Bible Readings for the Home Circle Part 55

10. With what words did Daniel begin the interpretation of the dream?

"Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the G.o.d of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath He given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. _Thou art this head of gold._" Verses 37, 38.

NOTE.-The character of the Babylonian Empire is fittingly indicated by the nature of the material composing that portion of the image by which it was symbolized-the head of gold. It was "the golden kingdom of a golden age." The city of Babylon, its metropolis, according to history towered to a height never equaled by any of its later rivals. "Situated in the garden of the East; laid put in a perfect square sixty miles in circ.u.mference, fifteen miles on each side, surrounded by a wall three hundred and fifty feet high and eighty-seven feet thick, with a moat, or ditch, around this, of equal cubic capacity with the wall itself; divided into six hundred and seventy-six squares, laid out in luxuriant pleasure-grounds and gardens, interspersed with magnificent dwellings,-this city, containing in itself many things which were themselves wonders of the world, was itself another and still mightier wonder.... Such was Babylon, with Nebuchadnezzar, youthful, bold, vigorous, and accomplished, seated upon its throne."

11. What was to be the nature of the next kingdom after Babylon?

"After thee shall arise another kingdom _inferior to thee_." Verse 39, first part.

12. Who was the last Babylonian king?

"In that night was _Belshazzar_ the king of the Chaldeans slain. And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old." Dan. 5:30, 31. See also verses 1, 2.

13. To whom was Belshazzar's kingdom given?

"Thy kingdom is divided, and given to _the Medes and Persians_." Verse 28.

14. By what is the Medo-Persian Empire represented in the great image?

"The breast and arms of silver." Dan. 2:32.

15. By what is Grecia, the kingdom succeeding Medo-Persia, represented in the image?

"His belly and his thighs of _bra.s.s_." Verse 32. "And another _third kingdom of bra.s.s_, which shall bear rule over all the earth." Verse 39.

16. What is said of the fourth kingdom?

"And the fourth kingdom _shall be strong as iron_: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, _shall it break in pieces and bruise_." Verse 40.

17. What scripture shows that the Roman emperors ruled the world?

"And it came to pa.s.s in those days, that _there went out a __ decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed_." Luke 2:1.

NOTE.-Describing the Roman conquests, Gibbon uses the very imagery employed in the vision of Daniel 2. He says: "The arms of the republic, sometimes vanquished in battle, always victorious in war, advanced with rapid steps to the Euphrates, the Danube, the Rhine, and the ocean; and the images of _gold_, or _silver_, or _bra.s.s_, that might serve to represent the nations and their kings, were successively broken by the _iron_ monarchy of Rome."-_"__Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,__"__ chap. 38, par. I, under __"__General Observations,__"__ at the close of the chapter._

18. What was indicated by the mixture of clay and iron in the feet and toes of the image?

"And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, _the kingdom shall be divided_." Dan. 2:41.

19. In what prophetic language was the varying strength of the ten kingdoms of the divided empire indicated?

"And as the toes of the feet were _part of iron, and part of clay_, so the kingdom shall be _partly strong, and partly broken_ [margin, _brittle_]."

Verse 42.

20. Were any efforts to be made to reunite the divided empire of Rome?

"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." Verse 43.

NOTES.-Charlemagne, Charles V, Louis XIV, and Napoleon all tried to reunite the broken fragments of the Roman Empire, but failed.

By marriage and intermarriage ties have been formed with a view to strengthening and cementing together the shattered kingdom; but none have succeeded. The element of disunion remains. Many political revolutions and territorial changes have occurred in Europe since the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 A.D.; but its divided state still remains.

This remarkable dream, as interpreted by Daniel, presents in the briefest form, and yet with unmistakable clearness, the course of world empires from the time of Nebuchadnezzar to the close of earthly history and the setting up of the everlasting kingdom of G.o.d. The history confirms the prophecy. The sovereignty of the world was held by Babylon from the time of this dream, B.C. 603, until B.C. 538, when it pa.s.sed to the Medes and Persians. The victory of the Grecian forces at the battle of Arbela, in B.C.

331, marked the downfall of the Medo-Persian Empire, and the Greeks then became the undisputed rulers of the world. The battle of Pydna, in Macedonia, in B.C. 168, was the last organized effort to withstand a world-wide conquest by the Romans, and at that time therefore the sovereignty pa.s.sed from the Greeks to the Romans, and the fourth kingdom was fully established. The division of Rome into ten kingdoms is definitely foretold in the vision recorded in the seventh chapter of Daniel, and occurred between the years 351 A.D. and 476 A.D.

21. What is to take place in the days of these kingdoms?

"And in the days of these kings shall _the G.o.d of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed_: ... but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever." Verse 44.

NOTE.-This verse foretells the establishment of another universal kingdom, the kingdom of G.o.d. This kingdom is to overthrow and supplant all existing earthly kingdoms, and is to stand forever.

The time for the setting up of this kingdom was to be "in the days of these kings." This cannot refer to the four preceding empires, or kingdoms; for they were not contemporaneous, but successive; neither can it refer to an establishment of the kingdom at Christ's first advent, for the ten kingdoms which arose out of the ruins of the Roman Empire were not yet in existence. It must therefore be yet future.

22. In what announcement in the New Testament is the establishment of the kingdom of G.o.d made known?

"And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, _The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ_; and He shall reign forever and ever." Rev. 11:15.

23. For what have we been taught to pray?

"_Thy kingdom come._ Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." Matt.

6:10.

24. What event is closely a.s.sociated with the establishment of G.o.d's everlasting kingdom?

"I charge thee therefore before G.o.d, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at _His appearing_ and His kingdom." 2 Tim.

4:1.

25. With what prayer do the Scriptures close?

"He that testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. _Even so, come, Lord Jesus._" Rev. 22:20.

Look for the way-marks as you journey on, Look for the way-marks, pa.s.sing one by one: Down through the ages, past the kingdoms four,- Where are we standing? Look the way-marks o'er.

First, Babylonia's kingdom ruled the world, Then Medo-Persia's banners were unfurled; And after Greece held universal sway, Rome seized the scepter,-where are we today?

Down in the feet of iron and of clay, Weak and divided, soon to pa.s.s away; What will the next great, glorious drama be?- Christ and His coming, and eternity.

F. E. BELDEN.