THE FOUR TEMPORAL KINGDOMS.
By John B. Dymot
The names of the kingdoms in Daniel are these:—
First, Babylon, Medo-Persia, then Greece.
The fourth stands unnamed; while the fifth one—the last—
Is the kingdom of God, which shall ever stand fast. Dan. 2:31, 32, 36-38; 4:22; 7:1-4, 17.
The first, Babylonia, reached forth her long hand,
And the nations, subjected, obeyed her command.
As the gold of the statue, this kingdom excelled;
It was like the fleet lion with valor impelled.
But fortune reverses where folly has grown;
And the Mede and the Persian dictate from the throne;
For luxury, indolence, women, and wine,
Had sapped the stout heart, and confirmed its decline. Dan. 2:32, 39; 5:28, 30, 31; 7:5; 8:1-7, 20; 2 Chron. 36:23.
Here history echoes the presage divine;
Where dazzled the gold, now the silver doth shine;
The lion, defeated, slinks back to his lair,
And yields his domain to the blood-thirsty bear.
But of Media and Persia, the same must be said
As of Babylon, whose monarch and nobles they bled;
For softened by ease, and by plenty made weak,
They fell 'neath the sword of the forcible Greek. Dan. 2:32, 39; 7:6; 8:5-8, 21, 22.
Again is the echo of history heard,
Confirming the truth of the sure-founded word.
The silver surrenders its place to the brass;
The slow-footed bear from the drama doth pass.
As upon him, with swiftness, the leopard doth leap;
And the goat takes the field of the two-horned sheep.
But the great Alexander, while yet in his prime,
The youthful possessor of every clime,
Succumbed to the cup amid laughter and mirth;
So weak was the mightiest hero of earth.
Then Macedon, Syria, Egypt, and Thrace,
Like the notable horns, arose in his place. Dan. 2:33, 40-43; 7:7, 8, 23, 24; 8:9, 23; Luke 2:1.
What king universal since then has there been,
That answers the prophecy, subtle and keen?
One there is, and one only; that kingdom is Rome;
For the world, at its mandate, for taxing did come.
The historical echo has sounded once more;
The visions are certain where'er we explore.
Instead of the brass, now the iron doth stand;
The four-headed leopard has lost his command;
The dreadful and terrible monster is here;
The fierce little horn in the west doth appear.
Yes, this is imperial Rome; but its pride
Now bleeds, as a great irresistible tide
From the north sallies down. Unnumbered they come,
And make the declining dominion their home.
Now Rome is ten kingdoms. The statue is made;
The horns of the terrible beast are displayed.
The echo again—the historian's pen—
Proves all to be true with a mighty Amen.