| NEBUCHADNEZZAR’S DREAM |
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| Here, and in Chapter 7, Daniel prophecies about the four great kingdoms against the saints. In verse 35, we learn about the stone that overcomes these kingdoms and becomes “a great mountain” that fills the whole earth. |
| Daniel Chapter 2 | Daniel Chapter 7 | Daniel Chapter 8 | Daniel Chapter 11 | Revelation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Statue | Four Kingdoms | Four Kings | King of the North | Dragon and Beast |
| Head of Gold (vs 32) | Lion (vs 4) | Nebuchadnezzar (Dan 2:38) | ||
| Chest and Arms of Silver (vs 32) | Bear (vs 5) | Cyrus, the Great (Dan 8:4) | Kings of Persia (vs 1-2) | |
| Belly and Thighs of Bronze (vs 32) | Leopard (vs 6) | Alexander, the Great (Dan 8:6) | Kings of Greece (vs 3-30) | |
| Legs of Iron (vs 33) | Dragon (vs 7) | “A little horn” (Dan 8:9) The Antichrist (Satan) (Dan 8:11) | Antichrist (vs 31-35) | Revelation Chapter 12 |
| Feet and Toes of Iron and Clay (vs 33) | Ten Horns A little Horn, the Bishop of Rome (vs 8) | The bishop of Rome (Pope) (vs 36-39) | Revelation Chapters 13/17 2 Thess 2:4 “blasphemies” |
| 31 You, O king, saw, and, behold, a great image. This image, which was mighty, and whose brightness was excellent, stood before you; and the aspect of it was awesome. |
| Dan 2:31 a great image – this image, as we will see, represents prophecy of more than 2,000 years into the future. |
| 32 As for this image, its head was of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of brass, |
| Dan 2:32 head was fine gold – Babylon. chest and arms of silver – to be Persia. thighs of bronze – to be Greece. |
| 33 its legs of iron, its feet part of iron, and part of clay. |
| Dan 2:33 legs of iron – to be Rome, the iron represents strength. feet of iron and clay – to be the extended Roman Empire of the Ten Europeans states and the beast of Rome; there seems to be no reason for degrading value of materials from top to bottom, other than to highlight the fact that the one on top is the most precious, “the King of Kings,” see verse 35. |
| 34 You saw until a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. |
| Dan 2:34 a stone – Christ, “I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation,” Isa 28:16, as quoted in 1 Pet 2:6; see also Psa 118:22; Matt 21:42; Eph 2:20; Zech 3:9. cut without human hands – emphasizing this as a spiritual stone, the Spirit of Christ, who defeats “the Spirit of the Antichrist” (Satan) as mentioned in Dan 8:25, “he shall be broken without human means.” |
| 35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken in pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that no place was found for them: and the stone that struck the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. |
| Dan 2:35 no trace was found – all these kingdoms will disappear, “they will reign as for one hour” (Rev 17:12). the stone became a great mountain – Christ is the foundation, the “mountain” of the true Church of the end days. See Isa 2:2, Mic 4:1; Rev 8:8; Rev 21:10. Symbolic of Mount Zion, the mountain of the temple. The establishment of the Church of God in the last days is our first hint that the Church of God was destroyed by the work of the Antichrist. Daniel will explain this in Dan 8:11. The Apostle John warned in 1 John 2:18: “Children it is the last hour; and just as you have heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour.” |
| 36 This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation of it before the king. 37 You, O king, are king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory; |
| Dan 2:37 king of kings – the beast is first the “king of kings,” but will be succeeded by Christ as the King of Kings (Rev 17:14). |
| 38 and wherever the children of men dwell, the animals of the field and the birds of the sky has he given into your hand, and has made you to rule over them all: you are the head of gold. |
| Dan 2:38 into your hand – the saints will be given into the hands of the beast, represented by King Nebuchadnezzar. you are this head of gold – therefore, the whole statue, expressed as a “beast” in Revelation, will be called “Babylon the Great” (Rev 17:5). |
| 39 After you shall arise another kingdom inferior to you; and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. |
| Dan 2:39 inferior to yours – this either refers to the quality of the Persian’s rule, or to the fact that the Persians did not go into Africa or Spain as Nebuchadnezzar apparently did. of bronze that shall rule the whole earth – Alexander the Great, who ruled the greater part of the known world. |
| 40 The fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron, because iron breaks in pieces and subdues all things; and as iron that crushes all these, shall it break in pieces and crush. |
| Dan 2:40 as strong as iron – the Roman Empire, the greatest empire of history. |
| 41 Whereas you saw the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, because you saw the iron mixed with miry clay. |
| Dan 2:41 the kingdom divided – as ten states of Europe; the Bible equates the four Kingdoms in this passage to Kings in Dan 7:17 and and kingdoms in Dan 7:23. The ten states that come out of the fallen Roman Empire will be collectively referred to as “a kingdom,” see Rev 17:12. |
| 42 As the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. |
| Dan 2:42 part strong and part fragile – meaning that the unity is fragile, as described below. |
| 43 Whereas you saw the iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men; but they shall not cling to one another, even as iron does not mingle with clay. |
| Dan 2:43 will not mingle with the seed of men – they will not adhere to one another, meaning they will be separated by language and culture. |
| 44 In the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall the sovereignty of it be left to another people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. |
| Dan 2:44 in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom – the kingdom of heaven is not a political kingdom, nor is it ruled by men. The kings are the four kingdoms mentioned in this passage, and not the 10 kings mentioned in Revelation Chapter 17. which shall never be destroyed – the Church of God will be destroyed, “cast to the ground,” (Dan 8:11), but the kingdom of heaven shall never be destroyed. The kingdom of heaven will “fly into the wilderness,” Rev 12:14. it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms – the whole beast/statute of seven heads and ten toes will be overcome by this new kingdom, it will crush the beast of seven heads and ten horns we find in Revelation. |
| 45 Because you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God has made known to the king what shall happen hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation of it sure. |
| Dan 2:45 its interpretation is sure – the meaning will be repeated in Chapter 7 |
| 46 Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, and worshiped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an offering and sweet odors to him. 47 The king answered to Daniel, and said, Of a truth your God is the God of gods, and the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing you have been able to reveal this secret. 48 Then the king made Daniel great, and gave him many great gifts, and made him to rule over the whole province of Babylon, and to be chief governor over all the wise men of Babylon. 49 Daniel requested of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel was in the gate of the king. |
| Dan 2:48 made him ruler over all the whole province of Babylon – here is the honour given to the man of God. |