plained that during the days of the ten kings (symbolized by the ten toes) God shall set up his kingdom of glory on earth. The stone speaks of Christ at his second advent. Other prophecies using a like symbolism may be found in such texts as Psalm 118:22, Isaiah 8:14, 28:16; Zecha- riah 3:9; Acts 4:11; I Peter 2:7, 8. Nebuchadnezzar was so affected by Daniel’s knowledge t h a t he “wor shipped Daniel,” thereby acknowledg ing that God had truly spoken through him. N ebuchadnezzar ’ s I mage W orship (3:1-7) At the time the dream was inter preted, the Babylonian king, stunned by the greatness of the revelation, had been apparently content with this position assigned him. But later his overwhelming pride reasserted itself and he wanted to be not just the head but the “whole thing.” So his own image he made all of gold. The gigantic image he constructed was 60 by 6 cubits — approximately 90 by 9 feet in our measurements. The 9-foot breadth probably refers to the distance through the chest to the back: this would make a well-pro portioned figure. As to whether the statue and base totaled 90 feet in height, or the image alone measured that distance is immaterial. The fact that two “6’s” are used in the dimensions of this figure reminds the Bible reader forcibly of Revela tion 13:13-18. In those verses the number of the antichrist, the beast- king of the last days, is said to be 666. For the dedication of his image, Nebuchadnezzar summoned all the of ficials of the land, both civil and mili tary, who together with the nobility were commanded to be present. T he J ews A ccuse » (3:8-12) Actually the only people vitally af fected by the king’s order were the Jews. The jealous Chaldeans began their speech to the king with flattery, before reminding him of his cruel order and finally accusing Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. They implied that the young Jews were ungrateful, 32
in the last days of this age, some thing previously unannounced in the program of God has appeared — the present dispensation of grace. The present church age, and its length, were not revealed to Daniel nor to the 'other prophets of the Old Testament period.” Thus the final picture in the proph ecy yet remains to be fulfilled. At some later, but unspecified, time the condition is to develop represented by the feet and toes “part of potters’ clay and part of iron.” This mixture Ironside interprets as “an attempted union between imperialism and de mocracy.” By comparison with Daniel 7:24 and Revelation 17:12, 13, the ten GIFTS A B U N D A N T This have I learned — that always there is something, Some lovely thing, for which to thank our God. Perhaps some blessing which we did not value, Some gift on which we in our blind ness trod. But if with wakened eyes we look about us, We find His gifts are ours in lavish store; And when we start to thank Him for those blessings, We wonder that we could have asked for more! toes can with confidence be said to represent ten kings (or dictators) who will reign in the last days, but who will form a confederacy in the territory once controlled by the Ro man Empire, for there is to be a con tinuation of the Roman iron, even though in an adulterated state. This confederacy of the last days could well be called ‘the reconstituted Ro man Empire.” On this yet future pe riod, the later prophecies of Daniel cast considerable additional light. The most striking feature of Ne buchadnezzar’s dream, however, was the demolishing of the great image by the stone “cut out of the mountain without hands.” Daniel carefully ex
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