We have previously noted that the “times of the Gentiles” began when God pronounced “Lo-ammi” (Hosea 1:99Then said God, Call his name Lo-ammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God. (Hosea 1:9)) on the Jews and the Glory (the symbol of Jehovah’s presence) departed from their midst.
Just before the time when the two tribes Judah and Benjamin were carried into captivity, God sent His prophet to Zedekiah, king of Judah, and to the kings of Moab and Edom, for they were plotting to throw off the yoke of the king of Babylon.
But God’s message to them was, “I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto Me. And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant.... Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live” (Jer. 27:5-125I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me. 6And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him. 7And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son, until the very time of his land come: and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him. 8And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the Lord, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand. 9Therefore hearken not ye to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreamers, nor to your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers, which speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: 10For they prophesy a lie unto you, to remove you far from your land; and that I should drive you out, and ye should perish. 11But the nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, those will I let remain still in their own land, saith the Lord; and they shall till it, and dwell therein. 12I spake also to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live. (Jeremiah 27:5‑12)).
It is with this Gentile power and those which succeed him until the end of their times that we have now to do.
Four Gentile Powers
In Daniel 2:31-4531Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. 32This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, 33His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. 34Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. 35Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. 36This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. 37Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. 38And 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. 39And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. 40And 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. 41And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. 42And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. 43And 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. 44And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. 45Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure. (Daniel 2:31‑45) we read of the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. The image whose head was gold, breast and arms silver, belly and thighs brass, legs of iron and feet of iron and clay typifies Gentile power from the days of Nebuchadnezzar till its close when the Gentile kingdom is broken to pieces and destroyed.
That which is used to smite it thus is a stone “cut... without hands” (a picture of Christ). His kingdom, set up by the God of heaven, smites the image which Nebuchadnezzar saw, inflicting such crushing judgment that it becomes like chaff and is carried away by the wind. The “stone” that executed this judgment then becomes a “great mountain” and fills the whole earth.
Character of the Gentile Powers
These Gentile powers exist in different stages, each one being inferior to the previous. The “head of gold” was Babylon. The king ruled as absolute monarch with full, unquestioned authority.
The third kingdom of brass refers to the even more inferior Grecian power and the fourth kingdom of iron and clay, which was yet more inferior, was the Roman Empire.
The great point to understand is that the great power given to these Gentile kingdoms runs on till one great, crushing act of complete judgment (yet to be executed) carries it all away, leaving not a trace of it. The “stone... cut out without hands” replaces it and then fills the whole earth.
Christ’s Kingdom Is Not the Gospel of Grace
It should be emphasized that it is “yet to be executed” because often this kingdom yet to come, which destroys the others, filling the earth is misapplied to the gospel message. But grace or the gospel of God’s grace is never represented in Scripture as carrying out such a solemn judgment. In the first place, the image did not exist in its last state (iron and clay feet) in the beginning of the gospel-day. In the next, it is on them the blow is struck a crushing act of judgment, not grace. Further, the first act of the Stone is an act of judgment before beginning to grow and fill the earth.
Prophecy Concerning the Gentile Powers
In Daniel 7 we have prophecies relating to these four powers, previously mentioned. There they are given the character of ravening beasts. From this passage, and others, we learn that the fourth power, characterized by “iron and clay,” has not yet completely fulfilled the prophecies given of it in Daniel 7.
In summary, from Scripture we see that four great kingdoms arose, the last of which was the Roman empire, which was in existence when John the Apostle wrote the Revelation.
This empire existed, more or less, for hundreds of years until it was finally broken up. We learn that in a coming day, this Latin empire (presently no longer in existence) will be restored and, in its new form, will be the ready tool of Satan. At the end, this power will openly rebel against Christ, who will have come to take possession of His world-kingdom. The Lord Himself will put an end to this Gentile power. It is here that the history of the times of the Gentiles is closed.
F. G. Patterson (adapted)
(to be continued)