6. The Statue & the Stone
The Statue and the Stone – Overview
Introduction – Gentile Kingdoms and the Stone Kingdom of God
The Statue represents four successive Gentile kingdoms starting in 590 BC. The Stone is God’s future everlasting kingdom. Yahweh gave a dream to Babylon’s king, foretelling the Gentile kingdoms being replaced by God’s kingdom which fills the whole earth.
Dan 2:32-35
Yahweh used Babylon—the 1st Gentile kingdom—in 590 BC to discipline Judah. King Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the temple and Jerusalem, taking many Jews captive back to Babylon. Then Yahweh gave the king the statue vision, which Daniel, from Judah, interpreted.
Similarly, Yahweh used the other three Gentile kingdoms for His purposes. However, one day He will send His Messiah to destroy the fourth kingdom and establish His eternal kingdom on the whole earth.
The 2nd kingdom after Babylon is Medo-Persia and the 3rd kingdom is Greece.
Dan 5:23-31 Dan 10:13-20
Many say that Rome was the 4th kingdom, but that kingdom is never named in Daniel or Revelation. However, it is described as being different from the other kingdoms. The significant difference from scripture, is that the 4th Kingdom devours the ‘whole earth’. It is conquered by God’s kingdom which also covers the whole earth.
Dan 7:23 Dan 2:35
Looking at a map — Rome never conquered the whole of Alexander the Great’s Greek kingdom, especially to the east (Babylon to India) and neither did it devour the whole earth.
The ‘whole earth’ can be interpreted in different ways and there are many other ideas about the identity of the 4th kingdom/beast. However, it remains clear that the Messiah will return and defeat it. This website tries to focus on what is clear and remains open to understanding when it happens.
The sections below give the following details:
- King Nebuchadnezzar’s Statue Dream: 4 Gentile Kingdoms
- Timeline – from 590 BC to the coming Kingdom of God on earth
Four Gentile Kingdoms are represented by four beasts:
- 1st Babylon – Lion with wings of an eagle
- 2nd Medo-Persia – Bear with three ribs in its mouth
- 3rd Greece – a Leopard with 4 wings
- 4th Kingdom with no name – A most Terrible Beast with 10 horns
- 4th Kingdom: Final ruler – The Little Horn that brings Tribulation
The fifth Kingdom – the Stone that covers the earth:
- The Stone – the Messiah’s Kingdom conquers the 4th Kingdom
End Times and Daniel
Over 30% of the bible is about prophecy in order that people can be aware of God’s purposes. Those who understand are equipped, warned about the future, given hope, have increased faith and a greater appreciation of God’s plans for Israel and the Gentiles.
Jesus confirms that understanding of the End Times comes from the prophecies given to Daniel. Today, they give insights into past, present and future events as well as unlocking imagery in Revelation.
Mrk 13:14
King Nebuchadnezzar’s Statue Dream
King Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream
- After Judah’s exile to Babylon in 590BC, Yahweh gave King Nebuchadnezzar a dream about a statue in 4 sections made from different metals.
After this a stone (the Messiah) destroys the statue and then becomes a mountain which fills the whole earth.
Dan 2:32-35
King Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream Interpretation
Daniel Interprets the Dream
- The statue represents three gentile kingdoms that reigned successively on earth from 590 BC and a fourth kingdom which will reign until the Messiah returns to establish His kingdom over the whole earth.
Dan 2:36-40 - King Nebuchadnezzar is told that Babylon is the first Kingdom.
- Later on in a vision, Daniel is told that Persia and Greece are the kingdoms after Babylon.
Dan 10:20
- Note that the fourth kingdom is not given a name, it is not like the previous ones and has ten horns.
Dan 7:7
The God of heaven will set up a kingdom
The Stone will break all these kingdoms
The Stone breaks all the kingdoms into pieces and then the God in heaven replaces them with His everlasting kingdom on earth, ruled by the Messiah and His Saints.
Dan 2:44-45
The Statue timeline: The Age of the Gentile Kingdoms
The First three Gentile Kingdoms
Each kingdom expanded by adding all of the previous kingdom’s territories to their own. Babylon added Judea, Medo-Persia added Babylon and Greece added Medo-Persia to it’s territory.
The Fall of the Geek Kingdom
No single kingdom conquered the Greek territory. Over many decades, dynasties like Parthia, Kushan and Mauryan took parts of the eastern Greek kingdom and later Rome took the western part.
However, despite its downfall, Greece’s influence is very much alive today, through it’s beliefs – philosophy, science, law, politics and religion.
- Egyptian gods: Amun & Hathor
- Mesopotamian gods: Marduk & Ishtar
- Persian gods: Ahura Mazda & Anahita
- Indian gods: Indra & Lakshmi
- Hebrew God: Alexander never syncretised
The Fourth Kingdom Crossover Period
From Scripture we know that the fourth kingdom is between the Greek kingdom and the Messiah’s kingdom.
- the kingdom is not named in Daniel or Revelation
- Rome did not conquered the whole of the previous kingdom (Greece)
- the kingdom may not have appeared yet
The fourth Gentile Kingdom
- it will be exceedingly dreadful, terrible and strong Dan 7:7
- it will have 10 horns which are 10 kings who will arise Dan 7:23-24
- it will consist of features from the previous three kingdoms Rev 13:1-2
- it shall devour, trample and break in pieces the whole earth Dan 7:23
- it will be destroyed at the return of the Messiah Dan 2:44-45 Dan 7:26-27
Rome is often thought of as the fourth kingdom because it was the next kingdom to control Judea after the Greeks. However Rome never fully ‘devoured’ the previous gentile kingdom of Greece. The Greek kingdom stretched from the Mediterranean to India.
It is worth considering that the fourth kingdom is different and therefore it may not present like the other kingdoms. Instead of conquering through battles, it may be an ideology/power that spreads throughout many nations.
Whatever it is, we do know that it will not be supported by Saints whose names are in the Lamb’s book of life.
Rev 13:8
The final King of the fourth kingdom
- the little horn Dan 7:7-8
- the prince who is to come Dan 9:26
- the beast Rev 13:1-2
- His power comes from the dragon (Satan, the devil)
- He is the most powerful of the beasts
- He is given authority for 42 months (3½ years)
Dan 7:23-25
The Beast and Tribulation
- He speaks great things and blasphemes against God
- Then he is allowed to make war against the Saints for 3½ years
- He has authority over every tribe, tongue and nation
Dan 9:27 Rev 13:4-7
The Stone – 2nd Coming
The Messiah returns to destroys the fourth kingdom and then He establishes the Father’s kingdom on earth for 1,000 years.
Dan 2:34-35 Dan 7:26-27
Yahweh comes down to earth
Yahweh comes down to dwell with His people on earth forever and ever.
Rev 21:3-5
1st Kingdom: Babylon – A Lion with Eagle’s wings
Statue: Gold Head
Yahweh gave King Nebuchadnezzar a kingdom of power, strength, and glory and called him His servant. His Kingdom grew westward to the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and eastward to the border with Medo-Persia.
Dan 2:37-38 Jer 27:6 Dan 4:37
Purpose:
- to rule over others and to discipline Judah for their evil idolatry.
Ezk 5:5-9 Jer 32:27-35 - to keep a remnant of His people safe in Babylon for His purposes.
Jer 42:11-12 Jer 29:10-14
The Beast: A Lion with Eagle’s wings
Daniel was given a vision of four beasts coming out of the sea (symbolic of Gentile nations). The first, a lion with two wings is a majestic animal and a powerful conqueror with two wings of an eagle.
Dan 7:4
The Eagle’s Wings are plucked
The wings represented the greatness of Babylon, but instead of giving Yahweh the glory, Nebuchadnezzar claimed it for himself. Yahweh then humbled him until he had repented and this was symbolised by the plucking of the lion’s wings.
Dan 4:30-32
Why did Babylon fall?
King Belshazzar, the last Babylonian King, deliberately defiled dedicated holy items, that had been taken from the Temple in Jerusalem. He used them to entertain his guests at a feast and was judged by Yahweh. The judgement was written on a wall at the feast. Belshazzar was slain that night, and Darius, the Mede, reigned in his place.
Dan 5:23-31
Yahweh later chose King Cyrus of Persia to rule Babylon in order to fulfil His plans for Israel. According to historical records, Cyrus dammed the Euphrates River, walked on the river bed under the walls of the city of Babylon and conquered it overnight, with little bloodshed.
Isa 45:1-6
2nd Kingdom: Medo-Persia – A Bear
Statue: Silver Upper-body
- Babylon (which included Egypt)
- Turkey
- The territory from the East of Persia (Iran) to India.
Ezr 1:1-2 Dan 8:2-4
Purpose:
- to build His city, Jerusalem
- to release His people from exile
- to extend Medo-Persia with the Babylonian territory
Isa 45:13
Beast: Bear with 3 Ribs in its Mouth
A Bear is a strong animal that overwhelms its prey. The three ribs represent the three territories that Persia conquered – Babylon, Turkey and eastward to India.
Dan 7:4 Dan 4:30-32
Why was Medo-Persia Destroyed?
Daniel was interceding for his people when the archangel Gabriel was sent to tell him what was going to happen to his people, Israel.
Abridged Dan 9 prayer of intercession.
Daniel was told that Medo-Persia was no longer serving Yahweh and was actively obstructing His purposes. After the archangel Gabriel dealt with the prince of Persia, the prince of Greece would come; dominion would be passed to Greece.
Dan 10:11-20
A fourth king arose in Persia, and through his own riches and by his own power, and for his own purposes, he attacked Greece.
Dan 11:2-3
The end result is that a mighty king of Greece (Alexander the Great) attacked and quickly conquered Medo-Persia. Dominion was taken from Medo-Persia and given to Greece as prophesied.
Dan 7:6
3rd Kingdom: Greece – a Leopard with 4 Wings
Statue: Bronze Belly & Thighs
Greece attacked Medo-Persia and conquered the land from Greece and Egypt to India. One of the characteristics of this kingdom was the speed of the conquest and the enormous territory to India.
The four wings represent the four regions that the kingdom was divided into after Alexander the Great died.
Dominion was given to this kingdom.
Dan 7:6
Purpose:
Greece consolidated a huge territory form Greece to Egypt and eastward to India and Alexander opened trade routes with many different cultures. Long after the kingdom collapsed, remnants of Greek syncretism (mixing of beliefs) still exist and are found in world religions and cultures.
Greek was used to spread the Gospel of the Kingdom of Yahweh.
Why was the Greek Kingdom Destroyed?
There are no explicit reasons given for the demise of the Greek Empire, however, after the early death of Alexander, the kingdom was divide up between 4 generals/families. There were disputes and battles between them and in 167 BC, Antiochus Epiphanies IV attacked Judea and desecrated the temple. Over many years the kingdom fell apart with Rome conquering the western half (including Judea), although they never conquered the eastern half of the Greek Kingdom towards India.
Many Greek concepts still influence modern thinking today, including Christianity e.g. the concept of going to heaven after death to be with the ‘gods’.
The bible teaches that Yahweh descends to dwell with mankind on a perfected earth after His Son has put everything under His feet, including death.
1Co 15:23-26 Rev 21:2-3
Mixing of different beliefs is called syncretism and is part of deception which Jesus warned His disciple about.
Mat 24:10-12
4th Kingdom: The Terrible Beast with 10 Horns – No Name
Statue: Legs of Iron and Feet mixed with Clay
The forth beast is dreadful and terrible! It is explicitly described as being different from the other beasts and different from all other kingdoms.
- It is not based on any known animal
- The kingdom is not named in the bible.
- It devours, tramples and breaks the whole earth. Dan 7:23
- This beast includes aspects of the previous three beasts Rev 13:1-2
Purpose:
xxx
Why was the Beast’s Kingdom Destroyed?
xxx
To follow:
4th Gentile Kingdom: Last King – the Little Horn
The Stone: God’s Kingdom on earth
Further studies
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Amillennial: from the Cross to when Christ Returns
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Amillennialists generally believe that the reign of Christ started at the Cross/Resurrection when He defeated the spiritual powers of Satan.
Col 2:15His spiritual church age began then and it will end when He returns for His glorious Church.
Following this interpretation, clearly the ‘1,000 years’ of Christ’s reign cannot to be taken literally as the Cross was 2,000 years ago and Christ has still not returned. Also, it must be a spiritual reign on earth because the nations are clearly not following Christ and His Law. It has yet to be established and ordered on earth when He returns.
Isa 9:6-7The Stone in Daniel’s interpretation crushes the feet of the fourth kingdom and the rest of the Statue. This is interpreted to be the Roman Empire followed by a gradual spiritual victory over all the kingdoms of the world.
Dan 2:32-35The martyred Saints rule spiritually with Christ in Heaven for the 1,000 years not on earth with the Messiah.
Rev 20:2-5Then Christ will return and present the church to Himself, glorious without having spot or wrinkle, holy and without blemish.
Eph 5:25-27Some reasons why I question this interpretation
There are many bible scholars who support a-millennialism and they may very well be correct, but here are some reasons I have my doubts. I recognise that I will never know everything but continue to seek the truth from the bible, like everyone else does.
Satan, the devil, is meant to be bound at the start of the 1,000 years but still roams free. He is not meant to be able to gather the nations to attack Israel but this does not seem to be effective.
Rev 20:2-3 1Pe 5:8-9 Rev 20:7-11Many prophecies and covenants specifically mention Israel being returned to the land and entering a New Covenant. Some Amillennialists claim that these are ‘fulfilled in Christ’; sometimes this comes across as ‘Replacement Theology – the Church has replace Israel’.
Jer 31:31-34 Ezk 36:24-28 Hos 1:10-11Some Amillennial views that I don’t share
“Revelation is not chronological.” Just because some parts are not chronological, does not mean all parts are.
“Revelation is symbolic.” Just because some parts of Revelation are symbolic, does not mean all parts are. Symbolism is a sensible option to consider when plain meanings make no sense in the context. Symbolism should not be the default interpretation, especially when the plain meaning fits alternative End Times patterns.
When interpreting symbols, the bible is the primary source for interpretation, especially from the OT Torah and Prophets. Jewish and Church traditions should not take precedence over scripture.
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Premillennial: After Christ’s Return for 1,000 years
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2,000 years ago, the Jewish leaders rejected Jesus as their King. He was King of the Jews but His kingdom was not on earth at that time.
Jhn 18:36He will return after Jews repent and call out to Him. Until then, His church is busy spreading the Gospel of the Kingdom to every tribe, tongue, nation and people.
When Christ returns as the stone, He will:
- Smash the final Gentile kingdom powers
- Restore and rebuild His chosen people in the Promised Land, Israel
- Establish His kingdom over all the earth with His Saints for 1,000 years
- Deliver His kingdom to God the Father who comes and dwells on earth
Dan 2:44-45
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Daniel’s Prayer Content
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The dreams and visions interpreted by Daniel, revealed God’s unchanging plan: judgment for sin, yet mercy through promised redemption.
Before Yahweh returned Israel to the promised land, Daniel had repented and interceded on behalf of Israel. Daniel’s prayer in Daniel 9, might foreshadow what some Jews will pray during the great tribulation; before the Messiah comes and rescues Israel.
Abridged version of Dan 9 prayer of intercession.
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Prophetic Application for Israel Today?
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Since the exile to Babylon, Israel has never had a Davidic king. To this day, they are not living by Yahweh’s law, they don’t have dominion over the promised land and many do not live in the land. This situation will only end when Israel calls on the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and then accepts His Messiah as King; thus restoring their eternal fellowship with Yahweh.
Luk 13:34-35 Isa 11:10-11
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Gentile Kingdoms have reigned over Israel since 600 BC
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Judah’s idolatry had defiled the temple so severely; consequently Yahweh withdrew His presence. He then used King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon to destroy Jerusalem, the temple, and exile His people in Babylon. Israel lost everything: king, land, God’s presence, and His justice.
Moreover, Yahweh promised that those who repent and seek Him with all their heart, would be gathered back to the land, from all the places where He had scattered them. It is from the remnant that the Son of David, the Messiah will be born.
Jer 29:10-14 Isa 11:10-11
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