Pilgrimer said:
The molded clay and iron refers to the political mixing of Israel and Rome which kingdom was in power at the time of the coming of Jesus and his conquest over the world (John 16:33). That Jesus has already overcome the world is what makes the Gospel such “good news.”
For one to grasp the meaning of the "immense image", it is necessary to recognize what the different metals mean and their place in the time frame of history. The "head of gold" Daniel explained as ancient Babylon (Dan 2:38), with Medo-Persia as the "breasts of silver” (Dan 2:39a), Greece as the ' belly and the thighs that were of copper' (Dan 2:39b), the Roman Empire as the ' legs of iron' (Dan 2:40), but the “feet....partly of iron and partly of clay” is that “kingdom” which is derived from the dissolution of the Roman Empire.(Dan 2:41-43)
This last “kingdom” is to appear “in the
final part of the days”, our time period.(Dan 2:28) It is during our time period, called the “last days” (2 Tim 3:1; at 2 Pet 3:3, 4, the “last days” are paralled with Jesus ”promised presence”) that Jehovah God will strike the “image” on the “feet” and “crush it”.(Dan 2:34) What “kingdom” resulted from the Roman Empire’s dissolution that has had a great impact on God’s people, that is the ‘ small horn’, that grew from being insignificant to having a “mouth speaking grandiose things” ?(Dan 7:8)
From Rome’s dissolution came forth the British Empire (as well as “ten horns”, other nations, Dan 7:7, with three being “plucked” by the ‘ small horn’, Spain, The Netherlands, and France, Dan 7:8), for the Roman Empire extended it’s control to the British Isles (with Roman campaigns by the armies of Julius Caesar in 55 B.C.E.), building a fort and founding London (called Londonium, Latin or Roman London) in about 43 C.E.
By the 5th century, it began to decline, with the last of the Romans leaving in 410 C.E. (the Roman Empire fell in 476 C.E. to German warlord Odoacer). The legacy of the Roman Empire has now been felt all the way down till our time, with Anglo-American dual world power, portrayed by the ‘ feet and toes, partly of iron and partly of clay.’
As far as the nation of natural Israel, these are
no longer God’s people, having been rejected, for Jesus said three days before his death: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem (as the city that stands for the nation of Israel), the killer of the prophets and stoner of those sent forth to her - how often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks together under her wings ! But you people (the nation as a whole)
did not want it (despite being in a covenant relationship with God, Ex 19:5, 6). Look ! Your house is
abandoned to you. For I say to you, You will by no means see me henceforth (or from now on) until you say (of Jesus as the promised Messiah), ‘ Blessed is he that comes in Jehovah’s name’.(Matt 23:37-39, with him quoting from Ps 118:26)
Pilgrimer said:
Again, there is nothing to imply that the stone (which is Christ) was created and did not exist before. Indeed, he had to have existed as part of the mountain in order to be cut out of the mountain.
But as to the restoration of peace, God has already restored peace to the world, which is what Jesus came to bring ("Behold, I bring you tidings of great joy which shall be to all people … Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:14) … “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you” (John 14:27) … “for the kingdom of God is … righteousness and peace and joy in the holy ghost (Romans 14:17), see also Philippians 4:7, Colossians 3:15, Acts 10:36, etc.
That the majority of men choose to remain strangers and foreigners to the peace of God and His Kingdom does not mean it is not present and available to them, rather, it means they choose to remain dead to it, cut off from it, alienated from it by their sin which they refuse to relinquish.
The "stone" is
more than just the Christ, and by its being "cut out" from "the mountain" shows that at one point in time it did not exist separately, but was part of the "mountain".(Dan 2:34, 45) Thus, the "stone" is an aspect of Jehovah's universal sovereignty ("the mountain", also seen at Isaiah 2:2, 3 as well at 25:6, 7), from which God's kingdom comes forth.
Before the rebellion in the Garden of Eden, there was no need for any governmental arrangement other than Jehovah's universal sovereignty. However, upon Satan seducing Eve and Adam joining in the rebellion, Jehovah began to prepare for a new governmental arrangement that would include individuals selected or "bought" from the earth, in conjunction with his Son, Jesus.(Matt 24:22; Rev 14:4, the ones selected are also called Jesus "brothers", Heb 2:10-17)
And that it ' crushes all these kingdoms" (Dan 2:44), or all human governments that are existing at time of "the war of the great day of God the Almighty", called Armageddon (Rev 16:14, 16), shows that it has extensive power (see Rev 19:11-16, showing that more than just Jesus) and from the account at Daniel 7:18, there are (144,000, Rev 14:1) "holy ones" who are chosen by God (2 Thess 2:13), along with Jesus, that make up the "kingdom".
Since, the ones chosen have not always existed, then God's kingdom is an aspect of Jehovah's sovereignty that has not always existed but is designed to bring back peace to the earth, that was lost in the Garden of Eden at the beginning man's history over 6,000 years ago. At this time, God prophetically said that a "seed" of the "woman" would crush ' the serpent in the head', a death blow from which he (Satan as the "serpent") would not recover.(Gen 3:15)
The ' woman's seed ' is primarily Jesus Christ (Gal 3:16, with the "woman" not a physical person but rather the organization of loyal angels from which Jesus came), but is inclusive of others as well (which are the "holy ones", Dan 7:18, also called Abraham's "seed", Gen 22:18, Gal 3:29).
If the world is at peace, then the Bible is a joke. However, there is no peace on the earth as of yet, for moral corruption is everywhere, and lack of love dominates society (Matt 24:12), with "nation against nation and kingdom against kingdom" (Matt 24:7, in which "nation against nation" started in 1914 as "a beginning of pangs of distress", Matt 24:8) still existing, and growing worse.
Only after the millennial reign of Christ Jesus will there be
genuine peace, that includes the removal of all false religion (called Babylon the Great at Rev 17:5), the destruction of both the greedy commercial elements and all human governments (Rev 19:19-21) And this also comprises the removal of Adamic death as the "last enemy" (1 Cor 15:26; Rev 20:13), that has held control of mankind for over 6,000 years until now.(see Rom 5:14)
At this time, "meek" ones will have reached human perfection on the earth as Adam was before his defection from "the truth".(John 8:44) In addition, the earth will be a magnificent paradise whereby the animals will cause "no harm" (Isa 11:6-9), and that will remain such for all eternity, being called "very good" by Jehovah God.(see Gen 1:31; Matt 5:5)
