Daniel concludes with these words:

"The great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure" (v.45).

The reader is earnestly recommended to study the second chapter of Daniel for himself. The general message is clear: human empires will rise and fall; they will be replaced by national kingdoms divided amongst themselves; but the day will come when the God of heaven will take away their power and will set up His own kingdom in the earth. It is a kingdom which will last for ever. The message of Daniel is the forerunner of the New Testament teaching that Christ is to return to the earth to rule it for God (read again Acts 17:31).

There is an important conclusion to be drawn from this prophecy through Daniel: the peace, safety and welfare of mankind will not be achieved by human philosophy, social theory, political alliances and treaties, scientific development, or any other forms of "human progress". It will come about by the direct intervention of God in human affairs, in sending back to the earth His own Son to rule in His Name. This will occur at a time of world-wide trouble and fear, and will deliver mankind from the threat of self-destruction.

The Kingdom of the Future
When Christ has returned and re-established his Father's authority, what will the world be like? The prophets have much to tell us. We select one example.

The second chapter of Isaiah begins with a remarkable picture of nations living at peace under the rule of God. "In the last days" all nations will acknowledge the rule of the Lord:

"And many peoples shall say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob" (v.3).

Why should they do this? What is the reason for their unusual agreement?

"He (God) will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law (the word means instruction, teaching) and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem" (v.3).

So the new center of world government is to be Jerusalem, whence the rule for the nations will go forth. And what is to be the effect of the rule of God?

"And he (the Lord) shall judge between the nations, and shall reprove many peoples; and they (the nations) shall beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks" (v.4).

The authority of the Lord will control the nations, who will no longer waste their strength and resources in creating weapons of war, but will devote them instead to the profitable activities of cultivation of the earth for their benefit. Then Isaiah concludes this section of his prophecy with the sublime words often echoed since with vague longing in times of international despair:

"Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more" (v.4).

This was the motto of the ill-fated League of Nations in the 1920s. The sense of idealism did not last 20 years. After the Second World War the creators of the United Nations Organization did not dare to resurrect it, and subsequent events have shown them to be realistic in this.

But the Word of God says that this state of peace among the nations, with the abandonment of war, will actually come to pass. It is the message of hope for the world.

Reflections
Let us sum up what we have said so far. The wisest of men, even in recent times, have failed to foresee the world dimensions of the future problems which would perplex humanity. They prophesied peace and there came war. To this day they have no policy or plan capable of healing the strifes of the nations, and no power to coerce the rebellious. They have no leader able to influence the nations in the only way capable of solving world problems. They are overcome by a spirit of hopelessness. They have no solution.

But the writers of the Bible foresaw all these things. They foretold the coming of distress, perplexity and fear on a world scale. They declare that God has a purpose with the earth and with the human race. They describe to us in detail, first in prophecy in the centuries before Christ, then in the Gospels of the New Testament, the person and character of the One chosen to take over the government of the world for God. He is revealed as the ideal Ruler, and in power, to bring a real solution to the world problems which oppress humanity in this 20th century. These things were written centuries ago, and yet they are utterly and inevitably right for the very modern problems of our age.

How can these things be? There is only one reasonable explanation; no men could have known these things of themselves. But if God is behind the Bible, if its writers were His servants writing His words, as they all claimed to do, then we can understand it. The plain fact then emerges: there is no other book in the world like the Bible. There is none which more deserves, and earnestly requires, our sincere attention.

"What about me?"
The reader may well say at this point, "You have been talking about nations and the world, but what about me?". A very reasonable question -- we are all quite rightly concerned about what will happen to us.

The Bible is just as clear and precise about the future of the individual man and woman as it is about the world. It analyses our human situation, points out what is the cause of the evils which afflict humanity, shows how we may order our lives in the service of God, and reveals to us the great future we may have in the world Kingdom to be established by Christ. The matters involved are so important that they cannot properly be explained in this short work. They deserve separate treatment. Meanwhile, let us gain comfort from this reflection: God has always been concerned with the individual man or woman who gives earnest thought to His words. Just consider this short saying addressed 700 years before Christ to faithful Israelites who were deeply disturbed by the corruption in their nation. God says that He is the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and yet

"to this man will I look, even to him that is poor (humble), and of a contrite spirit, and that trembleth at my word" (Isaiah 66:1-2).

Those words still apply. His gracious favor is always shown to those who are conscious of their weakness and imperfections, and who approach His Word in a spirit of humble reverence. The marvel is that the very words of God are still available to us in this confused 20th century. Let us give our attention to them while there is still time. For as Jesus said to his disciples: "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life" (John 6:63).