Cheraw chronicle. [volume] (Cheraw, S.C.) 1896-2005, 1922-07-06

| made known in order tnat lneE lllSlli
interpret it. Because of their failure
the king was very furious and COM
manded all the wise men of Babylon
to be slain. This action seems to be
severe, but In view of the fact that
these deceivers made their living by
preying upon the credulity of the peo-
pie 1t was but just that they either
make good or be cut off,
u. The Revelation Of the Dream
(vv. 14-35).
When the decree was in process of
execution Daniel wns sought out to be
slain. He sought an interview with
the king and obtained time. Note:
/. The prayer meeting In Babylon
(vv. 14-1S). Daniel was the leader In
that prayer meeting. He called his
fellows together and most definitely
prayed to God. Their lives were at
stake; tlieir need was great.
.. Daniels ascription Of praise to
God (vv. 1929. God heard their
prayer and Daniel responded in lofty
strains of praise to God.
8. Daniel before the king (vv. "a
3O). Because he had been with the
Lord and had obtained wisdom he was
confident and calm before the great
king. Though thIs honored with his
wisdom from God he behaved himself
with becoming humility.
4. The content of the dream WV.
~ l,I 10 fn
king that in his dream lie had beheld
q great image with head of gold,
breast and arms of silver, belly and
/ thighs of brass, legs of iron and feet
part of iron and part of clay. He be-
held the image smitten by stone and
the stone became great mountain.
III. The Interpretation Of the Dream
wv. 36-46).
l. The head of gold represented the
Chaldean monarchy with Nebuchad-
nezzar as its head wv. 81, 3S). With
the accession Of Nebuchadnezzar to
the throne, the times Of the Gentiles
began.
2. The breast and arms of silver
represented the Medo-persian power
(v. 39). The Medo-Persian empire
was a kingdom inferior to the Chal-
dean.
3. The belly and thighs of brass rep
resented the Grecian empire under
Alexander the Great (v. 39).
t. The legs of iron represented the
Roman empire (vv. 4O-43).
O) The two legs represented the
eastern and western divisions Of the
Roman empire. (2) The feet Of iron
and clay represented the two elements
of human government, which inhered
in the Roman empire and are present
today in all forms of government.
namely, absolutiSm and socialism. or
imperiaiSm and democracy. These
elements have no cohercncy. The ad-
mixture of the iron with miry clay
represents the mincling of the seeds
of men, the intermarriage of the royal
houses. This has characterized all
the nations of the earth, Indicating
their efforts to unite the ruling fami-
lies of the earth by means Of inter
marriage.
). The stone cut out of the noun
tain wv. A, 45). This is the kingdom
of heaven so graphically set forth in
the New Testament for the kingdom
of heaven Is the kingdom which the
God of heaven shall set up. OD The
stone is Christ Elsa. 2S:16; Matt.
21 :42-44). CO When did the stone
strike? The impact of the stone
was upon the feet of the col
umns (v. 34). This shows that
it did not strike at Christ's first COM
ing, for the Roman empire was Il unit
at that time; not even the division of
the empire as represented by the two
legs had taken place as yet. The stone
smitin. the feet shows that the stone
will strike when the Roman empire
shall have been divided up into ten
kingdoms. (3) The kingdom of heaven
Is thus seen to be brought into realiZa
tion through q great catastrophe. The
end is not by gradual and peaceful eX
tension through preaching the gospel,
but by crushing blow. The stone
does not fill the earth by crOwding the
colossus out, neither by securing Its.
submission to God but destroying it,
Gentle dominion shall end in a crash;
upon It's ruins shall be built the king
dom of heaven. The action of the
stone is of Judgment, not grace. The
ext plainly says it is "after" the stone
has done its shifting work that 1t be-
comes a great mountain and fills the
whole earth (see Psalms 3: 5, 6; Zech.
ii :l-9). Just as the first part of this
dream was literally fulfilled, so shall
the last part be fulfilled. MeSSiah's
kingdom shall be real and literal
iingdom.