“In the days of these kings the God of heaven shall set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed. And the kingdom shall not be left to another people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.”

— Daniel 2:44

Shelley, in one of his sonnets, tells of meeting a traveler from Egypt who, in a trek across the desert wasteland, came upon the remains of a marble statue. All that remained on the pedestal were two feet and the lower part of two gigantic legs. Lying in the sand was the cracked remnant of what had been the head.

When the traveler rubbed the sand away from the pedestal, he found this inscription: “My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!” He turned and looked and as far as the eye could see, there was naught but the sifting sand. Whatever kingdom and glory he once realized had all disappeared.

Daniel was shown things about some of earth’s kingdoms, including ancient Babylon, the Medo-Persian Empire, the Macedonian Empire, and Rome as well. The rulers of these kingdoms boasted great things, but soon they passed away and they became nothing more than a chapter in a history book.

What is the Babylonian empire today? What is the Medo-Persian empire today? What is the Macedonian empire today to anyone? Simply historical points of interest on the continuum of time.

However, in the days of the Roman emperors, the God of heaven established a new kingdom, that of our Lord Jesus, which will never be destroyed. It continues to fill the whole earth to this day.

Jesus, King of kings, give us strength and insight and clear thinking today so that we might see You as You really are—the King of all kings, the Ruler of the nations. Open our eyes that we might see You on Your throne…