III. THE CENTRAL THOUGHT
The central thought of Daniel is that the ruling of the heavens (4:26) by the God of the heavens (2:37, 44) over all the human government on earth matches God’s eternal economy for Christ to terminate the old creation for the germination of the new creation and to smash and crush the aggregate of human government and establish the eternal kingdom of God.
The God of the heavens rules over all human government. Human government began with Nimrod in Genesis 10. Prior to Genesis 10 there were no human nations; instead, there was only mankind as a whole without established nations. Nations began to be established by Nimrod, who built Babel, a prefigure of Babylon (Gen. 10:8-10). Human government will conclude with the coming Antichrist, who will be the last Caesar of the Roman Empire. All human government from Nimrod to Antichrist has been and will continue to be under the ruling of the heavens by the God of the heavens.
In God’s economy, Christ has terminated the old creation for the germination of the new creation in His resurrection through His death. This was achieved in His first coming. In God’s economy, Christ, by His upcoming appearing, will also smash and crush the aggregate of human government throughout the history of mankind and will establish the eternal kingdom of God. All of these matters have been and will be intrinsically involved with Israel, either positively or negatively.
The entire world situation is under the rule of the heavens by the God of the heavens, to match His economy for Christ. Today the world situation, especially in Europe and the countries around the Mediterranean Sea, has been balanced and brought into a condition which is ready for Christ’s return. He is at the door and the time is near. As we see this situation, we must wake up and realize that the world is not for us. We are for Christ, and every day we must prepare ourselves to meet Him. Then we will receive a reward from Him.
The book of Daniel covers some very important matters. First, this book covers the history of Israel. Without this book, the Jewish people could not have an adequate understanding of their history. Daniel also covers human government from Nimrod to Antichrist. Because Israel and human government are for Christ, the book of Daniel also reveals certain aspects of Christ. Christ is the center and the circumference, the centrality and the universality, of God’s move.
(Life-Study of Daniel, Chapter 1, by Witness Lee)
