In Matthew 24, the Lord Jesus spoke of the tribulation which would occur before the coming of the Son of Man. He said:

Matt 24:14
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. (KJV)

The disciples may have thought the Lord Jesus was referring to the end of the world because they thought a new heaven and new earth would follow the coming of the Son of Man. However, God revealed to Paul that our present age of the Church which is the Body of Christ would have to run its full course before the new heaven and new earth, and God revealed to John that Christ would reign on this earth for 1000 years before the new heaven and new earth. With these things in mind, it would appear that when Christ spoke of the end, He was actually referring to the end of Gentile dominion over Israel.

Most of Daniel’s prophecies dealt with the subject of gentile dominion over Israel. Daniel knew that God had promised Israel a world wide kingdom, but King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had destroyed Jerusalem and taken Israel captive. There in captivity, Daniel had the opportunity to interpret a dream for Nebuchadnezzar which opened his eyes to the future. In his dream the king saw a great statue with a head of gold, with breast and arms of silver, with belly and thighs of brass, with legs of iron and with feet of part iron and part clay. The dream included a great stone which struck the feet of the statue and caused the entire statue to crumble.

The statue in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream represented the gentile nations which would rule over Israel between the time of Nebuchadnezzar and the time of the New Covenant Kingdom. Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar that he, the king of Babylon, was the head of gold. History reveals that the arms of silver represented the empires of the Medes and the Persians while the belly and thighs of brass symbolized the Greek Empire headed by Alexander the Great. The feet of iron and clay stood for the Roman Empire, and the toes represent the nations of the tribulation period. Although Daniel chapter 2 does not mention the antichrist, his later prophecies and the prophecies of the Revelation confirm that the 10 toes represent nations which will conspire with the antichrist to rule the world. Jesus Christ, the stone made without hands, will deal the final blow to Gentile dominion over Israel when He destroys the antichrist and his evil empire.

Dan 2:44-45
44 "And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall 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.
45 "Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold-- the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure." (NKJ)

When the antichrist rules the earth, he will create a great statue of himself (Revelation 13:15) which the people of the earth will be required to worship. Those who refuse to worship the image will rule with Christ for 1000 years after the antichrist is destroyed.

Rev 20:4
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. (NKJ)

Then will appear a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and first earth will pass away (Revelation 21:1) and the saints will rule with Christ for ever and ever (Revelation 22:5).

Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com

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http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/

James III’s link:
http://www.jeditime.blogspot.com