In the Bible story, Cain, the eldest son of Adam and Eve murdered his brother Abel. And so it has been ever since. Family member against family member, tribe against tribe, nation against nation, empire against empire. As humans we have a long and bloody history. And there seems no end in sight.
No race or culture is exempt. Scottish clans, English nobles, French and Germans, English and Spanish, Arabs and Persians. How long is the list of conflicts? How long is the proverbial piece of string?
In Western Europe a new vision emerged from the ruins of WW 2, an empire forged not by military force, but my mutual cooperation. It looked to trade, cooperation, adherence to agreed regulations and a submission of national self-interest to the common good.
A big ask. After all Europe has endured centuries of hate, mistrust and violence. The old hatreds and entrenched attitudes created by history have been passed on and reinforced from generation to generation. But, in Western Europe, of all places, one would think there was hope this grand dream could be realised.
The Renaissance, Reformation and Enlightenment broke the shackles of the Holy Roman Empire. Western Europe share in a large part common values based on their shared Judeo-Christian heritage and views of the Enlightenment. It is the world that gave us modern science, Mozart, Shakespeare and Handle. What an opportunity to learn from the failings of past and build a better future shaped by a shared vision.
Will it last, or are we already seeing symptoms of decay? Brexit. The English have said enough and this could threaten the union with Scotland. The rise of populist nationalist parties that appeal to national self-interest appear as another threat. Will the European Union survive if Le Pen, Wilders and similar groups gain the political ascendancy?
If it fails, what does that failure say for humanity's future? Overpopulation, dwindling resources, a rapidly increasing rate of species extinction, widespread poverty and ignorance, and climate change, whether human caused or not, tell us we face enormous problems, problems that threaten human survival. How can we even begin to find solutions if the nations of Europe who share so much in common can't lay aside their differences? The Middle East, Africa, Asia - can we see these peoples whose differences are much greater than Europe’s and in whose border’s live the vast majority of the world's poor and uneducated - find the solutions we badly need? I think not.
Maybe there is something in that ancient dream after all. Nebuchadnezzar is remembered as one of the world's great empire builders. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon are one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. He set his wise men an impossible task. First tell me what I dreamt last night and then tell me what it means. If you can't you”ll lose your heads.
One saved them. Daniel, who had been taken captive from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar and trained in the ways of Babylon asked for a delay of execution so that he could consider the problem. The request granted, Daniel went home, called a few friends together, and prayed about it.
Next morning he stood before the king. You saw a grand statue your Majesty, with a head of gold, chest and arms of silver, belly and thighs of bronze, legs of iron, and feet a mixture of iron and clay. The interpretation followed and it is expanded on as the Book of Daniel continues.
The head represented Babylon, but it would fall to Medo-Persia who, in turn, would be followed by Greece. These are named in a later vision in Daniel 9:20,21. Greece is followed by an unnamed empire represented by the legs of iron. The commentary provided in the NIV Study Bible identifies this as Rome and I believe this makes sense. Not only did Rome follow Greece, it also held sway over Palestine at the time of Jesus, that to which the prophecies of Daniel clearly point.
Which brings us to the feet of iron and clay. Who are they? Of these the Study Bible Commentary says the 10 toes ‘are understood by some to represent a later confederation of states occupying the territory formerly controlled by the Roman Empire.’ Daniel, in 2:41-43 says of these:
The feet and toes you saw were a combination of iron and baked clay, showing that this kingdom will be divided. Like iron mixed with clay, it will have some of the strength of iron. 42 But while some parts of it will be as strong as iron, other parts will be as weak as clay. 43 This mixture of iron and clay also shows that these kingdoms will try to strengthen themselves by forming alliances with each other through intermarriage. But they will not hold together, just as iron and clay do not mix.
The Roman Empire was divided into two by the Emperor Diocletian in 285 CE to facilitate more efficient administration. The Western empire fell in 476 CE, the Eastern, or Byzantine, fell in 1453, to be replace by the Ottomans. World War one saw the end of the Ottomans and the likelihood of any enduring unity being formed in that part of the world seems highly improbable.
Charlemagne, Napoleon and Hitler are three that come to mind who have attempted to unite Western Europe since Rome’s fall, and all have failed. And if we look to take the prophecy more literally we know that intermarriage between the royal houses of Europe was practiced in an effort to forge alliances without lasting success.
Which brings us back to modern Western Europe, a new form of alliance formed not by military force or royal marriages, but by the agreement of democratically elected governments of nations sharing what in so many ways is a common heritage. If it falls apart is their any real hope for a an increasingly overpopulated world with diminishing resources, poverty, wars, chemical, biological and nuclear weapons and widespread environmental degradation?
There is one more part of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream that may provide the answer. A rock cut from a mountain struck the feet of the statue and destroyed it completely. The rock grew into a mighty mountain covering the entire earth. This symbolised the establishment of God’s kingdom on earth - the Kingdom of eternal peace and fairness.
Will the dream come true? I hope and believe so. For if it doesn’t, I believe humanity will end up destroying itself and the world in which we live. Which sounds a lot like this verse from Revelation 11:18
The nations were filled with wrath,
but now the time of your wrath has come.
It is time to judge the dead
and reward your servants the prophets,
as well as your holy people,
and all who fear your name,
from the least to the greatest.
It is time to destroy
all who have caused destruction on the earth
It is not God that destroys, it is us. Could we be close to that time?
Bible quoted: New Living Translation
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