Dan 2:42 & 45
44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.

Babylon was prototypical of earthly empires. It was not the first empire in history, and would surely not be the last. Yet the Lord revealed to the emporer of Babylong that begining in the age of his empire of gold, the revealing of Messiah would begin to be accomplished. That the Empire of God’s Kingdom would be revealed, and would ‘break in pieces and consume’ all these earthly empires which appeared before it.

It has been realized that the second to last kingdom in Nebachadnezzar’s dream, the kingdom of iron, represented Rome. The final kingdom was iron and clay – the mingling of the kingdom of the Jews with the Roman empire. (The nation of Israel is the clay as prophesied by Isaiah and Jeremiah where the Lord declared Himself to be the potter, and they the clay (Is. 64:8; Jer. 18:6).) Jesus Christ came in the flesh in he days of the final kingdom of clay mingled with iron – Herod the Great who sought to kill Jesus at His birth (Matt. 2) had conquered Jerusalem using Jewish and Roman troops, and befriending Caesar, was elected King of Judea by the Roman senate (per Josephus’ ‘Wars of the Jews’).

In the time that the Lord revealed to Nebachadnezzar – the empire of iron mingled with clay, Christ came to establish the Kingdom of God as prophesied.

1 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?

2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed [Christ], saying,

3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.

4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.

5 Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.

6 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.

7 I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.

8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.

9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.

10 Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth.

11 Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.

12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him. (Psalm 2)

The Lord Jesus Christ was given power over the nations, even as He testified in Matthew:

Matt. 28:18-20
18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

In the days when Christ came, the kingdom of God had come upon the kingdoms of this world (Matt. 12:28). Just as predicted in by king David in Psalm 2, the kings and rulers set themselves against God, and against His anointed – Christ who came to establish the True kingdom of God. The Apostles realized this as they prayed in Acts 4:

25 Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?

26 The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.

27 For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, (Acts 4:25-27)

What does the Psalm go on to say? Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron, thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.

When the Lord came and was rejected by the Sanhedrin, who would conspire to murder Him, He prophesied of the fall of Jerusalem (EX: Matt. 23:33-24:2). According to Jesus, the earthly kingdom of Israel would be destroyed – truly broken with a rod of iron. We know that after Christ’s ascention, in 70 A.D. (approximately 35 years after the completion of Christ’s earthky ministry) Jerusalem was destroyed in a war with the Romans.

This according not only to Christ’s prophecy, but also those which we have looked at; the prophecy of Daniel 2, and of Psalm 2, and of Psalm 110.

1 The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

2 The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.

3 Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth.

4 The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.

5 The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath.

6 He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries.

7 He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head.

Many have claim today that the rise of an earthly kingdom of Israel in the last days is according to prophecy, but it is the shattering of earthly empires which is clearly prophesied in scripture as the True Kingdom of God takes hold. The kingdom of iron and clay was only the first to be destroyed – even as prophesied in the book of Daniel, for the stone struck first the feet, and all other kingdoms were destroyed after:

Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and of clay, and brake THEM to pieces.

THEN was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors, and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them… (Dan. 234, 35a)

All kingdoms of the earth are but chaff, there is no place to be found for them in the light of the kingdom of God. There have risen through history, even since that time ‘Christian’ empires and kingdoms. Bless God that godly people have sought to establish godly principles in earthly governance! Yet even these are earthly kingdoms, which are not the kingdom of God.

God’s kingdom has no borders, but will fill the whole earth. As it is written: his people shall be willing in the day of his power (Psalm 110:3):

Matt. 28:18-20
18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Be not entangled with the broken nations of earth, let us go into all the earth; to every nation, tribe, people and tongue and make them citizens of the only True kingdom which shall never be destroyed, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.