Around 1190 AD, a medieval French poem was the first (as far as we know) to use the phrase, “Rome ne fu pas faite toute en un jour”… Which I am sure you are all familial with.

• “Rome was not built in one day”
• In fact the Roman Empire was built over a 700 year period…

 

Rome began as a Monarch around 750 BC, but it’s all myth and legend because the Roman archives were burned in 390 BC when the Gauls sacked the City.

• The legend is Romulus and Remus were sons of a human mother and the God of War (Mars). They argued over which hill to build a city on…
• So Romulus killed Remus and built Rome where he wanted to.
• Legend says there were 7 kings before Rome became a Republic, but only the 7^th is verifiable historically, Tarquin the Proud (535-509BC)
• So Rome existed for about 250 years as a Monarch, with Tarquin becoming King a few years after Cyrus the Great broke the Babylonian Empire.
• Rome then existed as a Republic for about 450 years, and as an Empire about 50 years before Jesus.

 

The Roman Empire was later divided through a series of administration reforms into East and West regions in 285AD by Emperor Diocletian.

 

Constantine was Emperor of Rome from 306 to 337 AD. Known as the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity (which I believe is debatable), he did 2 things:

• Convened the Council of Nicaea in 325AD – Giving the Church great authority
• Built Constantinople in 330AD – became the capitol of the Byzantine Empire

 

• In 395 AD, after the death of Emperor Theodosius I, the Roman regions were actually divided between his 2 sons and became 2 distinct empires
• Honorius ruled Western Roman (fell to Germanic tribes in 476 -> Reformation 1517)
• Arcadius took the Eastern - Byzantine Empire (continued until 1453AD)

Rome ne fu pas faite toute en un jour    Rome wasn’t built in a day…

 

But by the time of Jesus, 600 years after Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, it was the dominant Empire in the Mediterranean world; legs of iron that would be cast aside by feet of iron mixed with clay.

 

And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall break and crush all these. And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage, but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay.  (Daniel 2:40-43)

 

Like Babylon, the Persians, and Greeks, Rome would fall… but Rome Didn’t Fall In A Day… In fact… It MAY still be falling!

 

Today we will focus on 3 things.

• What was it about the Iron Legs that caused its own mixing with clay?
• How did the Clay prolong the existence of the Iron in the feet and toes?
• What does the clay in the feet and toes represent?

 

The answers to these questions will lead us to next week’s sermon and the conclusion of “The Great Fall”.

 

 

 

 

Perfect Time & Place

 

“And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever, just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.”  (Daniel 2:44-45)

Of all the times and places in the ancient world for God to become a man and spread a new understanding of faith in the ancient world, Judea in the 1^st century under the Pax Romana, is the MOST ideal!

• It’s almost like God had a plan…

 

In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.  (Galatians 4:3-5)

 

Political Stability: The Pax Romana provided a relatively peaceful political environment and the Romans built an extensive and efficient network of roads. Both provided for quicker and safer travel across the Roman Empire.

• The Apostle Paul traveled extensively across provinces, received well.

 

• The Persian Empire, while large, often faced internal strife and revolts.
• The Greek city-states were fragmented and frequently engaged in war.

 

Common Language: The widespread use of Greek and Latin as common languages across the empire made it easier for ideas, including Christian teachings, to be communicated and understood by diverse populations.

• Paul spoke with Jews, Greeks and other groups throughout the empire

 

• In contrast, the Persian and Greek empires lacked such infrastructure and unified language, which would have made spreading Christianity harder.

 

Cultural Melting Pot: Judea, being part of the Roman Empire, was a crossroads of various cultures, ideas, and philosophies. This diversity allowed for a broader audience and the potential for new teachings to resonate across different groups.

• The existing Jewish religious framework provided a foundation for new interpretations of faith, while the Roman Empire's relative religious tolerance allowed for the introduction of new beliefs.

 

• The Persian Empire had a strong Zoroastrian influence, The Greek pantheon was deeply entrenched.
• The establishment of a new monotheistic faith could have faced significant resistance had it arrived before the Roman Empire.

The government of the iron legs was the perfect time and place for Jesus to drop the Gospel into the world.

Feet of Clay and Iron

 

And because the Roman Empire was so inviting and peaceful, the Clay is introduced in the Iron of the feet and toes…

 

So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.  (Acts 17:22-25)

 

Paul easily introduced new teachings into the public discourse.  He continued:

 

And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for “‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “‘For we are indeed his offspring.’ Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.”  (Acts 17:26-32)

 

 

What is the significance of introducing this Christian thought and faith?

• How did it prolong the existence of the Roman Empire?

 

After the empire split… The East Byzantine Empire set up in Constantine’s capitol city Constantinople… continued on largely unaffected by the politics of Rome.

• The West… Rome… however… fell politically to the Germanic tribes about 75 years later…  But it fell first, Religiously…  earlier… to Pope Leo I

Pope Leo I (440–461) was one of the first to assert the Pope's authority over the entire Church just a few years before Western Empire fell politically.

• For over 1000 years the Roman Catholic church ruled what once was Empire.
• About 600 years in, under Pope Leo IX, saw the Great Schism of 1054.
  • The Eastern Orthodox church broke away from the control of Rome.
• In 1517, the Catholic church broke again. It was called the Reformation.

 

Partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom

• Both the Empire (politically) and the Church (religiously) were divided.

 

Some think the Iron was Rome and the Clay is Isreal…

• Some think clay is Slavery, brought into the Roman empire
• We don’t *really* know yet… But I think the Clay is the Church.

 

Daniel said, “they will mix with one another in marriage, but they will not hold together”

• Yes, Israel was Hellenized (integrated into Greek culture), and Slavery incorporated into Roman life… but the Church became married to the Kingdoms of the world.
• The Reformation started a few hundred years of the church separating from the world. America was founded on Religious Freedom FROM the state…

 

Perhaps God has given The Romen Empire much time to ‘fall’, allowing the clay time to separate from the crumbling iron…   and where it does not… the clay will likewise be broken into dust and blown away by the pneuma.  (Spirit, wind)

•  (and maybe not a separation physically, but in allegiance…  vote, but do not rely on…)
• Because the statue of Worldly Empires hasn’t been blown away by the wind… yet.
• We know after Rome Fell in the West, the Church considered itself Rome…

 

7^th century English Benedictine monk, Saint Bede (672-735 AD) said, “Rome will exist as long as the Coliseum does; when the Coliseum falls, so will Rome; when Rome falls, so will the world.”

• And the Colosseum is today one of Rome's most popular tourist attractions, receiving millions of visitors annually.

 

God draws us out of the World. Peter said, “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.”  (Acts 10:34-35)

He Is The Potter…

This brings us to our Scripture focus this morning, from Jeremiah. He is the Potter.

 

The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: “Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will let you hear my words.” So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. Then the word of the LORD came to me: “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the LORD. Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it. Now, therefore, say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: ‘Thus says the LORD, Behold, I am shaping disaster against you and devising a plan against you. Return, every one from his evil way, and amend your ways and your deeds.’  (Jeremiah 18:1-11)

 

600 years passed between Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and the birth of Jesus.

• 600 years for the Statue to be presented down to its feet
• Then a stone cut out by no human hand, perhaps one conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit?… struck those feet where Clay had mixed & weakened it..
• And 2000 years later the crumbled statue has not yet turned to ash, blown away by the wind.. (Pneuma, breath…  Spirit of God…)

 

Why did it only take 600 years to prepare the statue, and now 2000 years and counting to blow it away?

 

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.  (Ephesians 1:7-10) 

 

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.  (2 Peter 3:9)