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Communiqué

THE MATTER OF THE MINGLING

Part II

Our last installment of the Communique addressed the prophecy of the famous statue seen in the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, and we focused on the mysterious statement where the feet of the statue was composed of iron and clay. This is the well known prophetic dream in which the statue's golden head represented the Babylonian Empire, its silver arms the Persian Union, and its torso of brass envisioned the Grecian Empire -- which was succeeded by the Roman legs of iron.

"And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided….And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay" (Daniel 2:41, 43).

Many modern prophecy figures are asserting the "they" who will attempt to "mingle themselves" with mankind speaks of the Fallen Angels, who are widely expected to make an appearance before the end of the age. One of the reasons prophecy teachers suspect this "seed," which unsuccessfully seeks to mingle with the seed of men, must be Spiritual (or angelic) is because it makes no sense for one group of natural men and women to be unable to mix themselves with another group of natural men and women.

The context of the analogy speaks of two very different materials, in that iron and clay are in two completely separate categories. As the text states, the attempt to mingle the two together is destined to fail, because the two will not adhere to one another. Ironically, this point escapes those who claim this attempt at mingling is a repetition of the event in which the Fallen Angels bred with human women, in that Genesis explicitly tells us the first incursion was successful.

"…when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown" (Genesis 6:4).

In other words, if the Fallen Ones could procreate with human women then, there is no reason the same thing could not occur in our time. This fact suggests the "they" who seek to mingle with the seed of men does not speak of the Nephilim angels.

It's also instructive to note that there is no specific statement in the Christian era indicating that God will supernaturally block any future attempt at mingling the seed of angels with the seed of women. In fact, one section in the New Testament indicates precisely the opposite perspective, in that the Apostle Paul references a chaste caution should be observed by women in public, because of the potential of angelic molestation.

"For this cause ought the woman to have power on her [appearance] because of the angels" (I Corinthians 11:10).

Thus, if the verse in Daniel actually referenced a future incursion by angels with humankind, but the prophecy also guaranteed it was destined to fail, Paul's cautionary statement on that very subject would almost certainly have referenced that fact. Further, Paul's advice concerning women's appearance was not only gender specific, it was narrow in that it was directed to Christian women; whereas the prediction in Daniel references the "seed of men" – a broader term which would include men and women. In fact, in many Scriptural examples, it is clear the term the "seed" of men addresses the entire human species.

The prophecy in Daniel includes a subtle detail which is frequently missed by students of Scripture. Towards the end of the episode of Nebuchadnezzar's dream (which forecasts the four kingdoms which will countdown to the arrival of the kingdom of God), the text references the clay which is added to the iron imagery of Rome.

"This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay" (Daniel 2:32. 33).

As Daniel's articulation of the prophetic dream progresses, he describes how a "stone" of non-human origin (a "stone…cut without hands") enters the picture, the stone grows until it smashes every part of the statue which, once again, represents the kingdoms of man. The allegorical components of the kingdoms – which now include the clay – are pulverized by the stone, and become dust, which is then scattered by the wind.

In this sequence, which features the redundancy common to Scripture (wherein the text repeats various aspects of the narrative), the word clay occurs 8 times in multiple verses. However, right in the middle of the account, a modifier to the word clay is quietly introduced in only one of the verses:

"And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided…" (Daniel 2:41).

This reference to a specific category of clay, that which would be used by a "potter," is an unmistakable allusion to the multiple Scriptures which characterize the LORD as the potter, and Israel as the clay. For instance, the prophet Isaiah states with no ambiguity whatsoever that Israel is the clay that is molded by the potter:

"But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we are all the work of thy hand" (Isaiah 64:8).

Most Bible readers have heard the prophetic account where the LORD tells Jeremiah to go to the potter's house, as He is about to reveal something to the young prophet.

"Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it" (Jeremiah 18:3, 4).

Removing any doubt whatsoever, the LORD confirms Isaiah's identification of Israel as the potter's clay, in Jeremiah's hearing.

"Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? Saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel" (Jeremiah 18:5, 6).

This identification of Israel with the "potter's clay" conclusively places the people of Israel in the same timeline as the Roman Empire—as Rome was the power which was imaged with the iron.  To no one's surprise, history records what was left of the Israelite nation – then known as Judaea and inhabited by the people known as Jews – was dominated by the Babylonian, Persian, Greek, and Roman Empires – the very same kingdoms represented in the prophecy.

The elaborate prophecy concludes with one of the most unambiguous prophetic statements in all of Scripture, as it coherently informs us that it is in the days of these kings, that the great God of heaven will set up His kingdom, which shall succeed the earthly empires depicted in the prophecy, and it will never come to an end.

"And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever" (Daniel 2:44).

This is a profoundly important statement, in that it pins with great precision, the time frame for the arrival of the kingdom of God – and since the prediction says it will be in the days of the four kings just mentioned, all four empires would have to have emerged. This clearly tells us it is in the days of the Roman Empire when God will "set up" His kingdom.

As the prophecies in Daniel pinpointed the chronological position of the arrival of the Kingdom of God, adjacent prophecies indicated the Kingdom's emergence would also entail a Spiritual dimension, as the LORD indicated He was also going to forgive Israel for her sinful ways.

"In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness" (Zechariah 13:1).

The prophetic promises of God to bring about His righteous reign on the earth is inextricably tied to the promise of God to cleanse Israel from their sins and, as we've already shown, Israel is the very identity represented by the clay. Further, since the clay is obviously imaged in close proximity to the earthly powers of Babylon, Persia, Greece (and particularly Rome), the salvation long promised to Israel must occur when the allegorical "clay" co-exists with the "iron" – i.e. the Roman Empire.   

Since the potter's clay represents Israel in the form of the Jewish people, and since the Judaean remnant of Israel, the entire nation, Jerusalem, and its temple were obliterated in the Roman siege which concluded in 70 AD, the kingdom of God must have arrived before that date.

We see yet another confirmation that the kingdom of God begins during the time of the Roman Empire, for the passage tells us when the "stone" which expanded until it broke "to pieces" all of the kingdoms, the divine motion began in the Roman Empire, as the prophecy specifically tells us the first component of the statue which the stone "smote," was the feet that were of iron and clay:

"Thou sawest …a stone….which smote the image upon his feet…." (Daniel 2:34).

When reviewing the stone which pulverized the earthly kingdoms (represented by the various components of the statue), it's crucial that we recognize this amazing text also tells us the clay is among the components which the stone broke to pieces.

"Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold broken to pieces together…" (Daniel 2:35).

Not only is the clay (representing Israel) included in the list of the earthly kingdoms which are of man (which are ground into pieces, eventually becoming dust blown away by the wind), we note the process reverses the order of the worldly progression of the development of kingdoms run by the "seed of men," in that the Scripture starts with the feet (Rome and Israel), and works backwards, as the unique kingdom of God moves in the opposite direction of the earthly progression.

"Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away" (Daniel 2:35).  

Remarkably, the imagery associated with the wind carrying away the chaff (the waste component of the harvest) is also seen in Isaiah, in the very same chapter of Scripture which tells us that Israel is identified with the clay, and the LORD is the potter who molds it.

"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away" (Isaiah 64:6).

-- James Lloyd

To Be Continued

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