Lesson
11
The
Times of the Gentiles
III. The Times
of the Gentiles
The continuing history
of man records that nations rise and fall. Great nations, influencing all the
world in culture and commerce have experienced their victories and their
defeats. Archeologists today probe the ruins of many nations that used to
exist.
There is probably not
a story that tells this history so well as the prophetic dream of
Nebuchadnezzar.
A. Nebuchadnezzar's
Dream (Daniel 2:31-45)
Nebuchadnezzar was
king of Babylon. He reigned during the fall and captivity of the nation of
Israel. One night he had a dream that would foretell events over the centuries.
Mighty kingdoms would be represented in this dream.
Israel was in
Babylonian captivity as a result of her backslidding. God revealed who would
rule over her land during the coming centuries. Daniel, who as a prophet of God
had gained great respect in the kingdom of Babylon, was called on to interpret
the dream. In the dream there was a great metal man. The head was of gold; the
breast and arms were silver; his belly and thighs were made of brass; the legs
were iron; and his feet were part iron and clay. A stone came striking the feet
and broke them into pieces. The image was destroyed and became like the chaff
of the summer threshing floor that the wind carried away. The stone then
became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. Daniel
interpreted the dream.
1. The Head of Cold
(Babylon)
The Head of Gold was
Babylon which was ruling the Jews and the world at the time of the dream. The kingdom
lasted from 606 B.C. to 538 B.C. The city of Babylon was at the zenith of its
influence during this time. The hanging gardens of Babylon were one of the
seven wonders of the world. The cities 14 square miles were guarded by walls
350 feet high and 87 feet thick. Over 1,000,000 inhabitants of the city never
thought it would fall, but it did.
2. The Breast and
Arms of Silver (Medo-Persian)
In 538 B.C., Babylon
fell to the Medes and Persians. Darius was the king of the Medes. This kingdom,
a dual kingdom, portrayed by the two arms, was to last until 330 B.C.
3. The Belly and
Thighs of Brass (Greece)
Alexander the Great
came out of the West with conquest on his mind. He conquered the Medo-Persian
Empire in 330 B.C. After Alexander's death in 323 B.C., the empire was divided
into four parts among his four generals. The Grecian empire lasted until 160
B.C. when the Romans came conquering.
4. The Legs of Iron
(Roman)
The legs represented the
Roman Empire which was to last for many centuries as its Eastern and Western
divisions.
5. The Feet of Iron
and Clay (Revived Roman Empire)
The feet portray the
revived Roman Empire and a ten nation confederacy represented by the 10 toes
(Daniel 7:7-8 and Revelation 17:12). These events will all happen in the last
days and during them the Antichrist will begin his rule of the world. All this
will lead to the Great Tribulation and Armageddon.
6. The
Stone (Jesus Christ)
The coming
of Jesus Christ at the battle of Armageddon will destroy all the kingdoms and
this world system. God will set up a new kingdom over all the earth for a
thousands years. He will rule over the earth as king at this time. This period
of time is called the millennium.