March 28, 2014
Zechariah 3:8, 9; Daniel 2:34, 35, 44, 45
(All scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated.)
This is the seventh facet of the series, The Seven-Faceted Stone. The prophecy is found in Zechariah 3:8 and 3:9:
…behold, I will bring forth My servant the Branch….For behold, upon the
stone that I have set before Joshua, upon that one stone are seven eyes or
facets….Behold, I will carve upon it its inscription, says the LORD of hosts,
and I will remove the iniquity and guilt of this land in a single day….
As shown in the six previous blogs, Jesus Christ is The Seven-Faceted Stone. We are looking at seven ways He is described as the Stone or Rock in scripture. Today’s topic is similar to a previous blog – The Seven-Faceted Stone – III – The Stone that will fall on the unbeliever at the final judgment and “…will grind him to powder.” (Luke 20:18). The same action is produced according to this seventh facet, but on a much larger scale…
7. The Stone that Became a Mountain and Grinds Kingdoms to Powder! It is described in Daniel 2:34, 35, 44 and 45:
You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image
on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay,
the bronze, the silver, and the gold, were crushed together, and became like
chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that
no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a
great mountain and filled the whole earth….And in the days of these kings the
God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the
kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume
all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Inasmuch as you saw that the
stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces
the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold — the great God has
made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain,
and the interpretation is sure.
In this scripture, Daniel is giving King Nebachudnezzar of Babylon the interpretation of a dream the king had. In it God was revealing to him the whole course of human history from his time to the establishment of God’s Kingdom upon this earth. The four great kingdoms – Babylon, Media-Persia, Greece and Rome (plus the modern nations today – the remnants of the Roman Empire) – are represented in reverse order in Daniel’s interpretation by five substances: “…iron…clay…bronze…silver…gold….” The first two mentioned in verse 35 are representing the final expression of human society – the remnants of the Roman Empire – “…iron mixed with clay.” (Daniel 2:43).
It is “…in the days of these [final] kings… ” that it will be announced by “…loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever.’ ” (Revelation 11:15). How is this to happen?
…the stone…struck the image…and broke them in pieces…the iron, the clay,
the bronze, the silver, and the gold, were crushed together, and…the wind
carried them away….[Then] the stone that struck the image became a great
mountain and filled the whole earth…
All of this world’s political, sociological and economic systems will be crushed to such fine dust that – as Daniel said in verse 35 – they will be blown away and totally disappear! Notice the photo I selected for this blog. It obviously depicts a large boulder. But look closely! You will see the boulder is crashing down and whatever is under it is being crushed to bits – and the bits are being thrown into the air! I thought it an excellent representation of this seventh facet!
Being crushed to fine powder and blown away by the wind are figurative expressions. II Peter 3:7 through 10 (NIV) gives us more details about this final world judgment:
…the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of
judgment and destruction of ungodly men. But do not forget this one thing, dear
friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are
like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand
slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to
come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens
will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth
and everything in it will be laid bare.
The point is that Jesus Christ, the Stone, will become a dominant Mountain, filling the whole earth. Everything that is ungodly will be blown away – burned up. The only things left to enter the “…new heaven and…new earth…” (Revelation 21:1) will be people redeemed by “…the precious blood of Christ…a lamb without blemish and without spot…” (I Peter 1:19).
Now God is patiently waiting for people to come to Jesus Christ in repentance and faith. But someday – perhaps soon – God’s patience will end and judgment will come! Everything depends upon your relationship to Jesus – your eternal soul, your life, your life’s work. Even the whole world ultimately dependent upon the Lord! Make Him your Savior AND your Lord – NOW!