What is the "stone that smashes all other stones" mentioned in the Book of Daniel?

The "stone that smashes all other stones" is a mysterious and powerful object mentioned in the Book of Daniel, a prophetic book in the Hebrew Bible and Christian Old Testament. According to the book, the stone is a symbol of a divine power that will one day destroy the kingdom of the world and establish a new kingdom that will never be destroyed.

The Book of Daniel describes the stone in chapter 2, where the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar has a dream of a statue made of different materials: a head of gold, chest and arms of silver, belly and thighs of bronze, legs of iron, and feet partly of iron and partly of clay. In the dream, a stone not cut by human hands strikes the statue on its feet and destroys it. The stone then becomes a great mountain that fills the whole earth.

Daniel, who is able to interpret the dream, explains that the different parts of the statue represent different kingdoms that will rise and fall in the world. The head of gold represents Nebuchadnezzar's own kingdom of Babylon, while the other parts represent subsequent kingdoms that will arise after Babylon's fall.

The stone, on the other hand, represents a divine power that will come and destroy all of these kingdoms and establish a new kingdom that will never be destroyed. This new kingdom will be ruled by God and will be the fulfillment of his plan for the world.

The stone is often interpreted as a symbol of Jesus Christ, who is described in the New Testament as the "cornerstone" of the Christian faith. Just as the stone in the Book of Daniel destroys the kingdoms of the world and establishes a new kingdom ruled by God, Jesus is believed by Christians to have come to earth to destroy sin and death and establish a new kingdom of heaven.

Some scholars have also interpreted the stone as a symbol of the power of God's word or the gospel message, which has the power to change hearts and transform lives. Just as the stone in the dream smashes the statue and transforms into a great mountain that fills the earth, the gospel message has the power to transform individuals and societies and establish God's kingdom on earth.