In Daniel, Chapter 2, we read about the famous dream of Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon. This dream was more like a nightmare, so the king called in his astrologers to interpret his dream -- but they all failed. This resulted in an order to slay all the wise men in Babylon, and this would include Daniel and his personal Judahite friends.

However, upon seeking YEHOVAH God in prayer, Daniel was given the same dream, but this time accompanied by the interpretation -- which he then explained to Nebuchadnezzar. The prophet described the revelation from YEHOVAH, showing that FOUR great Gentile Empires must rise and successfully rule the world of that time, dominate Palestine during Israel's dispersion, and culminate in today's world.

Daniel then recalled to Nebuchadnezzar that in his dream he had seen an image of a man composed of FOUR METALS, and each metal represented an Empire. These Empires would follow one upon the other, and would appear as follows --

1) BABYLON -- Illustrated by GOLD, the then ruling power, and ended in 538 B.C.

2) MEDIA -- Formed of SILVER, and described in Daniel 5:28, but ended in 336 B.C.

3) PERSIA -- Formed of BRASS, and outlined in Daniel 8:21, and ended in 637 A.D.

4) ISLAM -- Formed of IRON, described in Daniel 2:40, and continuing to this day.

The dream further showed that, during the existence of these four empires, there would be a FIFTH EMPIRE, outside the image or Gentile world. This 5th power was symbolized in the dream by a "STONE," cut out of the earth without human hands, which Daniel interpreted as signifying its Divine origin. The prophet then saw war between the "stone" kingdom and the nations represented by the feet of the image -- resulting in their destruction. The "stone" kingdom would then expand into a "GREAT MOUNTAIN," or world-wide Empire or Kingdom, which will finally cover the whole earth. (For detailed information on Daniel's four kingdoms, read our article Islam and Daniel's Four Kingdoms).

In his interpretation of the meaning of the stone, which Nebuchadnezzar saw strike and destroy the image, Daniel stated that it represented a kingdom which would be set up by YEHOVAH God of Heaven. Notice Daniel 2:44-45:

"And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will 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 brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold -- the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this..."

This statement is quite clear and, because the stone represents the physical Kingdom of YEHOVAH God, most Bible students accept it as the EMBLEM of the physical Kingdom of YEHOVAH God. However, because many of those same students have refused to recognize ALL that the Bible has to say about that Kingdom, and in order that they may jump the many hurdles that the failure to accept all the literal statements of the Bible place in their way, those same scholars have spiritualized away the meaning of the Kingdom.

There is basically no disagreement among current interpreters -- either Catholic or Protestant -- on the interpretation of the image of Nebuchadnezzar's dream in Daniel 2. All mistakenly agree that the image predicts the four Gentile world empires: Babylon, the head of gold; Medo-Persia, the chest; Greece, the loins; and Rome represented in the legs and feet. There is, however, a difference of opinion on the meaning of the little stone, described in the prophecy as destroying the whole system when it hits the image in the feet.

The positions taken by interpreters is divided among those who believe the stone is the church, and those who think the event is still future. The former see a spiritual kingdom -- the church -- which later overcame the system of government, based on paganism, started first by Nebuchadnezzar and which system was then received in sequence by the Persians, and then by the Greeks and finally by the Romans. The stone destroyed the image with some immediacy when it hit the empire in the feet. The location which was struck by the stone, because of its position down the scale of the legs, would, according to these interpreters, indicate the latter time of the Roman Empire. The toes, on the other hand, would indicate, not the latter times but a time after its division into ten kingdoms. To those seeing the church as the spiritual kingdom, the stone's filling of the whole earth is progressive and still going on.

On the other hand are the Futurists who say that the little stone will hit the image in the toes which to them means: after the Roman Empire was divided, the kingdom of David is to be restored at Jerusalem. Because the Messiah did not restore the earthly rule of David's throne, the Futurists believe that the event was postponed. Thus they see the stone as the Millennial Kingdom which is yet to come. They are partially right, as we shall see.

We are told that this 5th Empire -- or Stone Kingdom of Daniel 2 -- does not represent a literal kingdom like the gold, silver, brass and iron empires, but that it is the spiritual kingdom of YEHOVAH -- having no material aspect whatsoever! These people seem to be totally unaware of the illogical position they find themselves in. For, if the four metals which made up the image are literal kingdoms, and are as much a part of the earth as the ore from which the metals were refined, then by what method of reasoning or logic do they make the stone represent a spiritual kingdom only -- since it is just as much a part of the earth as the ore was? Not only that, but it was also cut out of the same mountain from which the ore was taken! The only difference between the ore and the stone is that the ore was taken from the mountain by men who refined it into the metals in which it appeared in the image; and the stone -- though also of the earth -- was cut out of the mountain without the assistance of men. Daniel declared "that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands."

Those that have taught that the "Stone Kingdom" is the Church -- cannot be correct for the following reasons --

1)  The Church of God had nothing to do with the "breaking in pieces " of Babylon because Babylon fell in 538 B.C. -- over 500 years before the Church was formed!

2)  The Church of God could not have "broken" Media, because Media fell in 336 B.C. -- over 300 years before the Church was born at Pentecost in 31 A.D.

3)  Similarly, the Church did not "break in pieces" Persia, because the Persian Empire came to an end in 637 A.D. because of the onslaught of the expanding Islamic Empire. The true Church was never a military force with the power to overthrow an empire!

4)  The Church has not broken up the Islamic (4th) Empire because it is still with us in various forms, and is prophesied to rise on the world stage in the future.

It is exceedingly clear, then, that the Church is not the "Stone Kingdom" -- considering that the "Stone" was to break those four Empires, and the Church did not and has not destroyed  a single one of them!

Many others in the Church of God have taught that the Messiah is the smiting "Stone," and that this will take place at the Second Coming. This is totally without basis for the following reasons --

1)  In Nebuchadnezzar's dream there is nothing in that dream to indicate that this 5th kingdom is any different physically from the four kingdoms of the image -- except that it had a Divine origin and a Divine destiny. It was not purely a spiritual kingdom only.

2)  It is true that the Messiah is "the stone which the builder's rejected," and he also is the "head of the corner," but he also indicated that the "smiting stone" was based on a NATION -- not on himself! Notice what Matthew 21:33-46 says. This is the Parable of the Husbandmen. The owner of this vineyard (YEHOVAH God) left it in the care of husbandmen and, at the time of the harvest, sent his servants to collect his share of the fruit. But the husbandmen maltreated and killed the servants and even slew the owner's own son (the Messiah). The Messiah here was plainly referring to the Judahites (his listeners) who had the Temple and the Law in their midst and alone remained as YEHOVAH's servants or husbandmen. Yet the Judahites had slain YEHOVAH's prophets -- and were now about to crucify the Messiah, the adopted Son of YEHOVAH God. The Messiah then went on to drive home to his listeners the fact that they were the wicked husbandmen of the parable, which they quickly realized, for "the chief priests and Pharisees...perceived that he spoke of them." Let's now compare the following verses --

Matthew 21:43 -- "Therefore, I tell you that the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to the kind of people that will produce its fruit!"

Daniel 2:34 -- "As you continued looking, a stone was cut out by no human hand and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay and broke them in pieces."

Matthew 21:44 -- "Whoever falls on this stone will be broken in pieces; but if it falls on him, he will be crushed to powder!"

Daniel 2:35 -- "Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold all together were broken in pieces and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floor; and the wind carried them away, so that no trace of them could be found."

In this parable the Messiah quoted from the Book of Daniel and his prophecy, to show that the "Stone" was a NATION -- and that "whoever falls on this stone will be broken in pieces." The Messiah was not referring to himself as the "stone," but the NATION Israel. Up until this time the Judahites had been the "husbandmen" of the physical Kingdom but, because of their rejection of him as their prophesied Messiah, they were to loose that privilege.

The Jews of the Messiah's time were descendants of the House of Judah, which comprised of two tribes -- namely Judah and Benjamin. The House of Israel, on the other hand, was formed of the other ten tribes. Although it is often thought that the Jews are descendants of all the 12 tribes, the true Jews themselves make it quite clear today that they are descendants of Judah and Benjamin ONLY. We can now understand more concisely what the Messiah meant, as we read his statement to the Judahites in light of these facts. Notice Matthew 21:43 --

"Therefore I say unto you [Judahites of the House of Judah], the Kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation [House of Israel -- Britain and the U.S.] bringing forth the fruits thereof."

In spite of all their faults and failings, Britain and the U.S. are "bringing forth the fruits thereof" by sending out missionaries and Bibles throughout the world -- more than any other country. And -- more importantly -- they have not denied the Messiah! The Jews of the House of Judah are still in unbelief, and still reject Yeshua as their Messiah.

The fact that the stone smashes the image by physical contact is further proof that is must also represent a kingdom which has a physical presence upon the earth. The fact of the matter is that not one shred of evidence exists in Daniel to justify the idea that the prophet in any way intended to portray the first four kingdoms as representing earthly governments but that the fifth was not of the earth -- being entirely spiritual. Let's follow Daniel's explanation and see if we can further identify this 5th world empire, or Stone Kingdom. Daniel clearly states the very time when the 5th kingdom would be organized. Notice!

"And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed..." (Daniel 2:44).

Ferrar Fenton renders it this way --

"But in the days of those kings, the God of Heaven will establish an Everlasting Empire, and Indestructible."

Just who are the kings in whose days YEHOVAH God of Heaven would set up a kingdom? Many in the Churches of God who spiritualize the Kingdom and tell us that it is in the days of the ten kings represented by the toes of the image that the Kingdom will -- according to them -- be set up when Yeshua returns to rule Israel. Then -- and not until then -- they say, the entire image will be destroyed. Once again, this is partially true.

Daniel's vision loudly declares, for those with the eyes to see, that "history looks like a statue." And history must be proportionate to the statue or it will not look like a statue! Visualize with me, for a moment, the statue, and see the correspondence. Ask yourself, WHY did YEHOVAH God use the figure of a statue? Should there be some correspondence as to time? In other words -- should not the statue be proportionate to what it predicts? Absolutely -- and so it does!

For the head was barely 69 years (unless you date it from Nebuchadnezzar's first taking of Babylon, which would add a few more years) before the portion of chest and shoulders allotted to the Median Empire came and went, consuming some 202 years, from Darius the Mede to Darius III. If we date the beginning of the Persian Empire at 538 B.C. (since Media and Persia were parallel kingdoms for a while) then the Persian period of the belly to the thighs stretches 973 years. From that point the legs, and feet, representing the Islamic Empire can only be estimated since the re-gathering of Israel has not yet taken place. That would make the torso and head be 1,244 years long and the rest of the body approximately 1400 years long (depending on the return of YEHOVAH God and the re-gathering of Israel). If you will use those proportions you will find that not only did Daniel predict the coming four empires but gave an accurate prediction of their PROPORTIONATE RULES.

If you use this proportion allowing seven inches for the head, twenty-one for the chest, twenty-nine from diaphragm to hips, and fifty-one from hip joints to feet, you will find that history indeed does match the proportions of the statue. And the House of Jacob (physical Kingdom of YEHOVAH God) fits the vision exactly by the stone striking the image, chronologically as well as physically in the spot, at the time of the return of YEHOVAH God and the re-gathering of Israel when Islam will be a major force on the world scene.

The position of the Futurist has to be wrong simply because the figures and symbols that are given in the prophecy are so grotesquely destroyed by this scenario. The figures in the prophecies fit naturally and proportionately when the House of Jacob (Israel) is seen as the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God and the growth of that Kingdom is seen in conjunction with the progression of the prophetic symbols. The symbol in Daniel 2 is one of a statue predicting future history -- NOT a statue with deformed toes!

The ten toes on Daniel's statue correspond to the "ten horns" of the fourth beast that Daniel saw. This beast was "dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it, and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and IT HAD TEN HORNS" (Daniel 7:7). The fourth world kingdom -- also represented by the legs and feet of the statue in Daniel 2 -- was and is the Islamic Empire. The meaning of the ten horns or ten toes is explained in verse 24 of Daniel 7: "These ten horns out of this kingdom are TEN KINGS [OR KINGDOMS] that shall arise." The only place in the Bible where 10 kingdoms come against Israel is found in Psalm 83. And all of these kingdoms, in today's world, are Islamic! These kingdoms continue for a short time -- a picture of the changing profile and lack of "adhesion" -- iron and clay -- of these kingdoms after the fall of Persia.

Now let's see what Daniel really says about "those kings."

As a matter of fact Daniel referred to only four kingdoms aside from the 5th, or stone, kingdom. The feet and toes of clay are a part of the Islamic Empire -- though in a weakened state. They are partly strong and partly broken or, as this should be translated, brittle. Let's first see if we can find -- as a matter of historical record -- proof that YEHOVAH God did indeed initially set up an earthly kingdom that would come to full bloom when re-gathered to the Promised Land when Islam is powerful on the world scene. This is very important, and those of the Churches of God who have failed to thoroughly research history to see if YEHOVAH God did so organize a kingdom have been very negligent in their efforts.

We have already referred to the fact that most conscientious students of the Bible accept the stone of Daniel as representative of the physical Kingdom of YEHOVAH God and of Yeshua His Messiah. With this we can be in perfect agreement. But when they try to tell us that this Kingdom has not yet been initially established, and that this event will not take place until the return of YEHOVAH God, we most certainly disagree with this idea. As history shows, their whole contention is totally wrong because YEHOVAH God did indeed set up a physical kingdom at Mt. Sinai -- fulfilling in every detail everything that Daniel said about it and the time of its establishment leading up to when it becomes a great mountain and fills the whole earth (Daniel 2:35).

Because, as we have just mentioned, most Bible students are in agreement that the Stone Kingdom of Daniel must represent the Kingdom over which the Messiah is to reign, let's turn now to the New Testament and read what the angel said to Mary in Luke 1 --

"Look! You will become pregnant, you will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Yeshua. He will be great, he will be called Son of HaElyyon. Adonai, God, will give him the throne of his forefather David; and he will rule the House of Ya'akov [Jacob] forever -- there will be no end to his Kingdom" (Luke 1:31-33, JNT).

Leaders of the Churches of God have recognized and accepted the fact that Mary did give birth to a son, that his name was called Yeshua, that he has become great and is called the son of YEHOVAH God. No true Christian will deny any one of these statements, for they are all literally fulfilled and upon the basis of that literal fulfillment the Church of God stands today.

It is logical to say, then, that the Kingdom over which Yeshua the Messiah is to reign forever is the physical Kingdom of YEHOVAH God. The stone to which Daniel refers is the EMBLEM of that Kingdom. With these statements no reasonable person can disagree. But the angel clearly told Mary that the Kingdom over which Yeshua the Messiah is to reign forever is "the House of Ya'akov [Jacob]." Of this Kingdom -- the House of Jacob -- the angel said there would be no end, and Daniel wrote that the Stone Kingdom would endure forever. Therefore, based on the statements made by the angel concerning the House of Jacob, and in conjunction with the statement of Daniel concerning the Stone Kingdom, this 5th kingdom of Daniel can be none other than the House of Jacob (Israel)! Surely it is as logical to expect as literal and exact a fulfillment of the final statements of the angel to Mary as we have seen in the first portion of the angel's declaration. Yeshua the Messiah was born to be a King so the angel declared: 1st)  YEHOVAH God will give to him the throne of his father David; 2nd) he will reign over the House of Jacob forever; 3rd)  of his Kingdom (the House of Jacob) there shall be no end.

Let us carefully notice the angel's declaration that Yeshua the Messiah was to RULE OVER THE HOUSE OF JACOB FOREVER. This makes the stone of Daniel the emblem of the House of Jacob (Israel). Does history supply us with the evidence that YEHOVAH God of Heaven did set up a kingdom and that it was the House of Jacob? We find that at Mount Sinai in Arabia YEHOVAH God did indeed organize a kingdom, circa 1487 B.C.:

"And Moses went up to God. The LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, 'Thus shall you say to the House of Jacob and declare to the children of Israel: "You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Me. Now then, if you will obey Me faithfully and keep My covenant, you shall be My treasured possession among all the peoples. Indeed, all the earth is Mine, but you shall be to Me a KINGDOM OF PRIESTS AND A HOLY NATION."' These are the words that you shall speak to the children of Israel" (Exodus 19:3-6, Tanakh ).

At Mount Sinai the House of Jacob was organized into the Kingdom of YEHOVAH upon earth. The facts of that organization are clearly presented in the 19th and 20th chapters of Exodus -- and only the person who shuts his eyes and closes his mind to reality will deny this fact. In the Bible -- as well as in secular records -- we can follow the history of that kingdom. In 970-969 B.C. the House of Israel revolted from the rule of Solomon's son, and from that day forward the Kingdom was divided into TWO PARTS. During the years from 914 to 853 B.C. Israel's power and fame were greatly reduced and by 740 B.C. the first Assyrian invasion of the land of Israel led to the removal and captivity of the half-tribe of Mannasseh. By 721-719 B.C. Samaria was captured and the great captivity of the House of Israel (the 10-tribed northern Kingdom) commenced and the people were deported to the cities of the Medes.

The House of Judah (the 2-tribed southern Kingdom) suffered a similar fate in 604 B.C. when the first captivity of Judah began and Daniel and his companions were taken to Babylon. By 585 B.C. Jerusalem was captured by the enemy, the city and Temple destroyed, and the deportation of Judah completed.

During the time the Israelites were captives in the land of Egypt, various groups managed to escape and find their way to the island of Crete and areas surrounding the Aegean Sea. From these areas the Israelite groups eventually found their way across Europe to the Appointed Place. YEHOVAH God, who had established His Kingdom at Mount Sinai, was actually preparing for the transplanting and setting up of that Kingdom in the Isles of the Sea -- far removed from the trouble and turmoil that followed the reign of the Babylonian Succession of Empires. In preparation for planting His people Israel in the Isles of the Sea, YEHOVAH sent an advance guard of the royal line of Judah to rule over His people when they arrived.

Shortly after the Exodus one of these groups, under the leadership of Gathelus, found its way to the shores of Ireland. Gathelus was the son of Cecrops -- an Israelite who fled Egypt and founded the city of Athens. According to The Harmsworth Encyclopedia, Cecrops was none other than Calcol of I Chronicles 2:6 -- the son of Zarah and grandson of Judah. In my article The Incredible Story of Lia Fail I wrote: "It is stated that Calcol was the leader of a band of Hebrew colonists from Egypt, who evidently left before the Exodus of the Bible." Herman L. Hoeh, in his Compendium of World History, states that "Athenian history commences with the founding of the city by Cecrops in 1556 [B.C.]" (Vol. I, p. 390).

Gathelus, the son of Cecrops, went to Egypt during the time of Moses to make contact with his brethren there. While in the land, "Pharaoh gave him one of his own daughters to wife. This lady was called Scota....She bore her husband two sons in Egypt, namely Eber Finn and Amerghin" (Geoffrey Keating, The History of Ireland). However, Gathelus soon incurred the wrath of the Pharaoh because of his friendship with Moses and the Israelites. According to Keating, "Pharaoh Intur and the Egyptians...remembered their old grudge to...the family of Gaedal [Gathelus], namely their resentment for the friendship the latter had formed with the children of Israel. They [the Egyptians], then, made war upon the Gaels, who were thereby compelled to exile themselves from Egypt" (History of Ireland from the Earliest Period to the English Invasion, pp. 153-156).

Hector Boece, in his Chronicles of Scotland, wrote: "A short while afterwards he [Gathelus] provisioned a ship and sailed out of the mouth of the River Nile with his wife, friends and servants -- Greeks and Egyptians -- for fear of the plagues of God" (pp. 22-24). After wending their way to Crete, Samothrace, Gotland, Norway, and finally Spain, the exiled Israelites, with their Judahite leaders, set about building towns which are known today as Barsale and Compestella. According to Boece, "following this Gathelus named all his subjects Scots, in honour and affection for his wife, who was called Scota..."

Seumas MacManus, in his book The Story of the Irish Race, records that "Miled [another name for Gathelus] having died in Spain, his eight sons, with their mother, Scota, their families and followers, at length set out on their venturous voyage to their Isle of Destiny...Eventually they made land -- Eber with the survivors of his following landing at Inver Sceni, in Bantry Bay...but losing their own Queen Scota in the fray [with the inhabitants of the island] -- and Eremon with his people at Invercolpa (mouth of the Boyne)" (p. 10). According to the British historian Nennius, speaking of the voyage from Egypt to Ireland, "he [Gathelus] was expelled [from Egypt] and he wandered for 42 years...and came to Spain, and there they lived for many years..." before moving on to Ireland after the death of Gathelus in Spain.

Another group of Israelites, who escaped from Egypt before the Exodus, eventually found their way to the Dardanelles where they founded the city of Troy. In the booklet How Israel Came to Britain, we read that "another [group of Israelites], under the leadership of Dardanus, a brother of Calcol, crossed to Asia Minor to found the Kingdom later known as Troy. When Troy was destroyed by the Greeks, the Trojans fled to Italy and later to Britain where they established themselves as the Kingdom of Britain about the year 1100 B.C." (p. 2). Relates author Raymond E. Capt --

"The descendants of Darda (Dardannes or Danaans) ruled ancient Troy for several hundred years, until the city was destroyed in the famous 'Siege of Troy.' Aeneas, the last of the royal blood, (Zarah-Judah) collected the remnants of his nation and traveled with them to Italy. There he married the daughter of Latinus, king of the Latins, and subsequently founded the great Roman Empire. Aeneas' grandson, Brutus, with a large party of the Trojans migrated to 'the great white island' (an early name for Britain due to its chalk cliffs)...At Totnes on the River Dart, twelve miles inland from Torbay (the oldest seaport in South Devon) is an historical stone that commemorates the coming of Brutus to Britain. (Cir. 1103 B.C.) The stone was known as the 'Brutus stone,' the tradition being that the Trojan prince set foot upon it when he first landed" (Missing Links Discovered in Assyrian Tablets, pp. 65-66).

YEHOVAH God planted the royal line of Judah in the Appointed Place -- Britain -- well in advance of the main body of Israelites that would eventually follow. The prophet Nathan told David of such a place to be appointed by YEHOVAH --

"Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime" (II Samuel 7:10).

YEHOVAH God planted the Throne in the Isles and later on Israel trekked to that appointed place, but their royal line had gone on before them. Speaking of these facts, and the breaking up of Israel as they followed their royal line to the place where the House of Jacob eventually became a multitude of people, the prophet Micah prophesied:

"I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as a flock in the midst of their pasture; they shall be noisy with people. The breaker is gone up before them; they have broken forth and passed on to the gate [the Caucasus], and have gone out of it; AND THEIR KING HAS PASSED ON BEFORE THEM, and the LORD at their head" (Micah 2:12-13).

Throughout the entire period of the activity of the Babylonian Succession of Empires, YEHOVAH God was setting up His Kingdom. Therefore, Isaiah could say:

"His government will expand , and peace will be endless for the throne of David and his kingdom, to establish it and to sustain it with justice and righteousness from now on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this" (Isaiah  9:7)

According to this statement of the prophet Isaiah, the setting up of the physical Kingdom of YEHOVAH God was not accomplished in a short period of time for, following its organization at Mount Sinai, we find that it was a process covering centuries of time. Down through the ages the Kingdom has been growing and expanding under the direction and leadership of YEHOVAH God. How totally foolish, then, for people to say that this Kingdom is to suddenly come into existence after the Babylonian Succession has disappeared and the Messiah has appeared on the scene! We must realize that Yeshua the Messiah is coming to take over the rulership of AN EXISTING KINGDOM!

New Testament scholars point out that, with over a hundred references in the Gospels, the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God -- or YEHOVAH's rule -- was a central theme in the preaching of the Messiah. A recurrent thread is evident in parables in which he instructs his disciples that the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God is both a present reality and something that grows and develops over time.

In the parable of the sower, for example, the Messiah likens the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God to a farmer planting his field. Inevitably, along with the wheat (true Christians) grow weeds (false brethren). When asked whether the impostors should be rooted out, the Messiah replies: "But he said, 'No, because if you pull up the weeds, you might uproot some of the wheat at the same time. Let them both grow together until the harvest; and at harvest-time I will tell the reapers to collect the weeds first and tie them in bundles to be burned, but to gather the wheat into my barn'" (Matthew 13:29-30, JNT). The Messiah is here indicating that just as a crop takes time to grow in the field, the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God is developing. At the end of time, at the return of the Messiah and his Father YEHOVAH, the true believers will be separated from the false.

This concept of YEHOVAH's Kingdom as developing through the ages is also suggested in the parable of the mustard seed, where the Messiah tells his disciples: "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed which a man takes and sows in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it grows up it is larger than any garden plant and becomes a tree, so that the birds flying about come and nest in its branches" (Matthew 13:31-32, JNT).

History clearly reveals that after their royal line had passed on before them to the Isles of Britain, the House of Israel left the land of their Assyrian captors, moving through the "gates" of the Caucasus Mountains as they migrated from Asia into central and southern Europe. By the end of the third century B.C. the Celts, or "Gauls" as the Romans called them, filled the whole of Central Europe and North Italy -- from the Apennines to Brittany. It is about this period that they first came under the scrutiny of the historians, for so greatly had the Celtic tribes increased in number, that their migrations to more extensive lands caused a general commotion. They crossed the Alps and Apennines, overrunning Central and Southern Italy. In the process they overthrew and absorbed the fellow Israelite Etruscan states -- a civilization that exceeded that of Rome both in civilization and extent.

Rome was sacked and burned (390 B.C.) by the Gaulish leader Brennus, and Rome continued to be harassed by the Gauls for almost 200 years. Previous to the battle of Sentinum, the Gauls had never lost a battle against the Roman legions. In the century before Caesar, the Gauls again attacked the Romans, joining forces with their kinsmen, the Teutons from the north. In five battles they defeated five Roman consuls. For many years they ravaged all the country from the Rhine to the Pyrenees. Then they spread into Spain, where they were repulsed by a mingled branch of their own Israelitish stock -- the Iberians. The Celts and Gauls eventually expanded into Britain and Ireland, where they created individual rural communities. Writes E. Raymond Capt --

"The name 'Iberes' (the Gaelic name for Hebrews) was carried by Celtic peoples from Spain to Ireland. They named their new island home, 'Hibernai,' a name that still exists. However, the name 'Scotia' is, by ancient historians, applied to Ireland more often than any other name. Orosius, a third century geographer, used the term 'Hibernia, the nation of the Scoti.' The ancient poets and seanachies (historians) of Ireland claim the name 'Scotia' was derived from 'Scota,' queen-mother of the Milesians" (Missing Links Discovered in Assyrian Tablets , p. 150).

"During this time, it appears the general term 'Celt' comprised the Cimmerii or Cymry; the Gael or Gauls; the Belgae and several minor tribes, all being the primitive inhabitants of Gaul, Belgium, the British Isles and probably parts of Spain and Portugal. Descendants of these people now inhabit Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Cornwall, the Isle of Man, France, and to a lesser degree, Spain, Portugal and Italy. Perhaps the closest living representatives of the ancient Celts are those who retreated to the fastness of Wales. To this day, they cling to their ancient language and traditions with patient tenacity" (ibid ., p. 151).

The next to arrive in the "appointed place" were the Anglo-Saxons. Tacitus and Ptolemy both name the region of the River Elbe and the base of the Jutland Peninsula as the places inhabited by the Angles and the Saxons (Isaac's sons) before they came to Britain. Bede, the English historian in the 8th century wrote an account of the Anglo-Saxon invasion of Britain --

"Those who came over were of the three most powerful nations of Germany -- Saxons, Angles and Jutes. From the Jutes are descended the people of Kent and the Isle of Wight, and also those in the province of the West Saxons who are to this day called Jutes, seated opposite to the Isle of Wight. From the Saxons, that is the country which is now called Old Saxony, (modern North Germany and Holland) came the East Saxons, the South Saxons, and the West Saxons. From the Angles, this is the country which is called Angeln, and which is said from that time to remain a desert to this day, between the province of the Jutes and the Saxons, are descended the East Angles, the Midland Angles, Mercians, all the race of the Northumbrians, that is of those nations that dwell north of the river Humber, and the other nations of the English" (quoted from Everyman's edition).

The Saxons were mainly derived from the Western Scythians (Israelites) that migrated through the Caucasus (the "gate" mentioned by the prophet Micah) into Europe around the sixth century B.C.

By 1066 A.D. the final group of Israelites, during what secular history calls the Norman Conquest, arrived in the Isles -- completing the overland trek to the appointed place. The Normans were descended from the Norse, and William the Conqueror was the sixth generation from Rolf the Ganga who invaded the north of France in 853 A.D. The Normans were a branch of the Scythians who came from Scandinavia. They and the other invading peoples are all of one origin -- Israelites of either the Scythian or the Cimmerian branch of the ancient (ga-me-ra-a-a) Gimira, the Assyrian name for Israelites. The Ancient Britons are also descended from the same stock -- Hebrews that left Egypt before the Exodus or later from Palestine before the captivities of Israel. From then on the Kingdom began to consolidate its position and grow as YEHOVAH God prospered His people.

Thus, YEHOVAH established His Kingdom at Mount Sinai in circa 1487 B.C. and later, during the migrations of Gathelus and Brutus, set the throne of that Kingdom in the Isles of the sea. In the years that followed elements of the Israelite migrations arrived in the "appointed place" of Britain to be ruled over by the "royal line" of Judah that had preceded them. Consequently, it was during a period of a little over 2,520 years that YEHOVAH God established, transplanted and set up His Kingdom during the days of those kings -- that is, of Babylon, Media, Persia and Islam -- in accurate fulfillment of Daniel's statements to the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar.

Let's briefly establish again the chronological boundaries of the four World Empires, for by so doing we will see how accurately Daniel spoke when he referred to the physical Kingdom of YEHOVAH coming into being during the reign of those kings:

1)  The foundation of the Stone Kingdom was laid in circa. 1487 B.C. Meanwhile, the Babylonian Empire arose out of Assyria. Assyrian independence began about 1900 B.C. but Assyria was a weak state between 1500 and 1400 B.C. It gained brief mastery over Babylon through conquest by Tiglath-Adar (1300 B.C.).

2)  Tiglath-Pileser I (1130 B.C.) spread his conquest to the Mediterranean and Caspian Seas on the west, and south to the Persian Gulf. Out of the Assyrian Empire arose the supremacy of Babylon when Nabopolassar, the father of Nebuchadnezzar, in conjunction with Ajaxares, King of the Medes, besieged and captured Nineveh in 625 B.C. By 606 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar had established his kingdom.

3)  The Median Empire began its rise with the fall of Assyria (647-625 B.C.) in the Median struggle for independence. But it was not until Cyrus and Darius the Mede conquered Babylon in 538 B.C. that the Medians became the second great World Empire.

4)  The formative period of Persia is set by the historians as 538 B.C. to 334 B.C., when Alexander the Great conquered the Persian Army. The second phase of the Persian Empire continued down to 637 A.D. when invaded by the Islamic hordes. The Third World Empire had come into existence.

5)  The Fourth World Empire came to fruition in 637 A.D. when Abu Bakr invaded the Persian Empire, and has continued down to today in various forms.

Thus, from the time that the foundation of YEHOVAH's Kingdom was laid at Mount Sinai, throughout the centuries that the Babylonian Succession of Empires has held sway, YEHOVAH God has been schooling His people -- first in the wilderness when they received His laws to administer, then in practical experience in their administration in the land of Palestine. Then came the long period of advanced schooling in the "wilderness of the people" as Israel moved westward, followed by the gathering into the appointed place, after which the stone was to strike the feet of the Babylonian image.

It is quite obvious, then, that the nation that will accomplish this task of smiting the image upon its feet, "breaking in pieces and consuming all these kingdoms," can be none other than the people of the Stone Kingdom! Starting out as a "little stone" at Mount Sinai and continuing to grow into a large stone, they have now grown into a company of nations and a great people in these latter days.

The growth of the Stone Kingdom into a mountain that will fill the whole earth will not reach its climax until YEHOVAH God returns and the Messiah takes over the Throne of his Father David and reigns over the House of Israel forever. We should remember that in this day -- when men's hearts are failing them as the possibility of total destruction looms before them because of some terrorist or mad leader of a third world country with the atomic bomb -- the promise given by the angel to Mary and through the prophet Daniel is that YEHOVAH's Kingdom, the House of Israel, or stone of Nebuchanezzar's dream, SHALL ENDURE FOREVER! Isaiah could therefore readily say --

"No weapon that is forged against you will be effective. This is the heritage of the LORD's servants, and their righteousness from Me, says the LORD" (Isaiah 54:17, DSSB ).

In light of this statement by Isaiah, Daniel's declaration regarding the Kingdom -- that it "shall never be destroyed" -- takes on new meaning and we need not fear, even in this era of Islamic terrorism and atomic bombs. Furthermore, Daniel clearly states that this Kingdom will not be left to any other people.

The prophet Micah had a vision of the day when the Stone Kingdom -- the House of Israel -- would become a UNIVERSAL kingdom. Notice --

"But in the latter days the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it. And many nations shall go and say, 'Come and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths.' For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem" (Micah 4:1-2, DSSB ).

With the mountain phase of kingdom growth an accomplished fact, and with Yeshua the Messiah ruling from the Throne of his father David over the House of Jacob, and with YEHOVAH God the Father ruling the world from the Holy Temple, the result will be --

"And He [YEHOVAH God] will judge between many peoples, and will decide concerning strong nations, no matter how far away. And they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, nor shall they learn war anymore" (Micah 4:3, DSSB).

But before this can take place Israel, as YEHOVAH's battle ax and weapon of war, must perform the task of completing the total destruction of the entire Babylonian image.  Summarizing the elements of the image, Daniel significantly reversed their order of appearance when he climaxed his description of Nebuchadnezzar's dream:

"Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold all together were broken in pieces and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floor; and the wind carried them away, so that no trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth" (Daniel 2:35, DSSB).

Then, and only then, will the way be opened for the stone to become a great mountain and fill the whole earth.

As we have just seen, the Church is not the "Stone" Kingdom because it did not destroy the Empires of Babylon, Media, Persia, and Islam in the days of their power. Similarly, Yeshua the Messiah is not the smiting "Stone" because the first three kingdoms were to be broken at the height of their power and before the Messiah's birth -- with only the fourth kingdom at the end of the Christian age.

On the other hand, the nation of Israel did have a part in the breaking up of Babylon in 538 B.C. The Medes and Persians destroyed Babylon, where the House of Judah had been taken captive. However, it turns out that the 10-Tribed House of Israel had been held captive in Media, and the Medians used some of these 10 Tribes as spearheads for their army to help capture Babylon and release their brethren of the 2-Tribed House of Judah! In this way, and in YEHOVAH's infinite wisdom, the 10 Tribes of Israel were part of the army which destroyed Babylon, and therefore qualified as the "Stone" which smote the Babylonian image!

In the same incredible way, when it was time for the first phase of the Persian Empire to be destroyed by Greece in 336 B.C., the Greeks used some of the 10-Tribed House of Israel to defeat the  Persians! The 10 Tribes were now known as the "Massagetae," and the Greeks used them as a spearhead to overthrow Persia. In this way again, Israel proved to be a "smiting stone" as foreseen by Daniel!

Now that we have established the chronology of the Succession of Babylonian Empires, and having identified the "little stone" in Nebuchadnezzar's dream as the House of Jacob or Israel, YEHOVAH's battle ax and weapon of war, let us now follow the history of events as the stone actually began to strike the nations represented in the subdivisions of the Islamic or Fourth Empire.

The House of Jacob or Israel is represented today by the Anglo-Saxon-Celtic peoples, and we should find in the history of these peoples clear-cut opposition to the civil and military might of Islam -- as well as an antagonism to Islam's ecclesiastical authority. This resistance to Islam should clearly be evident at the time the chronological period is reached when the nations represented by the legs and feet of Daniel's image are active.

After the fall of Persian Empire, the way was open for the rise of Islam. We should not expect to find the stone smiting the feet of the image until after this, because it was not until the subdivision of the Islamic Empire into the two denominations of Shia and Sunni that the Stone Kingdom was to begin its smiting. Because Islam, as represented by the two legs of iron, was divided into the Shia and Sunni branches of the Empire with entire countries being formed around these two denominations, and was active in both the ecclesiastical and civil manifestations of its authority, we should expect to find the Stone Kingdom in opposition to both areas of Islam's administration. This is exactly what we find as we study history.

"nevertheless it was not the end of English involvement in the crusades. Richard’s nephew and namesake, Richard of Cornwall, the able younger brother of Henry III, took the cross, and Richard’s great nephew, a man who would prove his military capabilities against the Welsh and the Scots, also led a crusade.

"Because the latter was not yet king at the time and had too few resources to affect much, the crusade of Edward I of England tends to get overlooked in crusader history. Nevertheless, it demonstrates that the Plantagenet kings had not lost interest in the Holy Land. Furthermore, despite the overwhelming strength of his opponent, Baibars -- a highly successful, ruthless and treacherous Mamluke sultan -- Edward obtained a ten year truce. He also reinforced the walls of Acre with an additional tower (and Edward was to prove a master castle builder as his castles in Wales demonstrate), the 'King Edward Tower'” (ibid.).

While these events were transpiring in the Middle East, YEHOVAH God was proceeding with the setting up of His Kingdom in the Isles of Britain -- consolidating their position and separating them completely from continental nations. Following the invasion of England by William the Conqueror, there was war with France. During this period the Magna Carta was granted by King John (1215 A.D.) and Parliament was established in the reign of Henry III. The Hundred Year War (1337-1453 A.D.), for the recovery of the French lands lost by John, was begun by Edward III and carried on successfully by his son, the Black Prince. Henry VI continued the war which turned against the English after the death of Joan of Arc (1431 A.D.). Civil strife, known as the Wars of the Roses (1455-87 A.D.), between the factions of Lancaster and York ended with the rise to power of Henry Tudor. During the five Tudor reigns (1485-1603) the foundation of England's prosperity and greatness was laid.

Queen Elizabeth I came to the throne in 1558 A.D. and reigned until 1603 A.D. With the Elizabethan Period the rise of modern civilization began. Protestantism was firmly established during her reign and peace was made with France. England became recognized as one of the great powers. With the reign of Queen Elizabeth -- and the recognition of England as a great power -- the time had arrived for the "little stone" to fulfill Matthew 21:44.

Not only was Israel of old used as the "smiting stone" in demolishing three of the four powerful Empires of Daniel 2, but also Israel, in the "Isles of the West," has been instrumental in saving the world from four more modern Empires:

1)  In 1588 the Spanish Empire was supreme, and the Spanish Armada was sent from Catholic Spain to destroy the English navy, subdue England and bring it back under Catholicism. However, YEHOVAH God intervened and the Spanish Armada was defeated and the Spanish Empire finally demolished. Spain had fallen upon the "Stone Kingdom" and was crushed to powder.

2)  Napoleon Bonaparte swept everything before him in Europe and seemed invincible. He gathered 300,000 troops on the English Channel and said, "Give me four hours control of the English Channel, and I will subdue England, and then all Europe." However, Napoleon never gained those four hours -- he then struck at Russia, set off for Moscow, and that was the end of him! At both the battle of Waterloo in 1815, and at Trafalgar in 1805, Napoleon learned the lesson that it was true what Daniel the prophet said of the "smiting stone" of Israel -- its enemies would become "like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors."

3)  In 1914 the Kaiser brought on World War I, with the invasion of Belgium, which Britain and the Allies defended. The Kaiser proudly boasted -- "I will have my Christmas Dinner in Buckingham Palace when we win the war" -- however he failed to do so and, after the Armistice, finished up chopping wood in exile in Holland! In 1917 the U.S.A. brought in fresh troops to the rescue, and the Kaiser soon learned that to fall on the " Stone Kingdom" would result in being "ground to powder."

4)  In 1940, Adolf Hitler attacked Britain and threatened to destroy her, but YEHOVAH gave Britain the "Miracle of Dunkirk" and the upper hand in the Battle of Britain. In 1941 Britain was joined by the U.S.A., and eventually the Allies triumphed. Hitler also had fallen on the "Stone Kingdom," and also learned the lesson of the prophet Daniel that to do so would result in his becoming "like the chaff of the summer threshing-floor." How wonderful and true is the Word of YEHOVAH!

The first blows of the modern efforts of the "Stone Kingdom" were directed at the European nation of Spain as it attempted to force England into the Catholic realm. Under the direction of Philip II of Spain a great armada was built and launched with the purpose of striking a decisive blow at Protestantism by the conquest of England. Pope Sextus V had assigned England to Philip and blessed his undertaking. This great armada consisted of 129 vessels, 65 of which weighed over 700 tons, with 8,000 sailors and 19,000 Castilian and Portuguese soldiers. Queen Elizabeth had 80 ships, only 30 of which were ships of the line. But the superior naval skill and experience of the English admirals, together with the fact that their vessels were smaller, enabled them to attack the larger ships of the Spanish Fleet far more effectively. The guns of the Spanish Fleet fired over the smaller English vessels and this helped defeat the Spaniards in 1588 A.D. The destruction was completed by violent storms and only 54 out of the original 129 vessels ever made it back to Spanish ports.

England's independence was saved and Protestantism (with elements of YEHOVAH's people among them) was safe -- but the Spanish naval power was completely demolished. The "little stone" had struck a major blow! Writes Howard B. Rand: "It is an interesting observation regarding this religious conflict that it was a struggle between two distinct conceptions of life. One believed in the all-powerful Church with a subservient State that would always do its bidding. The other believed in the freedom of conscience and worship and a State not subject to the dictation of ecclesiastical leaders" (Study in Revelation, p. 109).

Thereafter the House of Jacob in the Isles was well on its way toward the fulfillment of that phase of its mission which would see the complete smashing of the image accomplished. Following the destruction of the Spanish Armada, the foundation of England's colonial expansion and wealth was laid. With the commencement of her maritime supremacy the growth of trade and commerce began in England. England went to the assistance of the Reformation forces on the Continent and was at war with France in 1627 A.D. in support of the Huguenots. Between 1600 and 1800 A.D. Great Britain was involved in wars with France, Spain, Prussia and other European nations and in this way the stone was striking at its adversaries as it made war against the civil and military authority of Continental Powers.

During this period the United States won its independence and was free to grow into a Great People, fulfilling the prophecy concerning Manasseh:

"He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great" (Genesis 48:19).

In that way one branch of the Israel peoples was separated from the rest of their brethren and during the subsequent years was being prepared by YEHOVAH God to help when the final blows were to be struck to grind the Babylonian image to powder.

Meanwhile Great Britain continued her activities and the first coalition against France was formed in 1793 A.D., the second in 1798 A.D. The next year the Battle of the Nile was fought and Admiral Horatio Nelson was victorious, securing for Great Britain the domination of the Mediterranean. The third coalition against France came in 1805 A.D. and Napoleon's Continental successes were largely offset by the victory on October 21, 1805, of the British fleet under Nelson off Cape Trafalgar over the combined fleets of France and Spain. This victory gave Great Britain mastery of the sea throughout the remainder of the Napoleonic era.

Before the effect of British sea power could be manifest, however, Napoleon increased his power over the Continent. By 1808 he was master of all Europe -- except for Russia and Great Britain. But, from this time on, Napoleon's power began to decline. The chief reasons for this decline were the rise of nationalism in the various defeated nations of Europe and the persistent opposition of Great Britain. Safe from invasion because of its superior navy and the fact of the English Channel, the British never ceased to organize and subsidize new coalitions against Napoleon.

In 1808 Sir Arthur Wellesley -- later known as "The Iron Duke" of Wellington -- was given command of the British expeditionary forces in Portugal, where in 1810 he first made use of his famous military tactic known as the scorched-earth policy, laying waste to the countryside behind him as he and his troops moved on. In the ensuing Peninsular War (1808-14), which resulted in the expulsion of Napoleon's armies from Portugal and Spain, Wellesley's troops won a series of victories -- especially at Talavera de la Reina (1809), Salamanca (1812), Vitoria (1813), and Toulouse (1814). His success in Spain won him many honors and in 1814 he was created 1st Duke of Wellington.

When Napoleon escaped from the island of Elba in February, 1815, and returned to France to resume hostilities against the allies, Wellington assumed command of the main allied armies. The Napoleonic Wars followed -- ending in the decisive defeat of Napoleon by Wellington at the Battle of Waterloo. Thus the "little stone" struck a terrific blow that prevented France, under Napoleon, from realizing its dream of world conquest and building another world empire.

The Barbary Pirates

Zhou was not simply being enigmatic. His answer had a great deal to do with the enormous consequences that flow from cataclysmic events such as revolutions and wars, which influence the course of peoples and nations in ways that cannot be easily foreordained or traced. The Great War (1914-1918) led to the dissolution of three European empires -- Russian, Austrian and German -- from which emerged unimaginable consequences for the future of Europe and indeed the world.

History details the unfolding drama that began in the failure of the empire’s own political spring, the Young Turks’ revolution of 1908. Instead of heralding the onset of a liberal state, it delivered the empire to the increasingly authoritarian clique of the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) which dominated the political life of the shrinking empire. Huge territories were lost in the mostly Christian Balkans in the disastrous Balkan wars of 1912-1913. Tripolitania came under Italian control at the same time, leaving the empire reduced to a Turkish and Arab core in Anatolia proper and the Arab lands of the Middle East.

A new lease of life beckoned, following an internal stabilization of sorts backed by powerful economic growth. But the empire’s rulers, fearful of further encroachments on its territory and suspicious of the still significant and mostly Christian minorities in their midst, chose to ally themselves with the Central Powers.

In November 1914 the Ottoman empire entered the war against the Allies. The triumvirate that ruled the Ottoman empire -- Enver, Talat and Cemal -- mobilized the by-now overwhelmingly Muslim population in a call to global jihad. Campaigns were launched against the Russians in the Caucasus and the British, ensconced since 1881 in Egypt and along the Suez canal. The campaign against the Russians ended in an epic defeat for Ottoman arms at the battle of Sarikamis in the winter of 1914. Of the 100,000 sent into battle, scarcely 18,000 survived. The Suez campaign also ended in defeat, but with nowhere near the casualties of the Caucasus front.

The Ottoman empire was now on the defensive. In November 1914 an Anglo-Indian expeditionary force landed in Basra, launching the British campaign to occupy Mesopotamia, while the Egyptian Expeditionary Force prepared to attack Palestine. Meanwhile, the British began the process of assiduously courting Sharif Hussein, the hereditary ruler of Mecca, to break with the Ottoman empire. They beguiled him with unclear promises of a united Arab nation, under his family’s rule, to emerge out of the wreckage of the empire.

However, within the empire the situation was made more ominous by the triumvirate’s fears of the enemy within. The nascent Arab nationalist movement, based mainly in Damascus, was dealt a fearsome blow by the iron-fisted rule of Cemal Pasha, with dozens of its leading luminaries hanged for treason. But a far more disastrous fate awaited the millions of hapless Armenians of the empire, suspected of collaborating with the invading Russians in the dismemberment of the empire. In a premeditated plan, nearly 1.5 million Armenians met their grisly end -- through murder, starvation, disease and forced marches through the desert -- in the 20th century’s first genocide.

However, by 1917, the tide had begun to turn against the Ottomans. The British regrouped in Mesopotamia and under the able General Maude occupied Baghdad in March. In Palestine, the Egyptian Expeditionary Force under General Allenby broke out of the Sinai into Palestine proper. The Ottomans scored a victory in Gaza but it was not enough to prevent the roll back of their forces in Syria. Not even Russia’s withdrawal from the war as a result of the 1917 October revolution could help the Ottomans to concentrate more forces in Syria or Mesopotamia.

Allenby’s army, supported by the forces of Faisal’s Northern Army on its right flank, decisively defeated the Ottoman Seventh Army in the battle of Megiddo in September 1918. Jerusalem had already been lost in December 1917, and in October 1918 Arab and Allied forces occupied Damascus. Syria had fallen. On October 31, 1918, hostilities came to an end. The Stone Kingdom was victorious. The Ottoman empire accepted the terms of the onerous armistice of Mudros. The empire effectively ceased to exist at that moment. Istanbul was occupied in November 1918 and the empire was divided into subordinate mandated states -- in effect a type of colonialism -- for the Arabs of the empire. It opened the way for the establishment of the "Jewish National Home" in Palestine, as envisaged by the Balfour Declaration of 1917.

The time had arrived when Daniel's Stone Kingdom began the process that will eventually lead to the ultimate dissolution of the Babylonian Succession of Empires.

Also, we should recognize the fact that by 1914 A.D. -- or 2,520 years after Nebuchadnezzar became King -- the "Times of the Gentiles" were about to expire. During World War I the city of Jerusalem was set free from the rule of the Islamic Turks as we have just seen, also the end of a 2,520-year period from the time Nebuchadnezzar took the city and carried away many Israelite captives to Babylon occurred. These two events, the German declaration of war in 1914 and the taking of Jerusalem in 1917, should have been trumpet blasts of warning to YEHOVAH's people that the age was about to end. The 2,520 years had run their course since the "head of gold," or Nebuchnezzar's Kingdom, was established. Yeshua the Messiah gave Jerusalem a sign when he said:

"And Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled" (Luke 21:24).

Because many in the Churches of God were unaware of the identity of the Kingdom people, the significance of the taking of Jerusalem by General Allenby was totally lost to them -- and the Kaiser's attack in 1914 was just another war. But Jerusalem had been released from Islamic control according to prophecy and the end of the "Times of the Gentiles" was at hand.

The defeat of the Islamic Ottoman Empire in 1917 did not bring the Babylonian Succession of Empires to an end. Islam, though defeated, was not entirely vanquished, and the next phase of the Stone Kingdom's war against Daniel's Fourth Empire flared up anew when the Shah of Iran was deposed in 1979 and the Ayatollah Khomeini took over power in Iran and, later that year, his supporters seized the American embassy in Tehran.

President Bush did occasionally mention radical Islam -- in fact, as early as nine days after 9/11 -- but not with enough frequency or detail to change perceptions. The British prime minister, Tony Blair also advanced the discussion in July, when, after the London transport bombings, he focused on "a religious ideology, a strain within the world-wide religion of Islam."

Most serious, though, is his limiting the "radical Islamic empire" (or caliphate) to just the Spain-to-Indonesia region, for Islam has a global vision that requires control over non-Muslim countries too -- and specifically the United States. Their universal ambitions certainly can be stopped, but first they must be understood and resisted. Only when Americans realize that the Islamists intend to replace the U.S. Constitution with Shariah Law will they enter the fourth and final era of this war.

The Stone Kingdom struck again at the Fourth Kingdom when the armies of modern Israel invaded Iraq and wrenched control of Bagdad and other towns from the control of the Islamic Iraqis and subsequently took on Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups. However, the task of smashing the image is not yet complete, and It appears that Daniel's prophecy will be well on its way to being fulfilled with the promises that the new president of the United States, Donald Trump, has made to destroy ISIS completely. Prophecy indicates, however, that the complete destruction of Islam won't happen until the re-gathering of Israel to the Promised Land when the forces of Israel, under YEHOVAH God, will totally destroy the malevolent force of Islam and the ten Islamic nations that array themselves against YEHOVAH's re-gathered people. This is shown in Psalm 83.

Another reason to prove that Britain and the U.S. is the 5th and "Stone Kingdom" of Daniel, is shown by the very fact that the British Isles were "cut out" of the mountain of Europe "without hands." The British Isles at one time were part of the Continent, however, because of the influence of the weather, the sea, and sea life, the English Channel was formed -- and the British Isles were separated from Europe.

And it was this English Channel which saved Britain from Spain, Napoleon, the Kaiser and Adolf Hitler! In 1940 and 1941 the Nazi leaders looked out across the English Channel from France and wished that they could cross it. In vain they tried! The English Channel has been described as "Britain's great tank trap," and we can be thankful that it was so. Imagine what would have happened if there had been no English Channel and Hitler had been able to overrun Britain as he had Holland, Belgium and France! We can thank YEHOVAH God that He had given that protection to Britain as the Stone Kingdom -- "cut out without hands."

As YEHOVAH God's battle ax we will yet have to face and destroy those who would seek to dominate the world. It is well to bear in mind that Britain and the U.S. are the only two great powers that have never been defeated in war. Korea was a stalemate and the U.S. withdrew from Vietnam. All the other great powers have been defeated -- including Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Turkey, Russia, China and Japan. This is in keeping with Daniel 2:44 --

"And in the days of these kings (Babylon, Media, Persia and Islam) shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom [Israel], 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."

This is why Britain and the U.S. have never been defeated, and never will be in war, and will stand "forever." Let those forces of evil in the world take note! The mountain phase of the Stone Kingdom is not yet here. This will not become a fact until the Messiah and his heavenly Father return to this earth to usher in peace and prosperity for the peoples therein. At that time Yeshua will take over the reigns of the House of Jacob and rule forever over YEHOVAH's chosen people. YEHOVAH will move in behalf of His people so that the Stone Kingdom will not be destroyed by the evil forces that come up against it, since the House of Jacob is to grow into a mountain and fill the entire earth.

Hope of Israel Ministries -- Preparing the Way for the Return of YEHOVAH God and His Messiah!

Hope of Israel Ministries P.O. Box 853 Azusa, CA 91702, U.S.A. www.hope-of-israel.org

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