A Word in Season: The Coming kingdom (Daniel 2:44)

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In the days of Daniel, King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream which shook him to his very core.

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It was a dream of a great statue, its head was made of gold, its feet were made of iron and of clay, and in between there were a variety of other materials.

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And a stone that was cut out without hands came rolling down and struck that statue and smashed it to pieces, and the stone grew until it became a mountain which filled the whole earth.

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Daniel alone was able to interpret the dream for King Nebuchadnezzar. He told him that in the days of these kings, the

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God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed and the kingdom shall not be left to other people.

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It shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms and it shall stand forever.

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That's Daniel chapter 2 and verse 44. Daniel beholds the head of gold and he tells mighty

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Nebuchadnezzar the history of the world which is to come and a succession of kingdoms which will in their time replace his.

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But he speaks of one final kingdom. He talks about its timing.

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It's in the days of the kings of iron and clay. It's the days of the Romans, then still centuries distant, but Daniel knows that these are the days in which

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God is going to establish a kingdom of his own. And it is God's kingdom.

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It is the Lord himself who establishes these things. The God of heaven sets up a kingdom.

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In those particular days, the Lord will bring into existence on earth a kingdom of his own that transcends all these other kingdoms.

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Its durability is striking. It shall never be destroyed.

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It will not be subject to the assaults and the underminings and the decays to which other kingdoms are exposed, like Nebuchadnezzar himself and those which followed.

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And the kingdom shall not be left to other people. It will be stable. It's not going to pass into the hands of the

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Medes and the Persians and then others after them. It's not going to have a succession of kings and rulers.

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There's at least an implication here that it will have a ruler who stands, who does not fail.

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Furthermore, it's a kingdom which shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms.

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Whatever they think they are, whatever might they think they possess, this kingdom is stronger still.

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It is a kingdom which will ultimately conquer and destroy every earthly kingdom, and it shall stand forever.

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If its durability was emphasized earlier, now its duration is pressed home.

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Not only can it not be destroyed, but it will never fail in any other way. It is a kingdom that endures.

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It has no end. Daniel is speaking of the kingdom of our great

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God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Looking at a man who would have thought himself a god in his own right, he tells him that his kingdom will ultimately come to nothing, that it will be like all the other kingdoms of the world, one that is established by a mere man, one which can be destroyed, which will be passed on to others in its power and its wealth, which will ultimately be broken and consumed, and which will come to nothing.

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And looking back, we can see just how complete the prophecy of Daniel was.

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But we also see not just what happened to the kingdoms of men, but the truth concerning the kingdom of God, established in the days of the

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Romans by the coming of the God -man, Jesus Christ, who suffered and died in the place of his people in order to bring into being in this world a kingdom without end.

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It was God's establishment. It reached back to all those who had put their faith in him.

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It reaches forward to all those who would come to trust in him. It is a kingdom that has continued to grow and spread through the whole world.

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It is still attaining its mountainous proportions. It continues to spread.

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It continues to extend until the growing is done and the king returns to gather to himself all who belong to him.

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And that's not the end of the kingdom. In one sense, that's another iteration, a further expression and demonstration of its eternal glory and beauty under the king of kings who reigns forever.

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Are you in an unending, unshakable kingdom, the kingdom of Jesus Christ?