DANIEL SIMPLIFIED

 

CHAPTER 2.41

Gleanings from the Book of Daniel:

A Weekly Verse-by-Verse Bible Study Series

 

DANIEL

Chapter Two

The Dream of Nebuchadnezzar

(The Rise and Fall of Empires)

 

 

Preface

The Interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

What Daniel revealed to Nebuchadnezzar was an immense statue of a man divided into five basic materials:

1. The head of gold represented the Babylonian Empire

2. The arms of silver signified the Medes and the Persians

3. The belly and thighs of brass constituted the Grecian Empire

4. The legs and feet of iron portrayed the Roman Empire

 

The legacy of Alexander the Great would give way to the iron strength of Rome at the Battle of Corinth in 146 B.C. Historians show the Roman Empire succeeded the Empire of Greece and existed for about 500 years.

 

From verses 41 to verse 45, the prophecy of the king’s dream has been fulfilled through Gentile nations. However, there is a fifth kingdom Daniel does not identify. It is a future extension of the Roman Empire, namely a ten-nation confederacy (the final form of the Roman Empire) that will exist in the Tribulation.  

 

 

(Verse 41)

 

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.

 

Feet and Toes

Daniel continues to elaborate: The last (future) empire of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream is the feet and toes, having a mixture of potters’ clay and iron. Iron depicts totalitarianism and clay alludes to a socialistic democracy, a mixture not compatible with one another.  Hence, its final form will be characterized as such:

1. It will be inwardly diversified

2. It will be politically degenerative and decayed

3. It will be weak, vulnerable, and unstable

 

The kingdom shall be divided

Historically, the Roman Empire was split into two parts, Constantinople to the East and Rome to the West. But, its futuristic final form will be disunited tenfold. This conglomerate coincides with Daniel’s vision of the four beasts in Chapter 7 and the ten horns of Revelation 17.

Daniel 7:7 - After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.

 

Revelation 17:12 - And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast (i.e., Antichrist).

 

Please notice, the ten horns are not kingdoms, but kings.

 

 

(Verse 42)

 

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.

 

Daniel viewed the Roman Empire in its future form as the ten toes of the statue’s feet mixed with iron and clay. Previously noted, the toes typify ten independent kingdoms ruled by ten kings. Regardless, the mixture characterizes frailty, fragility, and weakness.

 

If iron is emblematic of strength, and clay (potsherd) portrays being easily broken, then the iron-clay combination is also indicative of disunity and instability. Therefore, its authoritative power will be limited and its existence ultimately subject to destruction (read Revelation 17:8-17).

 

 

(Verse 43)

 

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.

 

Iron and Clay

Iron and clay do not adhere to one another. The analogy is thus given:

They shall mingle themselves with the seed of men

A strange idea is stated, reminiscent of Genesis 6:2 when the sons of God comingled with the daughters of men. Nevertheless, Nebuchadnezzar’s dream seems to be correlating with Christianized Rome's coupling with the surrounding pagan nations and their respective religions. Since the final form of the Roman Empire is a divided society, as a result, its governance and religious system too will be deteriorated and dissipated, namely because of its incompatibility.

 

 

 (Verse 44)

 

And in the [latter] 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 for ever.

 

The Latter Days

Daniel projects far into the future. He describes to the King three synonymous eschatological terms:

1. The last days

2. The end times

3. The time of the end

 

·        It is a time when 10 kings ruled before the Second Coming

·        It is a time throughout  Antichrist’s dominion over the earth

·        It is a time amidst the second half of the Great Tribulation

 

Scripture delineates some useful insight:

2 Peter 3:3 – Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts.

 

2 Timothy 3:1 - This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

 

 

The Kingdom

During the latter days, the dream foretells several occurrences:

1. The Kingdom shall be established by the God of Heaven

2. The Kingdom shall never be destroyed

3. The Kingdom shall not be left to other people

4. The Kingdom shall consume ten kingdoms

5. The Kingdom shall break ten kingdoms into pieces

6. The Kingdom shall be divine

7. The Kingdom shall be eternal

 

Isaiah 2:2 - And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.

 

At the time of the end, God will finally put an end to man’s failures. In the days of these (ten) kings, i.e., the last days of the four kingdoms, or the final form of the Roman Empire, war and turmoil will ensue until God sets up His eternal Kingdom. God’s form of government will be a theocracy, and culminate with His original design and destiny for mankind (cf. Genesis 1:27-30).

 

It [His Kingdom] shall stand forever

An eternal Kingdom is promised in the Old Testament and reiterated in the New. It shall stand forever under the reign of Jesus Christ:

2 Samuel 7:16 - And Thine house and Thy Kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: Thy Throne shall be established for ever.

 

Isaiah 9:7 – Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

 

Luke 1:33 - And He [Jesus Christ] will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.

 

Hebrews 1:8 - But unto the Son [Jesus] He [God] saith, Thy Throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of Thy Kingdom.

 

So, Jesus Christ as Messiah forever finally rules, first in the Millennial Kingdom, then the New Heaven and Earth.

 

 

(Verse 45)

 

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.

 

The falling of the stone (Jesus Christ) cut out of the mountain (the Kingdom under the sovereign authority of God) must impose destroying judgment on the fifth Gentile power (the revived Roman Empire) at Christ’s Second Coming. The stone, not man-made but of supernatural origin, smashes the weakest part of the statue in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, i.e., the ten toes (Revelation 17:12) – A composite mixture of iron and clay.

 

Interestingly, no stones or rocks existed in Babylon. They were transported from afar. Babylon produced bricks made of brick and clay for their structures, and for their streets, limestone was imported from Assyria.

 

The Destruction of the Revived Roman Empire

Old Testament Reference

Its destruction will mirror the fall of Sodom and Gomorrah. Destruction and total collapse appeared suddenly:

Genesis 19:24-25 - Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of Heaven; And He overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.

 

New Testament Reference

When Jesus spoke in the Temple after His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, He told the Parable of the Tenants which was understood by the Chief priests and the elders:

Matthew 21:44 - And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

 

And the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure

Despite modern criticism, God's people have assured the interpretation of the dream is certain (true) and sure (trustworthy). Not only that, but three additional elements are in play:

1. It is divinely inspired

2. It is faithful

3. It shall come to pass

 

 

Postscript

Nebuchadnezzar’s dream is a summary of prophecy for the Times of the Gentiles. God deals with Gentile power culminating at the end of the Great Tribulation, and the Second Advent of Jesus Christ. Concerning Israel, God founded it upon a theocratic principle, and thence shall theocracy be restored.

 

The declaration of Nebuchadnezzar, the promotion of Daniel, and the introduction to Daniel Chapter 3 are detailed in the succeeding study.

 

 

QUESTIONS:

1. What happened to the fourth Kingdom?

2. What are the characteristics of the fifth Kingdom?

3. When does the fifth Kingdom begin?

4. When does the fifth Kingdom end?

5. Who is the stone cut out of the mountain?

6. What is the name of Christ’s Kingdom?

7. What follows Christ’s Kingdom?

 

 

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