Daniel Glorified God with these words.

Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,

For wisdom and might are His.
²¹ And He changes the times and the seasons;
He removes kings and raises up kings;
He gives wisdom to the wise
And knowledge to those who have understanding.
²² He reveals deep and secret things;
He knows what is in the darkness,
And light dwells with Him.

This was the praise to God that Daniel offered up for his debut before the king of Babylon, when he was there to demonstrate his God given ability to interpret dreams. You see the decree went out to all the astrologers, soothsayers, mediums and such, for them all to be killed if they could not tell the king his dream, and what the interpretation meant. After all of them were called out to be killed for failing this task, Daniel stepped forward to showcase his ability to beseech God Almighty for the interpretation.

Daniel started out in the presence of the king with that blessing to God showing who his King was, God Almighty.

Daniel then went on to describe a series of seemingly awesome carnal kingdoms, that in the end come to nothing, that they get crushed and spread into oblivion.

The purpose of this parable like all parables, is to take the invisible realities of God in the spirit, and teach us more about them with visual parables. That in the days during what we we’ll call, the visible kingdoms of chaff, in contrast there is a formation of a kingdom behind the scenes of carnal perceptions. God has His own building project going on as described here again from Daniel. This is the one That crushes and consumes all others. Daniel tells it like this.

⁴⁴ And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall ^[n]break in pieces and ^[o]consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. 

However spectacular the carnal kingdoms that come and go may seem, there’s something more spectacular happening at the same time. And it was just out of view of carnal perceptions that the God of Heaven builds upon His own Kingdom with the souls of people and not visible objects.

If you understand the scriptures correctly, Jesus Christ is the Chief cornerstone, the apostles and the prophets are the foundations and the entrances, and we are the “living stones built up a habitation for God in the Spirit”. You can’t see this with your carnal eyes. This is the Kingdom that stands forever that consumes all others. It started with Christ’s invitation into “The Kingdom of God at hand”, a Kingdom still open today through the gospel.

The first feature.

We start this account with “The Chief cornerstone”. And may we say to you to set the story straight, when our Lord said to Peter “upon this rock I will build My church” He was NOT talking about Peter.

As we wipe away misunderstandings and concepts misconstrued by modern expositors and teachers, who build up carnal men, their churches, cathedrals and their carnal fascinations of expecting God’s kingdom to appear in a physical way. Or that their buildings please God. But the Kingdom of God does not come with carnal observations (Luke 17.20+). Did you see Christ get set up as the chief cornerstone? Well He is and this was marvelous in those who have eyes to see of a different nature, of those being born of the spirit.

Even as Christ told the Samaritan lady at the well, “the time that (you think) is coming is (already) here when you will NOT look to Samaria OR Jerusalem for Gods Kingdom, for God is Spirit and God is Truth and seeks such”. Such are we who are born of the spirit (John 3) because we are His building blocks of things that precedes and supercedes creation as you know it. Peter may have been among the first classified as a living stone, but he had no presidence over others. As a matter of spiritual truth, “the first shall be last and the last shall be first” in Gods economy.

And to set the record straight, Peter was NOT the foundation stone or he would be called The Chief Cornerstone, but he is NOT. Jesus Christ “is the Chief Cornerstone who the builders rejected” including those who ascribe that right to Peter, so be careful who you side with. For even in 2 Peter 2 he  acknowledged that.

Who are the ones who reject Christ? All who think the kingdom is a carnal kingdom to be installed later on planet earth, but Danials prophecy says “during the days of these kings” showing us this has already happened. If this were not true, Jesus Christ could not have said “The Kingdom of God is at hand” but opening soon or under renovation, but He did and it is, or He is a liar.  And as Jesus said it is to “those who overcome I shall make pillars in the house of my God”. And we are. We are the living stones “built upon the foundation of the apostles and the prophets with Jesus Christ the Chief cornerstone” and so we do. We can only be pillars in the House of the living God, if we are living stones and pillars, and we are because He said so (Revelation 3.12). And we are because we support and build with the things God has given us to include you. We build you up with word, Gods word. These are the tools for the project, and your invisible parts are the materials. Things like your heart, mind and soul. This is suitable for the things of God. All others burn. (2 Peter 3)

The one who said “I am the way and the truth”, He is that rock. As our Lord said “whoever builds upon My sayings is like the man who built his home on stone that withstood the winds and the waves.

And as the Jews were cited for rejecting “The Chief Cornerstone” in their day, so do these who build with earthen elements because they reject the true Jesus Christ again in our day. “Everything will be tried by fire for the eternal to remain”. Every earthly, carnal Kingdom will be consumed.

It was also the same Jews who were criticized by Christ with other buildings saying ”

²⁹ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and ^[m]adorn the monuments of the righteous, ³⁰ and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’

³¹ “Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. ³² Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt. ³³ Serpents, brood^[n] of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell? These are Christ’s words to those whose fascinations are physical structures for God. Examine yourself lest you be one of them.

You see our Lord say to those with Moses, when you build for Me of stone, you shall use no tools on it for in the day you do you have defiled it. This is their condemnation, they were Mason’s.

As also our Lord said to them “¹³ “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men (because the Kingdom was open for them too); for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. therefore their condemnation was just”. Gods Kingdom is not built up on earth from earth, but “comes down of God from Heaven”, built up of the spirits of the just, of those who have been perfected, as quoted here from Hebrews 12. ²² But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, ²³ to the ^[j]general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect”. Demonstrating that this building project is made with elements and features foreign to the carnal senses. “Flesh and blood does not inherit the Kingdom”? (1 Corinthians 15) But the re-spirited mind of faith does. We are the Elect.

It was Jesus who said “¹³ No one has ascended into heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven“. The Son of man who came down from heaven is the Son of God who put on the flesh being fully man and fully God, for us to become His composition while we are in our old.  That “of His fullness we have received”. His work was not to take us out of our body, but to put His on ours. To cover us with Him.

This is why Paul said that “we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the Glory and the Excellency may be of God and not ourselves”. It is His deposit in us of “spirit and truth”, being “living stones” our invisible part that God works with we call our heart, soul, mind and Spirit.

This is what John spoke of in The Revelation of these things when it was said of Heavenly Jerusalem “

“Come, I will show you the ^[g]bride, the Lamb’s wife.” ¹⁰ And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the ^[h]great city, the ^[i]holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, ¹¹ having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. ¹² Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: ¹³ three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west.

¹⁴ Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the ^[j]names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.” 

This is what Daniel meant when he spoke of the coming Kingdom that would crush and consume the others. Gods Son said “The Kingdom of God is at hand” with Christ’s first invitation and has been being building on ever since.

As with any harvest that is common to mankind there is an end. Our Lord spoke this parable to put things into perspective for us saying. “Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” Have you been gathered to His kingdom? Have you seen His Kingdom? Can you go in and out of His Kingdom? Well you should according to John 3. If you are not sure, you need to take this up in prayer with God. Even as Paul said “the gospel I preach to you did not come by man or his carnal institutions but by Revelations from Jesus Christ. And His revealings are many, and we hope you are getting these so that you too can have the Testimony of Jesus Christ. Which is?

The Kingdom of God is at hand. Amen!

here

The Kingdom of God is at hand” and the enemies of God are preaching another coming one with another coming Kingdom and put themselves at odds with the Creator God. They need to repent. Since God judged the Jews that harshly for expn is that Chief cornerstone that the whole building project draws upon his angles, plains, directions and purpose, to participate in the Kingdom of “The Living God”. Amen!

It is here we want to make another point. Human instruments with earthen compositions have nothing to do with Gods building project either. Daniel said “in the days (during their time) the God of Heaven shall build (assemble) his Kingdom. Meaning, NOT man. All the churches ever built will be among the destruction. As Paul said, each ones work shall be tried by fire”. And Paul said that we can all build upon Gods foundation, but let each one be careful on how they built.

Peter said “all the earth with all its works shall be burned for the eternal to remain”, showing us that the physical structures called churches, chapels, synagogues and parishes are counted as things that burn in the fire.

Be careful what you do for God because if He condemned the Pharisees for building tombs for the prophets showing they were sons of satan. If you adorn other persons or their accomplishments you are glorifying man. And as we see it, there is only one for our adornment, “the lamb of God who took away the sin of the world” (Revelation 4)

If you take offense at Gods things being built of man’s devising, we need to go no further then the Warning God gave in the days of giving the 10 commandments. Immediately following God told them “²⁵ And if you make Me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stone; for if you use your tool on it, you have profaned it.” He does not want to be associated with such. This is why Christ said “wherever two or more are assembled together, there am I in their midst”. This is the general assembly and church of the firstborn cited in Hebrews 12.

Living Stones.

Our Lord had this conversation with the disciples saying I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

You see if Peter was that rock that some denominations espouse, he would not have cleared this up himself. Here is what Peter wrote for our clarification;

2.4 Coming to Him (Christ) as to a living stone (not Peter himself or man-made churches), rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, ⁵ you also, as (additional) living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices (not the work of your hands) acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶ Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture,

⁷ Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who ^[b]are disobedient,

⁸ and

They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed”. Segway here to there

Just a side note: the word church in the Greek is eklesia, correctly broken down means “the called out ones” meaning people and living stones.

Ek, means to call, klesia is the those who are the called. Paraklesia is the Holy Spirit. Para means over, like parachute. The Para Hoover’s over the Klesia, those who are called. The Holy Spirit who descended upon Yeshua at His baptism to remain, said through His mouth “oh Jerusalem, oh how I morn for you, oh how I would’ve gathered you as a mother hen gathers her chicks but you are not willing” showing us, that the term “church” is confusing because God is not interested in building projects. Further more, the word church has no real association with scripture.

The word “Church” comes from the keltic words cirse, circus, sorcery, circle, and curse. If you think about it when Yahweh spoke to the Israelites the ten commandments, He also said “And if you make Me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stone; for if you use your tool on it, you have profaned it.” Do not associate Me with such!

You can understand that our progeny has drifted from the purpose and power of God. So “we need to be more diligent to make our calling and election sure”. To make clear and simple. That we, having removed some boulders of falsehood;

“Coming to Him as to a living stone (not Peter or man-made churches), rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, ⁵ you also, as (additional) living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶ Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture,

⁷ Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who ^[b]are disobedient,

⁸ and

They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.”

So this should provide some clarity to what Daniel prophesied of Gods Kingdom of Stone, “to crush and consume” all other kingdoms. Even the writer of Hebrews said this, that “all things that can be shaken will be shaken for the eternal to remain”. That all earthen elements get recalled by the mouth of God, the One who said “let their be” their by granting limited existence.

Peter goes to explain the rest of Gods building, of those stones gathered together during the reign of the assorted kingdoms that dissipate like chaff saying,

^“9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; ¹⁰ who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.”

And this is a good time to interject here that the word “Holy” does not mean pious. It means invisible. That is why in scripture we read of  a “terrible crystal”. Topaz and such

And we see here in the book of Christ’s Revelation.

“Come, I will show you the ^[g]bride, the Lamb’s wife.” ¹⁰ And he carried me away in the (invisible,) Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the ^[h]great city, the ^[i]holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, (not built up on earth) ¹¹ having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. 

In God’s economy the Earth is His quarry that we are been in. through all the testings the trials and the sufferings of this age, we are being chipped and chiseled and fashioned into a shape that’s suitable to God, we are saints and members of the household of God.

Here we adjure you by the Almighty God, do not return to your previous preponderance of a Kingdom of God in carnal form on planet earth, and pass by the invitation into Gods Kingdom now. Because there is a time coming when all will see this Heavenly Kingdom. When that happens it is to late to enter because it can only be accessed through faith. When faith is no more, and the only thing that remains is eternal, and the gospel is expired, you may be found outside pleading to the Bridegroom and the Bride to let you in and they say “we don’t know you from where you are from” and all that is left is the burning sensation of lost oppertunities. All the Law and the prophets have been expired. There is no other work of God but to convince you of these invisible realities we call Spirit and truth, to enter in.

The Kingdom of God is (for now) still at hand.