2. PROPOSITION THE FIRST. I. There have been four churches on this earth from the day of its creation: the First, which is to be called the Adamic; the Second, the Noachian; the Third, the Israelitish; and the Fourth, the Christian. That four churches have existed on this earth since the creation of the world, manifestly appears in Daniel; first, from the statue seen by Nebuchadnezzar in a dream, and, afterwards, from the four beasts rising up out of the sea. Concerning the statue of Nebuchadnezzar we read as follows:
Daniel said, Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great statue. And the appearance thereof was excellent, standing before thee, and the aspect thereof was terrible. The head of this statue was of good gold; its breast and arms, of silver; its belly and its thighs, of brass; its legs, of iron; its feet, partly of iron and partly of clay. Thou sawest until a stone was cut out, which was not by hands, and smote the statue upon its feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them in pieces. Then were the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken in pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; so that the wind carried them away, and no place was found for them: but the stone, which smote the statue, became a great rock, and filled the whole earth. In these days shall the God of the heavens raise up a kingdom, which shall not be destroyed to the ages; and His kingdom shall not be entrusted to another people: it shall break in pieces and consume all those kingdoms, but it shall stand to the ages (Dan. 2:31-35, 44). This dream did not signify four political kingdoms on this earth, but four churches, which should follow one after another, may be evident from the following considerations: (1) That such kingdoms, one after another, have not existed on this earth. (2) That the Divine Word, in its bosom, does not treat of the kingdoms of the world, but of churches, which constitute the kingdom of God on the earth. (3) Also, because it is said that the God of the heavens shall raise up a kingdom which shall not be destroyed to the ages, and that a stone, cut out, not by hands, became a great rock, which filled the whole earth. (4) And, because the Lord our Saviour Jesus Christ, in the Word of both Testaments, is called the "Stone" and "Rock," it is manifest that His kingdom is meant by the last words in this passage. (5) Moreover, the state of the church is described, in innumerable passages of the Word, by "gold," "silver," "brass," and "iron;" its spiritual state as to the good of love by "gold," its spiritual state as to the truth of wisdom by "silver," its natural state as to the good of charity by "brass," and its natural state as to the truth of faith by "iron," as may be seen confirmed from the Word in the Apocalypse Revealed (n. 913), and elsewhere. [2] For this reason, the wise in the first ages, who knew the significations of metals, compared the ages, which were to follow one another from the first to the last, to those four metals, and called the first age "golden," the second age "silver," the third age "copper," and the fourth age "iron;" and they described them thus according to goods and truths; and because genuine goods and truths are from no other origin than from the God of heaven, they described them according to the states of the church with those who lived in those ages; for from these, and according to these, all the civil states of kingdoms as to justice and judgment exist, flourish and live. [3] That the Lord the Saviour Jesus Christ is called the "Stone" and "Rock" in the Word of both Testaments, is plain from the following passages. That He is called a "Stone" from these:
Thus said the Lord Jehovih, Behold I will found in Zion a Stone of probation, a precious corner of well-established foundation; he who hath believed will not make haste; then I will set judgment for the rule, and justice for the plummet (Isa. 28:16, 17). Jehovah will visit His flock. From Him is the cornerstone (Zech. 10:3, 4). The stone which the architects rejected is become the head of the corner (Ps. 118:22). Have ye not read in the Scripture that the Stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner? (Matt. 21:42; Mark 12:10, 11; Luke 20:17, 18; Isa. 8:14, 15). Ye have come to the Lord, the living Stone, rejected indeed of men, but chosen of God; ye yourselves also, as living stones, are built up into a spiritual house;...therefore, it is said in the Scripture, I lay in Zion a corner-stone, elect, precious, and he who believeth on Him shall not be ashamed (1 Peter 2:4-6). Ye are built upon the foundations of the apostles and prophets, whose corner-stone is Jesus Christ, by whom the whole building, well cemented together, groweth into a holy temple in the Lord; by whom ye are built together into a habitation of God in the spirit (Eph. 2:20, 21, 22). Jesus Christ is the Stone, rejected by the builders, which is become the head of the corner; and there is no salvation in any other (Acts 4:11, 12). The Lord is called the "Rock," is evident from these passages in the Word:
When Jeshurun became fat, he kicked...and he forsook God who made him, and despised the Rock of his salvation (Deut. 32:15, 18, 30). The God of Israel said, The Rock of Israel spake to me (2 Sam. 23:3). Let the words of my mouth be well-pleasing, O Jehovah, my Rock and my Redeemer (Ps. 19:14). And they remembered that God was their Rock, and the High God their Redeemer (Ps. 78:35). They all drank spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual Rock; the Rock was Christ (1 Cor. 10:4; Exod. 17:6). From these passages, it is now manifestly evident, that by the "Stone" which smote the statue, and became a great rock and filled the whole earth, and whose kingdom shall stand to ages of ages, is meant our Lord Jesus Christ.