Thoughts on Christian Living Book #2 by Dr. W. A. Dillard - HTML preview

DOWNWARD AND UPWARD PROGRESSION OF HUMAN

GOVERNMENT

God created three great institutions for, and among men. They are the home, the government, and the church, in that order. The forces of evil have done much damage to them over time. It was so prophesied. The downward progression of human government was revealed early on to the prophet Daniel. It was a troubling dream of Nebuchadnezzar. Think about his vision as related in the book called by his name.

The vision was of the form of a man. The head was of gold, the chest and belly were of silver, the thighs were of brass, and the legs were of iron. Finally, the feet were a mixture of iron and clay.

God revealed to Daniel, and he to the king what the vision meant. Babylon was the first of world empires. It was represented by the head of gold. Following Babylon would be the Medo-Persian Empire represented by the chest and belly of silver. Next, the Grecian Empire would be represented by the thighs of brass, and the Roman Empire by the legs of iron. The final form of empire would not be named, but represented by the feet, a mixture of iron and clay. Of course, iron and clay do not mix. they are not a mutual alloy. Instability and weakness are therefore underscored by their being in the same formation.

But that was not the end of the vision. It concluded by a great stone being cut out without hands. It smote the image in the feet, breaking them apart. Then was the entire image destroyed and blown away as chaff in the wind. Moreover, the stone that smote the image grew and filled the whole earth.

Daniel explained to the king the progression and inferior qualities of government, and that the Lord Himself would establish a government that would know no end. Dan. 2:44.

The deterioration of the home is so evident that any explanation seems boringly redundant. It is magnified in terrible conditions in all the cultures of the world, and in the United States in particular.

But though the church has sailed bloody seas, what made the church to be God’s mountain has not deteriorated while being railed upon and evilly entreated and mimicked.

Isaiah spoke of the mountain referenced in Daniel 2 as the mountain of the Lord’s house. Isaiah 2:2. The church is the Lord’s house, I Tim. 3:15. It is the end of a long process of God working with men in covenant relationships that began in Abraham. It is this system of the faith once delivered to the saints by which it is positioned, and is presently the executor of the spiritual side of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Furthermore, Jesus specifically promised that His church would bring Him glory throughout all ages, world without end. Eph. 3:21.

FOR THOUGHT: Is it apparent to you that much damage has been done to the home and to the government, but not to the true church. It is as static, vibrant,

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