God’s Word for You
Daniel 2:44 The kingdom of Christ
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Monday, September 15, 2025
44 “In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed. That kingdom will not be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end. And it will stand forever.
Just when are “the days of those kings”? The only king that has been mentioned is Nebuchadnezzar, but he would be followed by three completely different nations, so he is not among “those kings.” It must be a reference to whatever rulers would be in place at the time of the fourth kingdom when Christ came. The Roman monarchs were not called kings, but Caesars, but the reference it still clear enough. Luke reveals his name: “In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that a census be taken of all the world” (Luke 2:1).
A detail that might be overlooked is what will ultimately take place on account of the kingdom of Christ in the final judgment. This is, foremost, the resurrection of all flesh. For when the kingdoms will all be brought to their end and the kingdom of God will stand forever, begins with the resurrection on Judgment Day. This is proved in the Bible (1) by direct passages that tell us that all people will rise from the dead on the last day (John 5:28-29; Daniel 12:2; Revelation 20:13, and so on), (2) by passages that tell us that all mankind will stand before God in the judgment. “Before me every knee will bow” (Isaiah 45:23), “All the nations will be gathered before Christ the judge” (Matthew 25:32). (3) Many passages openly describe the ungodly standing in the final judgment. “Some will wake to eternal disgrace” (Daniel 12:2). Still other passages mention both believers and unbelievers. “Some will come forth to the resurrection of life, others, to the resurrection of judgment” (John 5:29). (4) One of the results of the end of the world is that nations, governments, and political states of every kind will come to an end. “Dominion will be taken away” (Daniel 7:26). “He has destroyed every rule and authority and power” (1 Corinthians 15:24). And the passage before us stands here as well: “It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end” (Daniel 2:44).
This verse also teaches us about the eternal kingdom of Christ. The spiritual and heavenly kingdom of our Lord Jesus was begun in the bosom of the Savior before the world began, for he had written our names in eternity: “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight” (Ephesians 1:4). But this continued especially with the coming of Christ in the days of the Roman empire. But the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ did not come to an end, even after his resurrection and ascension. For Daniel says here: “It will stand forever.”
So the kingdom will continue even after judgment day. “The plans of the Lord stand firm forever” (Psalm 33:11), and his people, the righteous, likewise “stand firm forever after the storm has swept by” (Proverbs 10:25). At that time, what was perishable before the resurrection (that is, sinful mankind) will be clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality” (1 Corinthians 15:54).
In the center of verse 44, there is the little sentence, “That kingdom will not be left to another people.” Each kingdom in the world, without exception, fades away and is replaced by another. Each king and each kingdom has its day. But the Kingdom of Christ will not be brought to an end. There will never be a “third testament” of the Bible, nor another Gospel of Jesus Christ apart from the four Gospels of the New Testament, or as the monks used to say with proper authority, “These four and no more.” For the whole of the Bible leads us to Christ and the forgiveness of our sins; the end of the curse and the end of the power of the devil. If anything more were ever added, it would abolish the gospel of forgiveness, return the world to a new and unforgiving law, and condemn all mankind to everlasting suffering with no escape at all. Therefore the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ stands supreme, forever.
So pray about your own sins and the sins of the people you love; pray that God would not abandon you or toss you aside on their account, but that he would look on your faith as righteousness (Romans 1:17). Be thankful for all of God’s good gifts, for he has given us more than the whole world could ever give. He will continue to do what is best for us, body and soul. And he will rescue, protect and shelter us from the devil and his little imps. May God grant all of this for you and me, always.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.