Aspinwall: Antichrist’s dominion ends by 1673, the Fifth Monarchy a little before
interpretation
On: shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom
Source quotation · William Aspinwall, A Brief Description of the Fifth Monarchy (London, 1653), p. 14 to the end
Having thus declared and proved, That such a Kingdome shall be, and the Soveraigne, Subjects, Officers, and Lawes of that Kingdome, I shall in a word give some hint of the time when this Kingdome shall begin.
KNow therefore that the uttermost durance of Antichrists dominion, will be in the yeare 1673. as I have proved from Scripture in a brief Chronology, ready to be put forth. Ere which time it will be necessary that the ten hornes, or Kings, which are the strength of the Beast, be broken off, which work is already begun in the Beheading of Charles, late King of three Kingdomes, Anno 1648. according to that in Dan. 7.11.24.26, and the rest of the Hornes or Kings are to continue but a little longer, v. 12. Now this Kingdome of Christ which I call the fifth Monarchy, shall begin a little before the fourth Monarchy be destroyed, Dan. 2.44. For which end it is set up of God, to consume and break in pieces the other Kingdomes It shall fill the whole earth, and shall stand for ever, such will be the prevalency thereof against all opposition, the universality and durance of this Kingdome.
But to come yet a little nearer to the first rise of this Monarchy, it is said, That judgement was given to the Saints, and they executed judgement on the little horne, Dan. 7.22.26. which was fulfilled 1648. and this is not the beginning of the fifth Monarchy, but it comes near it, for Daniel speaks de futuro, That the Kingdome, and Dominion, and greatnesse of the Kingdome under the whole Heaven shall be given to the Saints.
As for the precise yeare, I dare not determine, but this I say, that when God awakens the Saints and Witnesses to hearken to a voyce from Heaven, that is, from the Churches, saying Come up hither, Rev. 11.12. when they are content to forget their old formes of Government, Civil and Ecclesiasticall, called the first Heavens, and first Earth, Rev. 21.1. Isa. 65.17. when I say the Saints are come to this pitch, that they will have no Lawes, Statutes, or Rules of Government in the Church or Civil State, but what Christ hath given in his word, even from thenceforth doth this fifth Monarchy begin, which Peter calls the new Heavens, and new Earth, wherein dwells righteousnesse, 2 Pet. 3.13. Of this Paul prophesieth, Heb. 12.27. that not onely the Earth, but also the Heaven, to wit, the Government, Civil and Ecclesiasticall, should be shaken towards the end of the fourth Monarchy, under which he then wrote. And by shaking he means removing of them, that the Kingdome of Christ uncapable of shaking, might come in room thereof. And verily there hath been a great shaking already, and more yet remaines, for the work will not be wholly finished untill the Jewes be called, and the fullnesse of the Nations come in. For which let all Saints pray, Come Lord Jesus, come quickly, and let thy Kingdome come, (that) thy will may be done in earth, as it is done in heaven, Rev. 22.17. Mat. 6.10.
A Brief Description of the Fifth Monarchy · William Aspinwall, A Brief Description of the Fifth Monarchy, or Kingdome, That Shortly Is to Come into the World (London: M. Simmons for Livewell Chapman, 1653), concluding “Prognostick” on the time, p. 14 to the end. Transcribed from the EEBO-TCP keyed text (CC0; textcreationpartnership GitHub repository A75729). Long s (ſ) rendered s; TCP line-end hyphenation markers joined; page breaks joined; marginal notes and running heads omitted; roman and italic type not distinguished; spelling, capitalization and punctuation otherwise as keyed; omissions marked […]. Checked against the Internet Archive page image (bim_early-english-books-1641-1700_a-brief-description-of-t_aspinwall-william_1653, leaf n17). Two keying defects corrected from the print: “Chr ſt” read “Christ”; the reference keyed “Dan. 7.11 24.26.” prints with a comma and is given as “Dan. 7.11.24.26,”. The print also has “Kingdomes It” without a stop, retained.
Source reuse and transcription
Seventeenth-century printed text, public domain; EEBO-TCP keyed transcription released under CC0 by the Text Creation Partnership.
Community response to this revision: 0
Published revision history
2026-10-05T15:53:51+00:00
Having thus declared and proved, That such a Kingdome shall be, and the Soveraigne, Subjects, Officers, and Lawes of that Kingdome, I shall in a word give some hint of the time when this Kingdome shall begin.
KNow therefore that the uttermost durance of Antichrists dominion, will be in the yeare 1673. as I have proved from Scripture in a brief Chronology, ready to be put forth. Ere which time it will be necessary that the ten hornes, or Kings, which are the strength of the Beast, be broken off, which work is already begun in the Beheading of Charles, late King of three Kingdomes, Anno 1648. according to that in Dan. 7.11.24.26, and the rest of the Hornes or Kings are to continue but a little longer, v. 12. Now this Kingdome of Christ which I call the fifth Monarchy, shall begin a little before the fourth Monarchy be destroyed, Dan. 2.44. For which end it is set up of God, to consume and break in pieces the other Kingdomes It shall fill the whole earth, and shall stand for ever, such will be the prevalency thereof against all opposition, the universality and durance of this Kingdome.
But to come yet a little nearer to the first rise of this Monarchy, it is said, That judgement was given to the Saints, and they executed judgement on the little horne, Dan. 7.22.26. which was fulfilled 1648. and this is not the beginning of the fifth Monarchy, but it comes near it, for Daniel speaks de futuro, That the Kingdome, and Dominion, and greatnesse of the Kingdome under the whole Heaven shall be given to the Saints.
As for the precise yeare, I dare not determine, but this I say, that when God awakens the Saints and Witnesses to hearken to a voyce from Heaven, that is, from the Churches, saying Come up hither, Rev. 11.12. when they are content to forget their old formes of Government, Civil and Ecclesiasticall, called the first Heavens, and first Earth, Rev. 21.1. Isa. 65.17. when I say the Saints are come to this pitch, that they will have no Lawes, Statutes, or Rules of Government in the Church or Civil State, but what Christ hath given in his word, even from thenceforth doth this fifth Monarchy begin, which Peter calls the new Heavens, and new Earth, wherein dwells righteousnesse, 2 Pet. 3.13. Of this Paul prophesieth, Heb. 12.27. that not onely the Earth, but also the Heaven, to wit, the Government, Civil and Ecclesiasticall, should be shaken towards the end of the fourth Monarchy, under which he then wrote. And by shaking he means removing of them, that the Kingdome of Christ uncapable of shaking, might come in room thereof. And verily there hath been a great shaking already, and more yet remaines, for the work will not be wholly finished untill the Jewes be called, and the fullnesse of the Nations come in. For which let all Saints pray, Come Lord Jesus, come quickly, and let thy Kingdome come, (that) thy will may be done in earth, as it is done in heaven, Rev. 22.17. Mat. 6.10.
Parley P. Pratt reads Nebuchadnezzar’s image as history and the stone as the latter-day kingdom
interpretation
On: set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed
Source quotation · Parley P. Pratt, A Voice of Warning, eleventh edition (Salt Lake City: Deseret News Company, 1881), chapter I, “On Prophecy Already Fulfilled,” pp. 31–37; three paragraphs from “Babylon, the most ancient” through “King over all the earth.”
Babylon, the most ancient and renowned city of the world, was pleasantly situated on the banks of a majestic river, that flowed through the plains of Shinar, near to which the tower of Babel once stood. It was laid out four square, and surrounded with a wall upwards of three hundred feet high, and sixty miles in circumference; having a hundred gates of brass with bars of iron; twenty-five gates on each side, which opened to streets running through the city, a distance of fifteen miles; thus forming the whole city into exact squares of equal size. In the midst of these squares were beautiful gardens, adorned with trees and walks, diversified with flowers of varied hue; while the houses were built upon the borders of the squares, directly fronting on the streets. In the midst of this city sat Nebuchadnezzar, enthroned in royal splendor and magnificence, and swaying his sceptre over all the kingdoms of the world, when it pleased God, in a vision of the night, to unveil the dark curtain of the future, and to present before him, at one view, the history of the world, even down to the consummation of all things. Behold, a great image stood before him, whose head was of fine gold, his breast and arms of silver, his belly and thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his feet and toes part of iron and part of miry clay. He beheld, till a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, which smote the image upon the feet, which were part of iron and part of clay, and brake them in pieces; then was the iron, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became as the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, and there was no place found for them; but the stone which smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. When Daniel was brought in before the king, to tell the dream and the interpretation, he exclaimed, "There is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king, Nebuchadnezzar, what shall be in the latter days." Then, after telling the dream, he continues thus: "Thou, O king, art a king of kings; for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things; and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided: but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter; and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure."
In this great view of the subject we have presented before us, in succession, first, the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar; second, the Medes and Persians, who took Babylon from Belshazzar, and reigned over all the earth; third, the Greeks under Alexander, who conquered the world, and reigned in the midst of Babylon; and fourth, the Roman empire, which subdued all things; fifth, its division into eastern and western empires, and its final breaking up or subdivision into the various kingdoms of modern Europe, represented by the feet and toes, part of iron and part of clay. And, lastly, we have presented before us an entirely new kingdom, organized by the God of heaven in the last days, or during the reign of these kings, represented by the feet and toes. This last kingdom was never to change masters, like all the kingdoms which had gone before it. It was never to be left to another people. It was to break in pieces all these kingdoms, and stand forever. Many suppose that this last kingdom alluded to was the kingdom of God which was organized in the days of Christ, or his Apostles. But a greater blunder could not exist; the kingdom of God set up in the days of Christ, or his Apostles, did not break in pieces any of the kingdoms of the world: it was itself warred against and overcome, in fulfilment of the words of Daniel, chapter vii, 21; "I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;" also 22d verse, "Until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom;" also verse 27th, "And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom, under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom; and all dominions shall serve and obey him."
John records, Rev. xiii. 7, "And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them; and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations." In fulfilment of these sayings, power has been given, to the authorities of the earth to kill the Apostles and inspired men, until, if any remained, they were banished from among men, or forced to retire to the desolate islands, or the dens and caves of the mountains of the earth, being men of whom the world was not worthy; while at the same time, many false prophets and teachers were introduced in their place, whom men heaped to themselves, because they would not endure sound doctrine. In this way the kingdom of God became disorganized, and lost from among men, and the doctrines and churches of men instituted in its place. But we design to speak more fully on this subject when we come to treat on the subject of the kingdom of God. Suffice it to say, that the kingdom spoken of by Daniel is something to be organized in the last days, by the God of heaven Himself, without the aid of human institutions or the precepts of men. And, when once organized, it will never cease to roll; all the powers of earth and hell will not impede its progress, until at length the Ancient of Days shall sit, and the Lord Jesus will come in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory, as the King of kings, and Lord of lords, and destroy all these kingdoms, and give the kingdom and the greatness of the kingdom, under the whole heaven, to the Saints. Then there will be but one Lord, and His name one, and He shall be King over all the earth.
A Voice of Warning · Eleventh edition, Deseret News Company, Salt Lake City, 1881. Project Gutenberg eBook 35554, Mormon Texts Project transcription. Chapters I (pp. 31–37), II (pp. 82–86) and IV (pp. 153–156). HTML formatting and paragraph whitespace normalized; original wording, quotations and reference numbering retained. Compared word by word with the Internet Archive warninginvoiceof00pratrich (1881) scan text; pages 82 and 84 viewed. No passages omitted within the selected units.
Source reuse and transcription
Public-domain 1881 edition in the United States: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/35554. Transcription by the Mormon Texts Project volunteers. Project Gutenberg license: https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html.
Community response to this revision: 0
Published revision history
2026-10-01T14:02:23+00:00
Babylon, the most ancient and renowned city of the world, was pleasantly situated on the banks of a majestic river, that flowed through the plains of Shinar, near to which the tower of Babel once stood. It was laid out four square, and surrounded with a wall upwards of three hundred feet high, and sixty miles in circumference; having a hundred gates of brass with bars of iron; twenty-five gates on each side, which opened to streets running through the city, a distance of fifteen miles; thus forming the whole city into exact squares of equal size. In the midst of these squares were beautiful gardens, adorned with trees and walks, diversified with flowers of varied hue; while the houses were built upon the borders of the squares, directly fronting on the streets. In the midst of this city sat Nebuchadnezzar, enthroned in royal splendor and magnificence, and swaying his sceptre over all the kingdoms of the world, when it pleased God, in a vision of the night, to unveil the dark curtain of the future, and to present before him, at one view, the history of the world, even down to the consummation of all things. Behold, a great image stood before him, whose head was of fine gold, his breast and arms of silver, his belly and thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his feet and toes part of iron and part of miry clay. He beheld, till a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, which smote the image upon the feet, which were part of iron and part of clay, and brake them in pieces; then was the iron, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became as the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, and there was no place found for them; but the stone which smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. When Daniel was brought in before the king, to tell the dream and the interpretation, he exclaimed, "There is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king, Nebuchadnezzar, what shall be in the latter days." Then, after telling the dream, he continues thus: "Thou, O king, art a king of kings; for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things; and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided: but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter; and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure."
In this great view of the subject we have presented before us, in succession, first, the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar; second, the Medes and Persians, who took Babylon from Belshazzar, and reigned over all the earth; third, the Greeks under Alexander, who conquered the world, and reigned in the midst of Babylon; and fourth, the Roman empire, which subdued all things; fifth, its division into eastern and western empires, and its final breaking up or subdivision into the various kingdoms of modern Europe, represented by the feet and toes, part of iron and part of clay. And, lastly, we have presented before us an entirely new kingdom, organized by the God of heaven in the last days, or during the reign of these kings, represented by the feet and toes. This last kingdom was never to change masters, like all the kingdoms which had gone before it. It was never to be left to another people. It was to break in pieces all these kingdoms, and stand forever. Many suppose that this last kingdom alluded to was the kingdom of God which was organized in the days of Christ, or his Apostles. But a greater blunder could not exist; the kingdom of God set up in the days of Christ, or his Apostles, did not break in pieces any of the kingdoms of the world: it was itself warred against and overcome, in fulfilment of the words of Daniel, chapter vii, 21; "I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;" also 22d verse, "Until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom;" also verse 27th, "And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom, under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom; and all dominions shall serve and obey him."
John records, Rev. xiii. 7, "And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them; and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations." In fulfilment of these sayings, power has been given, to the authorities of the earth to kill the Apostles and inspired men, until, if any remained, they were banished from among men, or forced to retire to the desolate islands, or the dens and caves of the mountains of the earth, being men of whom the world was not worthy; while at the same time, many false prophets and teachers were introduced in their place, whom men heaped to themselves, because they would not endure sound doctrine. In this way the kingdom of God became disorganized, and lost from among men, and the doctrines and churches of men instituted in its place. But we design to speak more fully on this subject when we come to treat on the subject of the kingdom of God. Suffice it to say, that the kingdom spoken of by Daniel is something to be organized in the last days, by the God of heaven Himself, without the aid of human institutions or the precepts of men. And, when once organized, it will never cease to roll; all the powers of earth and hell will not impede its progress, until at length the Ancient of Days shall sit, and the Lord Jesus will come in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory, as the King of kings, and Lord of lords, and destroy all these kingdoms, and give the kingdom and the greatness of the kingdom, under the whole heaven, to the Saints. Then there will be but one Lord, and His name one, and He shall be King over all the earth.
Pratt locates the image and the stone that strikes its feet
interpretation
On: the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands
Source quotation · Orson Pratt, as reported by David W. Evans, 4 February 1872; Journal of Discourses 15, pp. 71–73, four paragraphs from “Do we wish to understand” through “Western Asia and Eastern Europe.”
Do we wish to understand the geographical position of the great image? If we do, we must consider the head located in Asia; the breast and the arms of silver a little west of the great Babylonian Empire, the belly and thighs of brass still westward; the legs of iron and the modern kingdoms composing the feet and toes, part of iron and part of clay, as extending throughout Europe and branching across the Atlantic Ocean, and extending from the East Sea even to the West, from the Atlantic unto the Pacific. This will constitute the location of the great image, running westward.
The image being now complete, all that we need now is to find something that will represent the stone cut out of the mountain without hands, something distinct entirely from the image, having no fellowship with it, that has not grown out of it, and that has no authority that comes from it, but a distinct and entirely separate government that should be established in some mountain. "Thou sawest until that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands." What shall that stone do? It shall smite the image upon the feet and toes. Not upon the head at first, not upon the breast and arms of silver, not upon the belly and thighs of brass, not upon the modern kingdoms of Europe that have grown out of the legs of iron, but shall smite upon the feet and toes of the great image; there is where it is to commence its attack.
Now let us inquire, for a few moments, how or in what manner this kingdom, called the stone cut out of the mountain, commences this severe attack. Is it to be with weapons of a carnal nature, with sword in hand and weapons of warfare to wage a war against the kingdoms or governments of the earth? No, indeed! Connected with the kingdom or stone cut out of the mountain without hands is a power superior to that of carnal weapons—the power of truth, for the kingdom of God cannot be organized on the earth without truth being sent down from heaven, without authority being given from the Most High; without men again being called to the holy Priesthood and Apostleship, and sent forth to publish the truth in its naked simplicity and plainness to the inhabitants of the earth. This truth will be the weapon of warfare, this authority and power sent down from heaven will go forth and will proclaim the message of the everlasting Gospel, the Gospel of the latter-day kingdom, publishing it first among the nations that compose the feet and toes of the great image. Will they be broken to pieces? Yes, when this message is published to them. When they are sufficiently warned, when the servants of God have gone forth in obedience to his commandments, and published in their towns, villages, cities, States and governments these sacred and holy principles that God Almighty has sent down from heaven in the latter times, it will leave all people, nations and tongues that hear the Gospel, and the principles and message pertaining to that kingdom, without any excuse. It will be a warning that will be everlasting on the one hand, or on the other, either to the bringing of the people to repentance, reformation and obedience to the Gospel of the kingdom, or the judgments which are predicted in this prophecy of Daniel will be poured out upon the heads of those nations and kingdoms, and they will become like the chaff of the summer threshing floor, even all those kingdoms that compose the great image; for be it known that the remnants of the Babylonish kingdom, represented by the head of gold, still exist in Asia; the remnants of the silver kingdom, of the brass kingdom, and the kingdom of iron still have their existence; but when the Lord Almighty shall fulfil this prophecy, the toes and feet and legs of iron of that great image, or all these kingdoms, will be broken in pieces, and they will become like the chaff of the summer threshing floor; the wind will carry them away and no place will be found for them.
This prophecy of Daniel will give a true understanding of the matter to our wise men and statesmen, and all who desire to know the future destiny of the American government, the European governments, and all the kingdoms of the earth. Their destiny is total destruction from our earth, no matter how great or powerful they may become. Though our nation may grasp on the right hand and on the left; though it may annex the British possessions, and extend its dominions to the south and grasp the whole of this great western hemisphere, and although our nation shall become as powerful in population as in extent of territory; its destiny is foretold in the saying of the Prophet Daniel, "They shall become like the chaff of the summer threshing floor, the wind shall carry them away and no place shall be found for them." So with the kingdoms of Europe, so with the kingdoms of Western Asia and Eastern Europe.
Orson Pratt on the stone cut out without hands · Journal of Discourses, vol. 15 (Liverpool: Albert Carrington), discourse by Orson Pratt delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday afternoon, 4 February 1872, reported by David W. Evans, beginning p. 67. Selected unit pp. 71–73. JournalofDiscourses.com transcription retrieved 30 September 2026, collated word by word against the Internet Archive JoDV15 OCR text layer, with page images inspected where the witnesses differed; wording and spelling follow the print, punctuation and capitalization follow the electronic witness. HTML markup removed and whitespace normalized. No passages omitted within selected units. Print readings restored: “summer threshingfloor, even all” → “summer threshing floor, even all”; “summer threshingfloor; the wind will carry” → “summer threshing floor; the wind will carry”; “summer threshingfloor, the wind shall carry” → “summer threshing floor, the wind shall carry”.
Source reuse and transcription
Nineteenth-century historical source text, public domain. Print witness: https://archive.org/details/JoDV15/page/n74/mode/2up.
Community response to this revision: 0
Published revision history
2026-10-01T14:02:23+00:00
Do we wish to understand the geographical position of the great image? If we do, we must consider the head located in Asia; the breast and the arms of silver a little west of the great Babylonian Empire, the belly and thighs of brass still westward; the legs of iron and the modern kingdoms composing the feet and toes, part of iron and part of clay, as extending throughout Europe and branching across the Atlantic Ocean, and extending from the East Sea even to the West, from the Atlantic unto the Pacific. This will constitute the location of the great image, running westward.
The image being now complete, all that we need now is to find something that will represent the stone cut out of the mountain without hands, something distinct entirely from the image, having no fellowship with it, that has not grown out of it, and that has no authority that comes from it, but a distinct and entirely separate government that should be established in some mountain. "Thou sawest until that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands." What shall that stone do? It shall smite the image upon the feet and toes. Not upon the head at first, not upon the breast and arms of silver, not upon the belly and thighs of brass, not upon the modern kingdoms of Europe that have grown out of the legs of iron, but shall smite upon the feet and toes of the great image; there is where it is to commence its attack.
Now let us inquire, for a few moments, how or in what manner this kingdom, called the stone cut out of the mountain, commences this severe attack. Is it to be with weapons of a carnal nature, with sword in hand and weapons of warfare to wage a war against the kingdoms or governments of the earth? No, indeed! Connected with the kingdom or stone cut out of the mountain without hands is a power superior to that of carnal weapons—the power of truth, for the kingdom of God cannot be organized on the earth without truth being sent down from heaven, without authority being given from the Most High; without men again being called to the holy Priesthood and Apostleship, and sent forth to publish the truth in its naked simplicity and plainness to the inhabitants of the earth. This truth will be the weapon of warfare, this authority and power sent down from heaven will go forth and will proclaim the message of the everlasting Gospel, the Gospel of the latter-day kingdom, publishing it first among the nations that compose the feet and toes of the great image. Will they be broken to pieces? Yes, when this message is published to them. When they are sufficiently warned, when the servants of God have gone forth in obedience to his commandments, and published in their towns, villages, cities, States and governments these sacred and holy principles that God Almighty has sent down from heaven in the latter times, it will leave all people, nations and tongues that hear the Gospel, and the principles and message pertaining to that kingdom, without any excuse. It will be a warning that will be everlasting on the one hand, or on the other, either to the bringing of the people to repentance, reformation and obedience to the Gospel of the kingdom, or the judgments which are predicted in this prophecy of Daniel will be poured out upon the heads of those nations and kingdoms, and they will become like the chaff of the summer threshing floor, even all those kingdoms that compose the great image; for be it known that the remnants of the Babylonish kingdom, represented by the head of gold, still exist in Asia; the remnants of the silver kingdom, of the brass kingdom, and the kingdom of iron still have their existence; but when the Lord Almighty shall fulfil this prophecy, the toes and feet and legs of iron of that great image, or all these kingdoms, will be broken in pieces, and they will become like the chaff of the summer threshing floor; the wind will carry them away and no place will be found for them.
This prophecy of Daniel will give a true understanding of the matter to our wise men and statesmen, and all who desire to know the future destiny of the American government, the European governments, and all the kingdoms of the earth. Their destiny is total destruction from our earth, no matter how great or powerful they may become. Though our nation may grasp on the right hand and on the left; though it may annex the British possessions, and extend its dominions to the south and grasp the whole of this great western hemisphere, and although our nation shall become as powerful in population as in extent of territory; its destiny is foretold in the saying of the Prophet Daniel, "They shall become like the chaff of the summer threshing floor, the wind shall carry them away and no place shall be found for them." So with the kingdoms of Europe, so with the kingdoms of Western Asia and Eastern Europe.