Daniel 02 31-49

Daniel 2:31-49

Last week we read how king Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that distressed him to no end.

He was worried about the future? (Dan 2:29)

Many people worry about the future.
But as Christians we can have peace knowing God is in control.

The king wanted to know what his dream meant so he called in his wise men.

These guys could not give Nebuchadnezzar the answer to his dream.
But God could & did through the person of Daniel.

Daniel told the king, "Da 2:28 but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days."
So this week we are going to look at the dream & it's meaning.

31 "You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening.
32 The head of this image was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze,
33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.
34 As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces.

35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.

Show picture of image! (Video of Daniel two?)

On hearing this accurate description, the king knew that Daniel was telling the truth and that what he said could be trusted. Only the God of heaven who sent the dream could have helped His servant know and interpret the dream.

36 "This was the dream. Now we will tell the king its interpretation.
37 You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory,
38 and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all—you are the head of gold.

Nebuchadnezzar - Babylon - head of Gold

It lasted from 636 B.C. to 539 B.c. Jeremiah called Babylon "a gold cup in the Lord's hand" (Jer. 51:7).
At that time Nebuchadnezzar was indeed the "king of Kings".

There was no one with anything like his power.

Nebuchadnezzar was told that he received his kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory from God (who sets up kings and deposes them, v. 21).
God is the One in control of the kingdoms & nations of this earth.
Ro 13:1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.
He knows the future because He plans the future.
This doesn't mean that God is to blame for the evil things that leaders and nations do, but that He can overrule even their wickedness to accomplish His divine purposes.

As children of God we should take comfort from this.
As children of God we also should have hope & faith from this truth.

39 Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you,

Kingdom & king seem to be used interchangeably here in Daniel two.

Second kingdom is Medo-Persian

The breast and arms of silver—The Medo-Persian kingdom (539-330 B.C.). Darius the Mede conquered Babylon (Dan. 5:30-31).
The arms of silver evidently represent the two nations of Media and Persia that together defeated Babylon. Though that kingdom lasted over 200 years (539-330 b.c.), longer than the Neo-Babylonian Empire of 87 years (626-539), the Medo-Persian Empire was inferior to it, as silver compared with gold.

The inferiority of each subsequent empire is expressed by the decreasing value of the materials.

Inferior to Babylon? In what way?

In power? No!
In size? No!
In majesty? Possibly.
In morality? Some say, "Daniel seemed to have been suggesting that the sinfulness of the world would continue to increase until the culmination of history."
This is true, man gets worse with time until God steps in & acts.

and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth.

Third kingdom - Greece

The belly and thighs of bronze—The Grecian kingdom (330-63 B.C.). Alexander the Great established what was probably the largest empire in ancient times. He died in 323 B.C.
Alexander the Great conquered the Medo-Persians between 334 and 330 b.c. and assumed authority over its peoples and territory. By Alexander’s conquests he extended the Greek Empire as far east as the northwestern portion of India—an extensive empire that seemingly was over the whole earth.

40 And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall break and crush all these.

The fourth kingdom is Rome

The Roman Empire (63 B.C.-ca. A.D. 475).
The legs of iron represent the Roman Empire. This fourth kingdom conquered the Greek Empire in 63 b.c.
This empire was characterized by its strength, as iron is stronger than bronze, silver, and gold.
The Roman Empire was stronger than any of the previous empires.
It crushed all the empires that had preceded it. (iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things)
Rome in its cruel conquest swallowed up the lands and peoples that had been parts of the three previous empires and assimilated those lands and peoples into itself.
In summary, the traditional interpretation is that the kingdoms represented by the image are Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome.

41 And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay.

42 And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle.
43 As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage, but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay.

There is a great deal of misunderstanding as to what these verse are referring to. Some think they are referring to the ancient Rome empire & others something yet in the future.

The key to understanding the passage rests on the interpretation of the rock that fills the earth.
That the rock symbolizes the kingdom of God is specifically declared in the text (2:44–45).

So the feet & toes of clay must be around at the start of the fifth & final kingdom.

But there is disagreement concerning the nature of the kingdom referred to in Daniel 2:44-45.
Some Bible teachers contend that vv. 44–45 refer to Christ’s spiritual kingdom in the hearts of believers that commenced at his first coming.

Ancient Rome was ruling at that time; therefore the feet and toes represent that empire.
The problem with this is why would the dream go from talking about real physical kingdoms to a spiritual one?

Other Bible teachers maintain or teach that the kingdom in view is Christ’s physical reign on the earth inaugurated immediately following his second coming.

It follows that if the kingdom described in v. 44 refers to Christ’s personal, earthly kingdom set up at his second coming, then the last part of the statue must represent an earthly empire existing immediately prior to Christ’s return.

The feet & toes, are they therefore another kingdom or are they Rome?

The feet & toes are not called another kingdom, they are called the same kingdom in verse 42.
But to be around at the second coming of Jesus there needs to be some kind of revival of the Roman Empire.
This is possible because no other kingdom ever defeated of destroyed the ancient Roman Empire.

Individual nations emerged out of the ancient Roman Empire. Some of those nations and others stemming from them have continued till the present day.
In other words the people of the Roman Empire are still around today.

Yet these people do not mix together just like iron & clay do not mix together.
I must say that this revived Roman Empire will not be set up until the time of or just before the Great Tribulation because Christ second coming & reign on earth is not until the end of the Great Tribulation.

It is not the European Union as some have said.

Next we see that this revived Roman Empire will be some kind of confederation of kings, during which Jesus will establish His kingdom on earth.

44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed
Since there is no fulfillment of this federation of kings (which seems to number ten, because of the number of toes, and passages like Daniel 7:24 and Revelation 17:12) in ancient Roman history; this prophecy must still be future

Let me give you some reasons from the Bible why I believe this.

In Daniel chapter seven another vision is given by God to Daniel of these four kingdoms of man.

In that this vision these kingdoms are all seen as beasts.
The fourth beast, Rome, is seen to have 10 horns. These ten horns are said to be ten kings.
Sometime after the rise of the 10 horns, another king (the little horn, 7:8, 20) will arise.
In his rise to power he will subdue 3 kings (called 3 horns in v. 8), that is, he will bring 3 of the 10 nations under his authority in his initial rise to power.
This is a Reference to the Anti-Christ. (Dan 7:25)
So that these ten kings or kingdoms will need to be around during in the last days.
There is another important prophecy in Daniel nine that deals with these kingdoms & their relationship to the Jews that makes no reference to the Church.

So it is no great surprise that the church age is missing from this dream of the king.

John the apostle also speaks of this future ten-kingdom confederacy (Rev 13:1; 17:12).
Rev 13:1 And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads.
Rev 17:12 And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast.

In summary, shortly before the second coming of Christ, ten kings (or nations) of unequal strength will unite to form a coalition that will rise out of the ruins of the ancient Roman Empire.

Since Rome is part of Europe and the activities of that ancient empire centred in Europe, it is reasonable to assume that this area of the world will play a leading role in this future regime.
In Dan 7 the prophet indicates that from this empire will come the evil world leader of the last days commonly known as Antichrist.

44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever,
45 just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure."

Fifth kingdom is set up by the God of heaven & will never be destroyed.

When He comes He will establish the messianic kingdom promised to Israel through David (2 Sam. 7:16).
Then He will rule forever in the Millennium and in the eternal state.
When Christ sets up His kingdom it will be a king that no man will ever destroy.
It will be a kingdom that brings peace, righteousness, & justice to the whole world.
This is what the world is longing for.

It is not found in man's kingdoms!
It is only found in Jesus Christ & His reign!

At His return Jesus will subjugate all... kingdoms to Himself, thus bringing them to an end (Rev. 11:15; 19:11-20).
Rev 11:15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever."

Amillennialists hold that this kingdom was established by Christ at His First Advent and that now the church is that kingdom.

They argue that: (a) Christianity, like the growing mountain, began to grow and spread geographically and is still doing so.
(b) Christ came in the days of the Roman Empire.
(c) The Roman Empire fell into the hands of 10 kingdoms (10 toes).
(d) Christ is the chief Cornerstone (Eph. 2:20).

Premillenarians, however, hold that the kingdom to be established by Christ on earth is yet future.

At least six points favor that view: (1) The stone will become a mountain suddenly, not gradually. Christianity did not suddenly fill “the whole earth” (Dan. 2:35) at Christ’s First Coming.
(2) Though Christ came in the days of the Roman Empire, He did not destroy it.
(3) During Christ’s time on earth the Roman Empire did not have 10 kings at once. Yet Nebuchadnezzar’s statue suggests that when Christ comes to establish His kingdom, 10 rulers will be in existence and will be destroyed by Him.
(4) Though Christ is now the chief Cornerstone to the church (Eph. 2:20) and “a stone that causes [unbelievers] to stumble” (1 Peter 2:8), He is not yet a smiting Stone as He will be when He comes again.
(5) The Stone (Messiah) will crush and end all the kingdoms of the world. But the church has not and will not conquer the world’s kingdoms.
(6) The church is not a kingdom with a political realm, but the future Millennium will be. Thus Nebuchadnezzar’s dream clearly teaches premillennialism, that Christ will return to earth to establish His rule on the earth, thereby subduing all nations.
The church is not that kingdom. This is a was book written to the nation Israel & Jews in Babylon.

It is not even thinking about the church at all.
We must always remember who is doing the writing & who is do the reading.

46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and paid homage to Daniel, and commanded that an offering and incense be offered up to him.
47 The king answered and said to Daniel, "Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a re vealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery."
48 Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon.

Kingdom & king seem to be used interchangeably here in Daniel two.

Second kingdom is Medo-Persian

The breast and arms of silver—The Medo-Persian kingdom (539-330 B.C.). Darius the Mede conquered Babylon (Dan. 5:30-31).
The arms of silver evidently represent the two nations of Media and Persia that together defeated Babylon. Though that kingdom lasted over 200 years (539-330 b.c.), longer than the Neo-Babylonian Empire of 87 years (626-539), the Medo-Persian Empire was inferior to it, as silver compared with gold.

The inferiority of each subsequent empire is expressed by the decreasing value of the materials.

Inferior to Babylon? In what way?

In power? No!
In size? No!
In majesty? Possibly.
In morality? Some say, "Daniel seemed to have been suggesting that the sinfulness of the world would continue to increase until the culmination of history."
This is true, man gets worse with time until God steps in & acts.

and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth.

Third kingdom - Greece

The belly and thighs of bronze—The Grecian kingdom (330-63 B.C.). Alexander the Great established what was probably the largest empire in ancient times. He died in 323 B.C.
Alexander the Great conquered the Medo-Persians between 334 and 330 b.c. and assumed authority over its peoples and territory. By Alexander’s conquests he extended the Greek Empire as far east as the northwestern portion of India—an extensive empire that seemingly was over the whole earth.

40 And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall break and crush all these.

The fourth kingdom is Rome

The Roman Empire (63 B.C.-ca. A.D. 475).
The legs of iron represent the Roman Empire. This fourth kingdom conquered the Greek Empire in 63 b.c.
This empire was characterized by its strength, as iron is stronger than bronze, silver, and gold.
The Roman Empire was stronger than any of the previous empires.
It crushed all the empires that had preceded it. (iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things)
Rome in its cruel conquest swallowed up the lands and peoples that had been parts of the three previous empires and assimilated those lands and peoples into itself.
In summary, the traditional interpretation is that the kingdoms represented by the image are Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome.

41 And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay.

42 And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle.
43 As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage, but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay.

There is a great deal of misunderstanding as to what these verse are referring to. Some think they are referring to the ancient Rome empire & others something yet in the future.

The key to understanding the passage rests on the interpretation of the rock that fills the earth.
That the rock symbolizes the kingdom of God is specifically declared in the text (2:44–45).

So the feet & toes of clay must be around at the start of the fifth & final kingdom.

But there is disagreement concerning the nature of the kingdom referred to in Daniel 2:44-45.
Some Bible teachers contend that vv. 44–45 refer to Christ’s spiritual kingdom in the hearts of believers that commenced at his first coming.

Ancient Rome was ruling at that time; therefore the feet and toes represent that empire.
The problem with this is why would the dream go from talking about real physical kingdoms to a spiritual one?

Other Bible teachers maintain or teach that the kingdom in view is Christ’s physical reign on the earth inaugurated immediately following his second coming.

It follows that if the kingdom described in v. 44 refers to Christ’s personal, earthly kingdom set up at his second coming, then the last part of the statue must represent an earthly empire existing immediately prior to Christ’s return.

The feet & toes, are they therefore another kingdom or are they Rome?

The feet & toes are not called another kingdom, they are called the same kingdom in verse 42.
But to be around at the second coming of Jesus there needs to be some kind of revival of the Roman Empire.
This is possible because no other kingdom ever defeated of destroyed the ancient Roman Empire.

Individual nations emerged out of the ancient Roman Empire. Some of those nations and others stemming from them have continued till the present day.
In other words the people of the Roman Empire are still around today.

Yet these people do not mix together just like iron & clay do not mix together.
I must say that this revived Roman Empire will not be set up until the time of or just before the Great Tribulation because Christ second coming & reign on earth is not until the end of the Great Tribulation.

It is not the European Union as some have said.

Next we see that this revived Roman Empire will be some kind of confederation of kings, during which Jesus will establish His kingdom on earth.

44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed
Since there is no fulfillment of this federation of kings (which seems to number ten, because of the number of toes, and passages like Daniel 7:24 and Revelation 17:12) in ancient Roman history; this prophecy must still be future

Let me give you some reasons from the Bible why I believe this.

In Daniel chapter seven another vision is given by God to Daniel of these four kingdoms of man.

In that this vision these kingdoms are all seen as beasts.
The fourth beast, Rome, is seen to have 10 horns. These ten horns are said to be ten kings.
Sometime after the rise of the 10 horns, another king (the little horn, 7:8, 20) will arise.
In his rise to power he will subdue 3 kings (called 3 horns in v. 8), that is, he will bring 3 of the 10 nations under his authority in his initial rise to power.
This is a Reference to the Anti-Christ. (Dan 7:25)
So that these ten kings or kingdoms will need to be around during in the last days.
There is another important prophecy in Daniel nine that deals with these kingdoms & their relationship to the Jews that makes no reference to the Church.

So it is no great surprise that the church age is missing from this dream of the king.

John the apostle also speaks of this future ten-kingdom confederacy (Rev 13:1; 17:12).
Rev 13:1 And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads.
Rev 17:12 And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast.

In summary, shortly before the second coming of Christ, ten kings (or nations) of unequal strength will unite to form a coalition that will rise out of the ruins of the ancient Roman Empire.

Since Rome is part of Europe and the activities of that ancient empire centred in Europe, it is reasonable to assume that this area of the world will play a leading role in this future regime.
In Dan 7 the prophet indicates that from this empire will come the evil world leader of the last days commonly known as Antichrist.

44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever,
45 just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure."

Fifth kingdom is set up by the God of heaven & will never be destroyed.

When He comes He will establish the messianic kingdom promised to Israel through David (2 Sam. 7:16).
Then He will rule forever in the Millennium and in the eternal state.
When Christ sets up His kingdom it will be a king that no man will ever destroy.
It will be a kingdom that brings peace, righteousness, & justice to the whole world.
This is what the world is longing for.

It is not found in man's kingdoms!
It is only found in Jesus Christ & His reign!

At His return Jesus will subjugate all... kingdoms to Himself, thus bringing them to an end (Rev. 11:15; 19:11-20).
Rev 11:15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever."

Amillennialists hold that this kingdom was established by Christ at His First Advent and that now the church is that kingdom.

They argue that: (a) Christianity, like the growing mountain, began to grow and spread geographically and is still doing so.
(b) Christ came in the days of the Roman Empire.
(c) The Roman Empire fell into the hands of 10 kingdoms (10 toes).
(d) Christ is the chief Cornerstone (Eph. 2:20).

Premillenarians, however, hold that the kingdom to be established by Christ on earth is yet future.

At least six points favor that view: (1) The stone will become a mountain suddenly, not gradually. Christianity did not suddenly fill “the whole earth” (Dan. 2:35) at Christ’s First Coming.
(2) Though Christ came in the days of the Roman Empire, He did not destroy it.
(3) During Christ’s time on earth the Roman Empire did not have 10 kings at once. Yet Nebuchadnezzar’s statue suggests that when Christ comes to establish His kingdom, 10 rulers will be in existence and will be destroyed by Him.
(4) Though Christ is now the chief Cornerstone to the church (Eph. 2:20) and “a stone that causes [unbelievers] to stumble” (1 Peter 2:8), He is not yet a smiting Stone as He will be when He comes again.
(5) The Stone (Messiah) will crush and end all the kingdoms of the world. But the church has not and will not conquer the world’s kingdoms.
(6) The church is not a kingdom with a political realm, but the future Millennium will be. Thus Nebuchadnezzar’s dream clearly teaches premillennialism, that Christ will return to earth to establish His rule on the earth, thereby subduing all nations.
The church is not that kingdom. This is a was book written to the nation Israel & Jews in Babylon.

It is not even thinking about the church at all.
We must always remember who is doing the writing & who is do the reading.

46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and paid homage to Daniel, and commanded that an offering and incense be offered up to him.
47 The king answered and said to Daniel, "Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a re vealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery."
48 Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon.

49 Daniel made a request of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon. But Daniel remained at the king's court.

To Nebuchadnezzar this dream should have served as a warning!

What would all of this have meant to King Nebuchadnezzar as he sat on his throne listening to a young Jewish lad explain God's mysteries?
For one thing, the message of the image should have humbled him. It was not Nebuchadnezzar who conquered nations and kingdoms; it was God who enabled him to do it and who gave him his empire.
"You, O king, are a king of kings," said Daniel. "For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory" (Dan. 2:37, NKJV).
Nebuchadnezzar and all other men should realize that God is control, that they own everything to Him, and they are answerable to Him.

To the Jews stuck in Babylon this dream should have been a word of encouragement & God's faithfulness!

Encouragement that God had not left them.
In Babylon they must have wondered if God had left them.

They were there because of their own sin.

But this dream spoke of their long awaited coming King & kingdom.
God was faithful;

Faithful to them even in their sin, even in their hardships.
Faithful to His Word & His promises that He had give to the nation.

The same is true for us today. We might feel like we are living in Babylon and that God has forgotten us.
But nothing could be further from the truth.

God always remains faithful to us & has a wonderful future planned for us.
God will bring all His promises to us to pass.

This passage should bring us faith, hope, & courage for our lives now & for the future.