the Father, the man Jesus Christ, they will be thrown forever into His firey hot place, the blazing furnace (Matthew 13:42, 50), the lake of fire.
Yet What Nebuchadnezzar discerned and attempted to do in his own flesh, by means of human agency, God demonstrates His own Kingdom’s superiority. As with the greatest fires available, a seven-fold heated furnace (which killed even the strongest guards), the sons of the Kingdom, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s real names) were not consumed by the fires of darkness.
For a thousand years, this prophecy of these three Hebrew boys stood as a testimony to the coming destruction of the empires of Daniel 2, and, beyond that, to the greatness of the Kingdom of our God. What the greatest demonic nation of all time could not do was to overcome even the least in the Kingdom. Nebuchadnezzar’s greatness, and the kingdoms after him, were empowered by the judgment of God against His own people. Because even Nebuchadnezzar’s authority was only what it was, because it was given by God, he could not overcome what God had put into these three Hebrew youths. God is proved right, and every man a liar. But, God’s plans and purposes to bring forth Messiah were also put into motion, and a 490 year calendar was installed, waiting for the coming of the Prince, the anointed one, Jesus Christ, the Lamb and only begotten Son of God. He was setting up His Kingdom.
This was the waiting period of the Jews, the time to look forward to, and the time for hope. This was the promise of the restoration of the Kingdom of God to Israel, which had been taken from them when they had gone into exile. This was the hope of the nation, that they would be restored.
But, within the prophecy of the King itself, within its own verses, was not only the construction and rebuilding of Jerusalem, but also its undoing. Not only would it be rebuilt and lived in, with a street and a moat, but both it and it’s people, along with the sanctuary, would be destroyed, left desolate, and be abandoned.
This promised coming was not without cost, and even the Messiah Himself would face rejection.
But, the Kingdom of God, the hope of Israel, would be established. Somehow, in the midst of the storm, the light would shine in the darkness.
This, then, is the Kingdom we are living in, and of which we are a partaker of today. This is the Kingdom that delivered three Hebrew boys who would compromise and worship any but the true God of the Jews. This is the Kingdom that God set up through the coming of His Son two thousand years ago. This is the Kingdom in which He did His mighty deliverances and miracles. This is the Kingdom which crushed all four of those kingdoms. And, this is the Kingdom in which we boldly, joyfully, and with full assurance of faith go before the throne of God with confidence.
This is the picture of the Kingdom, as we see it laid forth in Scripture. We see a completely fulfilled Daniel, an Olivet Discourse that prophesied a 70 AD destruction and a yet future Second Coming, and we see a future hope for Israel, when, one day, all their backsliding will be healed, God will reign spiritually from Jerusalem once again, and the Holy Spirit, hence the Kingdom, will be given to all the Jews as they bow their knee to Messiah, Jesus.
We see Revelation as largely fulfilled, and we are presently somewhere in the middle of Revelation 20. We await a coming war over Jerusalem, and the future Second Coming. We believe in an at-face-value approach to Scripture, Scripture should be fulfilled in the plain reading of the text, with allowances for the normal customs of language. We may not have an official heremeneutic (Shouldn’t there be a better name for such a thing than one based off the Greek god Hermes, anyway?), but we believe the Bible was written to be understood, and that plainly. Therefore, our method of understanding is as follows.
First, it is that text stands as the authority, and it stands as it is. It means what it says and says what it means. If the text says such and such should happen, we should expect that to occur, unless there is some other thing to indicate otherwise. And, additionally, we understand that particularly Revelation makes use of prophetic titles of things, rather than their actual name. Some of these prophetic titles are clearly identified, such as when a city is “spiritually called Sodom”, we know “Sodom” is only a spiritual title, a parallel to it. In other cases, the parallels drawn are not as directly stated, such as Babylon, which we interpret as Rome.
Secondly, we must always interpret Scripture in a way that other Scriptures with known fulfillment have been interpreted. Does historically fulfilled prophecy support dual fulfillment? To what degree are other prophecies interpreted spiritually as opposed to primarily literally? Is there support for partial fulfillment and unexpected gaps in fulfillment? And, perhaps one of the most telling, if we used our interpretive model on a prophecy with a known or fulfilled result, would we have agreed with the known historical fulfillment using our method when it arrived? We keep in mind what God has already done with a mind to understand what God is saying. As Proverbs says,
All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them. They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge.
Proverbs 8:8-9, emphasis added
To the person with understanding, and to the one finding knowledge, they words of Scripture are plain, righteous, and there is nothing perverse in them. They speak plainly, for the person who wants to hear.
But it is then the nature of the rock of Daniel 2 that is the starting point of our of study. Daniel is a sure foundation for any understanding of the End Times. It is the prophecies of Daniel that set the time table for Messiah, for the breaking of the power of the Jews, and the for the destruction of the temple. If we are to understand the fullness of what was prophesied, we should be able to find our footing in understanding what Daniel was shown.
So, that is what we are looking at. If it is to come, it is by Revelation; if it is to be understood, it is to be by faith! 1 Corinthians 13:2.
Our initial search consists of looking for as many identifiable markers in history as possible with which to identify that age-old question, “Where are we?” And, being knowledgeable of the Gospels, when one starts to talk about God having a Kingdom, then you’re speaking our language. A Kingdom was what was talked about, and when Jesus came, a Kingdom that was previously unavailable was suddenly here, or “at hand”. A dominion, while not always seen demonstrated today, was promised, and a victory over all the powers of darkness was stated, regardless of the belief and persuasions or even results of men.
Could this Kingdom be that Kingdom rock? Of course it could be, and it must be, but then what of this the common, modern commentaries of all these thoughts that put the rock falling and crushing off in some distant future? How could so many reputable scholars see the declaration in Mark 1:15 that the time was fulfilled and the Kingdom was here, and not see the rock of Daniel 2:44? We saw the language of Daniel, which said, “will set up a Kingdom”, and we see Jesus teaching His flock. We saw a Kingdom crushing Rome, as Babylon, and we see none of those four empires today. Rather, we see a church that, like a rock becoming a mountain, has filled the whole earth.
We do not set out to prove nor disprove any theory. But, rather, as it is seen, we need to understand why it was that so many theologians were attempting to take from us this concept of the Kingdom. What was it that they were seeing that precluded the possibility that the Kingdom was, in fact, here? What was being misunderstood with regards to this realm of the Holy Ghost?
So, we seek to divide which specific portions of scripture could readily be identified as historical, and which were in question or future. As it has progressed, we understood that these truths are knowable, as they are given by God, and as one diligently searches out the scriptures, they are indeed revealed–many of them, anyway. These are truths, and some of them must be known in this day and in this hour, and when you have the substance of it, that is faith, there is no doubt.
While we may not come to perfect faith in every detail any interpretation, simply because as it stands, there are probably portions that still need further insight. But, we have faith in the scriptures, and, if at some point here or there aspects of certain verses have been misapplied, it is the unbreakable Word itself we can come back to. If, by some stroke, the dispensationalists are totally correct, if we know the actual Word and not merely men’s interpretations, will recognize it when we see it, through the illumination of the Holy Spirit, and we will gladly agree with Him. If, in the course of events, we find myself raptured, or I start to see the seals start breaking in sequence, as it were, we will certainly not let our pride about being right keep us in our “doctrine”.
But, for now, let us concern ourselves with what is knowable. Let us make a diligent search and ascertain what was actually said in the text, and see what God reveals. If we lay aside the assumptions, the presuppositions, we begin a foundation of study on the Word of God that will provide a reliable foundation for developing the rest. Again, our study begins primarily in Daniel. For us, the subject made little sense and held less interest until Daniel.
What are the statue and beasts of Daniel? If the rock is the Kingdom, how could anyone say it isn’t here? If to “set up” means to “set up”, then what type of Kingdom are we looking for? If “set up” means to plant, then surely the Kingdom is here. If “set up” only happens once the tree gets to be three years old casts shade on the Earth, you’ve got some explaining to do.
And that, in essence becomes the focus of this interpretation: What is the nature of this Kingdom that Daniel foresaw crushing the statue of Babylon? To us, if you solve that riddle, you have understood the Gospels, in reverse, and if you’ve solved that, you are well on your way to something great.
That is to say, when we study the End Times, we are merely attempting answer the questions Jesus already did,
What is the Kingdom of Heaven Like? And, to what shall I compare it to?
Luke 13:18
At the end of the matter, since the whole of the Gospel is the Kingdom, and Christ it’s only door, if our results don’t match Jesus’, in the plain and honest meaning of the text, haven’t we missed it along The Way?
So, let us look a little more closely at this Kingdom, this rock cut out, but not with human hands (Daniel 2:34)…