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"You looked, O King, and there before you stood a large statute—an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them...The rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth." Daniel 2:31-35

Of all the Gentile kings mentioned in the Old Testament, King Nebuchadnezzar is the most prominent. He is spoken of by name in the books of Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and in the last chapters of Kings and Chronicles. That king built a great new palace, paved the streets of Babylon with brick, dug canals, built dams, and is best known for building one of the seven wonders of the ancient world: the hanging gardens of Nebuchadnezzar. He boasted, "Is this not great Babylon which I have built?" 

God gave Nebuchadnezzar a dream in which an important part of human history was revealed in advance. His kingdom was the head of gold. Three other kingdoms were to follow his. After his came the Empire of the Medes and Persians, especially under King Darius. Next came the Greek Empire under Alexander the Great. Alexander defeated Darius and spread the Greek language and culture. He and his armies are the reason the New Testament was originally written in the Greek language by divine providence. Finally, The Roman Empire with the Caesars concludes the vision. It had the strength of iron, but also the weakness of clay. These were the days of Jesus on earth. 

Most important is the "rock that was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on it feet of iron and clay and smashed them. But the rock became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth!" God is even now setting up the kingdom that will never end and never be conquered. Jesus spoke much about this kingdom, especially in his parables. Jesus is himself the Rock cut out without human hands. On the Bill Gaither video called "All Day Singin," a quartet sings a song entitled, "The Stone that was Hewed Out."

Jesus is the Cornerstone in the temple God is building. Nothing can stop the growth of this Kingdom. Some day, it will fill the whole earth! May Jesus be on the throne in every heart and make us full citizens of the kingdom of heaven, loyal and obedient to the Greatest King! 

Jesus shall reign where'er the sun
Does his successive journeys run;
His kingdom stretch from shore to shore,
Till moons shall wax and wane no more.

John Hatton

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