Daniel 2:34-49 You saw till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image on his feet that were of iron and clay… The vision suggests to us many interesting things concerning the Kingdom of Christ. 1. Its superhuman origin. The stone was "cut out" of the mountains without hands. There was no natural cause for its severance. So the foundation of Christ's kingdom was the result of no development of human character, but rather of the bringing of a new spiritual and heavenly power into the world. 2. The comparative feebleness of its beginning. The language of the vision indicates that the stone grew from a small size until it became a huge mountain. Frequently earthly kingdoms have had very insignificant beginnings. So with this Kingdom of Christ, which began with the meeting of a few Galilean peasants in an upper room. 3. The gradualness of its progress. Not all at once was this development made. It was a work of time. And so in the kingdom which it symbolises advancement was by degrees. Beginning at Jerusalem, its first preachers sought their earliest converts among their fellow-countrymen; but, as the seed sloughs off its outer shell when it begins to grows the Christian Church very soon put off its Jewish restrictiveness and found a root in Gentile cities. 4. Its universal extent. The mountains "filled the whole earth." "The knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth." 5. The perpetual duration of this kingdom. " It shall never be destroyed," and "it shall not be left to other people." This perpetuity is intimately associated with its character, and that again with its origin. (W. M. Taylor, D.D.) Parallel Verses KJV: Thou 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. |
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