As we continue to examine the symbolism, ‘picture language’ and various Middle-Eastern idioms and metaphors which enrich the Bible, I would now like to consider the symbolism of the vine and of the stone (or rock).

The Vine

The vine is yet another symbol for Israel, and the vine specifically emphasises the spiritual benefits of Israel. The greatest spiritual benefit of Israel, of course, is Jesus – which Jesus himself acknowledged when he said, “I am the true vine” (John 15:1). The whole vineyard is used to represent Israel as a nation, whilst the vine itself represents the people. Isaiah 5:7 states: "The vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the people of Judah are his pleasant plant.”

When Jesus delivered his Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers (Luke 20:9-19), in front of an audience which included the chief priests, scribes and other religious leaders (Luke 20:1), Jesus commenced his parable by painting the picture given in Isaiah 5 (compare Isaiah 5:1-2 with Matthew 21:33). Jesus then effectively accused the religious leadership (the vinedressers) of failing in their duty to God. Jesus specifically accused them of mistreating the servants of the owner of the vineyard (the prophets of God), and then he foretold that they would kill the owner’s only Son. Jesus also warned the Jewish religious leadership that the owner of the vineyard would then “come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others” (Luke 20:16).

Luke records that Jesus concluded his Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers by quoting Psalm 118:22, “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.” Jesus then referred to a Talmudic proverb by adding: “Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder” (Luke 20:18). The original proverb states: “If a pot falls upon a stone, woe to the pot; if a stone falls upon a pot, woe to the pot; either way, woe to the pot” (Esther Rabbah 7:10). Clearly Jesus was indicating that he is the stone.

The Stone or the Rock

When Jesus associated himself (as the Son of the Owner of the vineyard) with a stone, we might note that there is a little word-play in Hebrew here. The Hebrew word for ‘son’ is ‘ben’, and the Hebrew word for ‘stone’ is ‘eben’. We should not be surprised, therefore, that Jesus is often symbolised in Scripture by a stone (as in Psalm 118:22) or a rock. As a rock (Hebrew: ‘tsur’), Jesus taught that it is a wise man who builds his house (or his life) on the rock. "Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock” (Matthew 7:24).

At the plain, literal level of understanding, God provided real water from a rock because the people were thirsty. At a deeper, allegorical level of understanding, the Son of God (as the Divine Rock) provides living water that represents the Holy Spirit.

Jesus is often foreshadowed as a rock in the Old Testament. In Exodus 17:6, we can read that when the children of Israel were thirsty, God instructed Moses to strike the rock at Horeb with his staff. When Moses did this, running water came out of the rock. In a similar way, Jesus said, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:37-38). Thus the episode of Moses striking the rock at Horeb works on two levels. At the plain, literal level of understanding, God provided real water from a rock because the people were thirsty. At a deeper, allegorical level of understanding, the Son of God (as the Divine Rock) provides living water that represents the Holy Spirit.

The Dream which includes the Stone

The story of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, in Daniel chapter 2, gives us a picture of how Jesus (as the stone) will finally crush and totally destroy all those kingdoms, empires and people who oppose him at the very end of the age.The stone (Jesus) becomes a mountain (kingdom) which fills the whole earth

For those who are not familiar with the story, King Nebuchadnezzar had a vision of a statue. The statue consisted of different sections, which represent the major kingdoms or empires that would rule over the lands of Babylon right up to the end of the age. It is important to understand that the king’s dream focused on the lands ruled by Nebuchadnezzar himself, so the statue was effectively a time-line of the various empires that would rule over his kingdom until the time of the end. Periods when the land would be divided, and no single empire would rule over all of Babylonia, are not represented on the statue.

The statue had a head of fine gold, and Daniel 2:38 informs us that this head represents Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom. Scholars generally agree that the statue’s chest and arms of silver represent the Medo-Persian Empire, and that its belly and thighs of bronze represent the Greek Empire established by Alexander the Great.

After the death of Alexander, the Greek Empire was divided, just as the bronze belly of Nebuchadnezzar’s statue branches into its two bronze thighs. Then, in later years, there was a time when no major empire occupied all the lands of Babylonia. This time of ‘no overall control’ is not represented on the statue.

Many scholars believe that the next major empire in this region was Rome, but respectfully I would disagree with them. Whilst the Romans invaded the western parts of Babylonia, they generally remained well to the west of the southern stretch of the Euphrates. Only for a few brief months in 116 AD, under Emperor Trajan, did Rome ever extend its territories toward Babylon, but they were almost immediately beaten back – and they never reached the eastern part of Babylonia, some of which now forms part of Iran.

The lands once ruled by Nebuchadnezzar actually remained divided and under ‘no overall control’ until they were eventually assimilated by the vast Islamic Empire or Caliphate. Thus I personally believe that the legs of iron on Nebuchadnezzar’s statue represent the Islamic Caliphate, each of the two legs symbolising one of the two main branches of Islam (Sunni and Shia).1 The Caliphate endured in various forms for many centuries. However, after the defeat of the Ottoman Caliphate by allied armies in World War I, with the subsequent establishment of the secular republic of Turkey in 1923, the former lands of Babylon again reverted to ‘no overall control’.

The final section of Nebuchadnezzar’s statue comprises its feet made of iron mixed with ceramic clay, and these unusual feet represent the final empire or entity that will exert control over the former lands of Babylon during the time of the end. The component of iron connects this final ‘kingdom’ with the former Caliphate (the legs of iron), but the addition of clay indicates a weaker kingdom that is partly fragile (Daniel 2:42) – and people who “will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay” (Daniel 2:43).

Opinions vary, of course, but to me the feet of iron mixed with ceramic clay provide a perfect picture of the restored Caliphate that calls itself ‘Islamic State’. It is a fact that this Caliphate had authority to rule over a civilian population in the heartlands of Babylonia (Iraq and Syria) for exactly 42 Biblical months (Revelation 13:5) ) – from the first of Tammuz 5774 (Jewish calendar), when the Caliphate of Islamic State was “spoken into being” (Revelation 13:15), until the first of Kislev 5778, when the last urban stronghold of Islamic State was captured by the Syrian army. Outside of those 42 months, and outside that specific geographical area, Islamic State has continued to exist as an ideological entity whose people are mixed and scattered amongst the nations of the world – especially in the Muslim-majority countries that once formed part of the original Islamic Empire. These Islamists mingle with the seed of men, but they do not adhere to them, just as iron does not stick to ceramic clay.

The ten toes on the feet of iron mixed with clay probably equate to the ten horns on the ‘beast from the sea’ (Revelation 13:1). They represent the ten rulers who will give their authority to the beast-empire (the feet of iron mixed with clay) in the very last days (Revelation 17:12-14).

The Stone at the End of the Age

Nebuchadnezzar’s dream concludes when a stone (which was cut out without hands) strikes the statue on its feet of iron mixed with clay. The feet shatter into pieces, the whole statue collapses and is crushed to dust – and this residue is blown away. Finally, the stone becomes a great mountain which fills the whole earth (Daniel 2:34-35).

The Kingdom of Christ covers the whole world, and it is a kingdom over which Jesus will reign for a thousand years.

I have already indicated that Jesus is the stone. Jesus shatters the Islamic entity that confronts God at the end of the age, and all the anti-God kingdoms are totally destroyed. When the stone becomes a mountain that fills the earth, we have a picture of the Body of Christ becoming a mighty nation (remember that ‘mountain’ is a metaphor for ‘nation’). The Kingdom of Christ covers the whole world, and it is a kingdom over which Jesus will reign for a thousand years (Revelation 20:4).

Notes

¹ Joel Richardson wrote a book with a similar theme, MidEast Beast, which was reviewed by Prophecy Today.