John told his readers that, whoever is born of God overcomes the world (1John 5:4), but what does this mean? Daniel predicted that, in the days of the influence of the four great empires, the Kingdom of God would arise and destroy those kingdoms (Daniel 2:44-45). From this it had been interpreted that the Messiah would be a military leader and would live forever (cp. John 12:34; Psalm 2:1-12). Yet, Moses had claimed that a Prophet like himself would one day arise out from among the people, and he would speak the word of God, which everyone would have to obey (Deuteronomy 18:15-19). This led the Jewish authorities during the first century AD to believe there were two different prophecies about two different men of God, a military leader who would be the Christ, and a religious leader who would be that prophet (John 1:19-21). How should we understand this?
What is interesting about Nebuchadnezzar’s vision of the great image of the second chapter of Daniel is what seems to be a corruption of the kingdoms’ power. The image made of gold was far superior to that made of silver, and the silver was far superior to that made of copper or brass. The fourth kingdom was the least precious of the four empires but even it deteriorated into a kingdom of baked clay intermingled with iron (Daniel 2:31-33). Nevertheless, the Kingdom of God, as understood from a worldly viewpoint, was a kingdom of stone, and it had even less value than the baked clay mingled with iron! Yet, the prophet claimed that this kingdom would destroy the others, and, moreover, it wouldn’t be a kingdom that arose out of the image, but the Lord would directly intervene in the affairs of men and produce this kingdom that would eventually destroy the works of the kingdoms of this world (Daniel 2:44; cp. 1John 3:8). But, by what method would this be done—through military force, as the Jews of the first century AD interpreted it? When has force ever produced lasting change? So, who really overcomes, and how is it done?
What I see in Daniel 2 is a return to Eden of Genesis 2, whereby mankind was completely free. In the days of the patriarchs of Genesis 5 and 6, freedom had deteriorated into tribal authority in which the oldest patriarch of each tribe had supreme power. The Lord destroyed this in the Flood, but afterward (Genesis 9:5-6; 10:1-5) set in place governmental authority, much as we see it today. When men sought to have one government for all, the Lord dispersed them by confusing their languages (Genesis 11:1-9). Nevertheless, this was reversed upon the establishment of the Kingdom of God (cp. Acts 2:4-8), and the return to Genesis 2 was begun.
Confusion and corruption begin when the authority figure is wrong, for he causes those under his authority to believe and to do the lie. In Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom, he ruled supreme. His rule was as true or as corrupt as he was. In the second kingdom, it had its king, but he was influenced by his princes and nobles (cp. Esther 1:1-3), so power was diminished, but wisdom had a better chance to prevail. Power was diminished even further in the Grecian and Roman empires, as more and more authority was given to a wider segment of the populace. Nevertheless, real change was still accomplished only by force, and a large part of the populace lived in servitude or slavery, so they really had no voice in the course of human events. It wasn’t until the Kingdom of God was established that true freedom was offered to mankind. It was a kingdom wherein there was neither Jew nor Greek, male nor female, bond nor free (Galatians 3:28), but all were equal in authority. Thus, we can begin to see how these governments (Daniel 2:44), or at least their works (cp. 1John 3:8) could be destroyed. Who is he that overcomes the world? John tells us that it is whosoever is born of God, i.e. a citizen of the Kingdom of God. And, how is this done? It is done through our faith in Jesus, our Christ (1John 5:4), who does the works through us (Ephesians 2:10; cp. Galatians 2:20; 1Corinthians 15:10).
Our warfare is not after this world, but it is spiritual in nature. Our only weapon of offense is the word of God (Ephesians 6:17), which we use to battle the forces of evil in places of high authority (Ephesians 6:12), tearing down the strongholds of the mind and bringing all under the influence of Christ (2Corinthians 10:4-5), Savior of the world (John 4:42; 1John 4:14). How can such a thing be done, if all our good works have no power or authority vested in them. Therefore, if we have any success at all, it must come from an authority much greater than that of man—any king, nobility or system of government that could oppose us (Isaiah 54:17; Matthew 16:18). We succeed, because we believe Jesus is the Christ, and, in having such faith, we trust he will honor our works and do those things we seek to do in accordance with his will (1John 5:14-15), for, if Christ has no power, then neither do we have power in this world.
Nevertheless, we have overcome the world through our faith (1John 5:4-5). We have changed the course of this world that has worked the works of evil, and we have caused the nations to advance good works that assist the powerless. They may assume credit for themselves for the good they do, and they may deny the power of Jesus that overcame their evil (cp. Revelation 11:18), but the evil course of this world has been overcome and increasingly changes its ways to submit to the authority of Christ, however reluctantly that may be (cp. 2Corinthians 10:4-5).
Smoodock's Blog 