Daniel 2:31 Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. 32 This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, 33 His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. 34 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. 35 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: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
This passage of scripture reveals the interpretation of the dream as given to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, after he unsuccessfully sought the meaning from the magicians and sorcerers of his kingdom, and was after led to Daniel the prophet, to whom The Lord then gave the one and only correct interpretation of current and future events. The various metals given in the image represent the kingdoms of this world down through the ages, starting with kingdom of ancient Babylon, which was represented by the head of gold. Then came Medo-Persia, Greece, under Alexander the great, and then on to pagan and papal Rome. The last kingdom is then represented as being partly brittle and partly strong, for iron cannot be mixed with miry clay to produce a formidable composite material or alloy. Let's read:
Daniel 2:41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. 43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.
All of the four great kingdoms have now history, and so we must be living in the very toe nails of the image, as represented by the feet of iron and miry clay. Our days on planet earth are numbered, and the countdown to eternity has already begun, as is evidenced by the prophecies and signs given in the scriptures which portend the imminent return of Christ. One of the more prominent prophecies pointing to the end of our days on earth was given by Christ as He sat upon the mount of Olives, answering the questions posed to Him by His disciples, who were obviously concerned about the end of the world and when it would occur. Let's read:
Matthew 24:3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? 4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. 6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
All of the signs here spoken of are currently being fulfilled with increasing frequency and intensity, and therefore the final chapter of earth's history must certainly be closing in upon us. But the last sign given in verse 14 is the one that causes consternation, for the gospel has now gone to almost every inhabitable place on the earth, a sure-fire sign the Christ is soon to appear. With the rapid advance of technology we now have the phenomena of "Cyber-Missionaries", people who are filled with the Spirit of God, and the technical know-how to be able to reach billions of people at the click of a button. This phenomena was actually predicted in two places in the Bible, and it is high time that we use all available resources and methods at our disposal, to finish up the work of the gospel in all the world. Let's read:
Daniel 12:3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. 4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
Revelation 14:6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, 7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
In lieu of both the urgency and nearness of the time, it behooves us to pray that God will use us as laborers in His vineyard to fulfill the gospel commission in our neck of the woods, for our day of grace is drawing to a swift close on account of the many evils that are being spawned across the planet almost daily. We are not to be distracted by what the enemy of souls is doing through his various agencies, but rather should be steadfastly looking up into heaven from whence comes our help and the wherewithal to work in efficient a manner as possible. Let us therefore zip up our boots and step up to the plate by doing all we can in our families and in our neighborhoods to let others know that God's hand is still stretched out to save, even though we are indeed living on the brink of eternity.
We therefore end with a passage of scripture which gives us the great commission to all true believers, and it is God's will that as good soldiers of the cross, we take the battle to the very gates of hell, in seeking to save those who are now perishing in darkness. Let's read:
Matthew 28:18 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.
May God add His blessing to the study and practice of His every word. God bless!