THEOSISJohn Chrysostom
The stone that shattered the statue transformed into a magnificent mountain, encompassing the entirety of the earth (Dan. 2:35). The passage notes that the stone separated from the mountain not during the reign of the golden, silver, or brass kingdoms but when the iron kingdom emerged; it was then that it ‘broke away from the mountain,’ signifying a height. Before the king, it was revealed that the dream pertained to human affairs. The stone, he mentions, ‘broke away from the mountain,’ illustrating an act of volition rather than coercion; he chose his words carefully, stating it ‘was torn away from the mountain’—conveying an unexpected event that went unnoticed. ‘He was torn away from the mountain not by hands’ (Dan. 2:45) signifies the incarnation of Christ.
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At times, Scripture refers to the mountain as wives, as seen when it says, ‘Look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the hole of the pit from which you were dug’ (Isaiah 51:1). Christ is frequently identified as a rock, noted for its steadfastness. ‘But on whomever it falls,’ it states, ‘he shall be crushed’ (Luke 20:18). This evokes the idea of transience, akin to ‘as the chaff from the summer threshing-floor.’ Kingdoms vanish as if they had never existed. Consequently, ‘the stone that broke the statue became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.’ The apostolic proclamation permeated the entire cosmos. Thus, this stone is referred to as a mountain, a cornerstone, and a foundation, illustrating that it encompasses all; it is a mountain because it holds all things, a cornerstone as everything is built upon it, and hence it is also known as the foundation and root of the vine. ‘I am the vine, and you are the branches’ (John 15:5).