Daniel 2:44
In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. (NIV)
Today’s Reading: Daniel 2:24-49
We begin in the book of Daniel today. Daniel is one of my favorite books of the Bible. Such a man of God who had a very adventurous and influential life despite the fact that he was taken into Babylonian custody when he was a teenager. Despite the circumstances, he was true to God in every way and God was able to use him to influence the kings of Babylon and Assyria. Along the way, God revealed some amazing prophecies to him about the future as well.
Our verse today occurs a couple years into Daniel’s captivity and also only a couple of years into Nebuchadnezzar’s reign as king of Babylon. Daniel was chosen amongst a handful of Israelites to enter the king’s service because of their good looks and high intelligence. King Nebuchadnezzar had just ordered all of the wise men to be executed because they could not tell him what he saw in his dream and interpret it. Daniel and his Jewish friends were on the executioner’s list.
So Daniel prays to God to have mercy on them and God reveals Nebuchadnezzar’s dream to Daniel. Daniel then goes to the king to tell him what he saw in the dream and what it means. The dream involved an enormous statue made of many elements – gold, silver, bronze, iron and clay. A rock struck the statue on its feet and it crumbled the whole statue to the ground and the wind swept all the pieces away. The rock then became a huge mountain filling the entire earth.
“While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth” (Dan 2:34-35).
After telling Nebuchadnezzar the dream, Daniel then interprets this dream. The statue represents earthly kingdoms and each element represents a different kingdom that will replace the one before. Finally the rock that crushes the feet becomes an enormous mountain representing the final kingdom – God’s kingdom:
“In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever” (Dan 2:44).
This kingdom was fulfilled when Jesus came to earth. Jesus was very clear in his teachings that he had come to establish his kingdom:
“From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near’ (Matt 4:17).
“Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness” (Matt 9:35).
“Jesus said, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place’” (John 18:36).
“The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end” (Luke 1:33).
“Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, ‘The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, “Here it is,” or “There it is,” because the kingdom of God is in your midst’” (Luke 17:20-21).
Jesus even uses similar language to this dream:
“Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed” (Matt 21:43-44).
The kingdom of God is here. It lives in the hearts of God’s people today. All those who call Jesus their Lord and Savior possess the kingdom of God:
“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval” (Rom 14:17-18).
“For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Col 1:13-14).
God’s kingdom will never end. It is more powerful than any earthly kingdom. It is like an huge mountain that fills the whole earth. God’s kingdom is everywhere because His people are everywhere. It is a kingdom of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Christ in the Old Testament 
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