"Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were crushed all at the same time and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth." Daniel 2:35

This is the ending of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. He dreamed of a great statue with a head of gold, arms and breastplate of silver, belly and thighs of bronze and legs and feet of iron. Daniel interpreted it to foretell the rise of four world-ruling empires which would arise on the earth.

 The golden head represented King Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon, his kingdom. The silver represented the Medo-Persian empire which would follow Babylon. The bronze represented Alexander the Great and the empire of Greece. The legs and feet of iron represented the Roman empire which would be revived in the last days. The end-time revival is depicted by the ten toes composed of a mixture of iron and clay. The statue as a whole represents the rule of man on the earth.

The most exciting part of this text is when a stone from the Mountain of God descended and struck the statue on the feet and all of man’s kingdoms came down. The Stone is Jesus who will subdue the kingdoms of the world and establish His righteous rule upon the earth, -"The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever." (Rev.11)

The Stone strikes the feet because they are in power at the return of Jesus - this is a revival of the fourth beast, the Roman Empire which is presently the European Union. From this empire a man will arise who will rule the world - the Bible refers to him as the beast. The beast is both a man and the kingdom he rules. This man will be possessed by the devil himself and will plunge the world into great tribulation. He will make war with the saints and require all to receive his identifying mark.

Through the millennia the world has seen the horrors of war, violence and injustice played out over and over again. But a time is coming when Jesus will rule and the nations will war no more. The time of man’s rule will be over, and the rumble of all their kingdoms will be swept away by the wind.