THE TIMES OF THE GENTILES. 



163 



they cannot keep the law of God; and m a very peculiar sense 

 God tested them throughout this age, by the Law. But in spite 

 of the fact that they had many privileges and glorious manifesta- 

 tions of God and His power, Israel failed; and one great feature 

 is brought out in God's dealings with them, and that is, God's 

 ideal kingdom is an absolute monarchy, its King a despotic ruler, 

 responsible to Him alone. 2 Sam. xxiii. 3-4, " He that ruleth 

 over men must be just, ruhng in the fear of God. And ho shall 

 be as the light of the morning when the sun riseth ; even a morn- 

 ing without clouds, as the tender grass springing out of the earth 

 by clear shining after rain." Where was such a ruler to be 

 found? Saul, David, Solomon, all failed. Israel was being 

 taught through that age that God's ideal king is the coming 

 Messiah, the seed of the woman, the seed of Abraham, and now 

 the seed of David, and as son of David, He is to sit upon David's 

 throne to manifest an ideal kingship. Solomon was endued with 

 gifts of wisdom and statesmanship above the ordinary, and yet, 

 in spite of that fact, he sinned as man always does, even under 

 most privileged circumstances. Consequently, after Solomon's 

 death the kingdom was divided, and the kings of both Judah 

 and Israel failed miserably, and there developed national apostasy, 

 and God's purposes for Israel for the time were thwarted, and 

 had to be postponed. 



The Sixth Age. 



Now we come to the times of the Gentiles, " and it is essential 

 that we should realise the peculiar features of this period. It 

 was God's purpose that Israel the nation should be first, and the 

 Gentile nations second; but now for a period that it is important 

 to notice Israel becomes second and the Gentile nations first ; 

 and we see the domination of the Gentiles during the setting 

 aside of Israel. 



It began with Nebuchadnezzar and the captivity of Judah, and 

 has continued ever since, and will terminate only with the Second 

 Advent of Christ, the King of Israel. When the domination was 

 transferred to the Gentiles, it was God's purpose that one nation 

 should have the supremacy over the rest. This was first delegated 

 to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon; then to Cyrus, the 

 Medo-Persian, then to Alexander the Grecian; and then to the 

 Caesars of Eome. The details of the four preceding empires do 

 not concern us at present ; we want now to confine our attention 

 to the last stages of Gentile domination. The details of this 

 fourth world empire are given to us in Daniel ii. and vii. Daniel 

 ii. 40 says this great empire shall be " strong as iron; forasmuch 

 as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things ; and as iron 

 breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise." 



Here we see a foreshadowing of the vast superiority of the 



