Daniel 2.36-Daniel Has Told Nebuchadnezzar The Content Of The Dream And Now Will Present Its Interpretation
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Thursday April 12, 2012
Daniel: Daniel 2:36-Daniel Has Told Nebuchadnezzar The Content Of The Dream And Now Will Present Its Interpretation
Lesson # 61
Please turn in your Bibles to Daniel 2:31.
We will begin our study of Daniel’s interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream by noting Daniel 2:36, which records Daniel telling the king that he has completed telling him the content of the dream which is recorded in Daniel 2:31-35 and now will begin to present its interpretation, which appears in Daniel 2:36-45.
Daniel 2:31 “You, O king, were looking and behold, there was a single great statue; that statue, which was large and of extraordinary splendor, was standing in front of you, and its appearance was awesome. 32 The head of that statue was made of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. 34 You continued looking until a stone was cut out without hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and crushed them. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were crushed all at the same time and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. 36 This was the dream; now we will tell its interpretation before the king.” (NASB95)
“This was the dream” is composed of the demonstrative pronoun denā(h) (דְּנָה) (dane-awe), “this” and then we have the masculine singular form of the noun ḥē∙lěm (חֵלֶם) (khay´-lem), “dream.”
The demonstrative pronoun denā(h) means “this” and is anaphoric meaning that the word is pointing back to Daniel 2:31-35, which records Daniel telling Nebuchadnezzar the content of his dream.
The noun ḥē∙lěm is in the singular and refers to the content of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.
“Now we will tell its interpretation before the king” is composed of the conjunction wa (וְ) (waw), “now” which is followed by the masculine singular construct form of the noun pešǎr (פְּשַׁר) (pesh-ar´), “interpretation” and then we have the third person masculine singular pronomial suffix hû(ʾ) (הוּא) (who), “its” which is followed by the first person plural peʿal (Hebrew: qal) active imperfect form of the verb ʾǎmǎr (אֲמַר) (am-ar´), “we will tell” and then we have the preposition qǒḏām (קֳדָם) (kod-awm´), “before” and its object is the masculine singular form of the noun mě∙lěḵ (מֶלֶךְ) (meh´-lek), “the king.”
The conjunction wa is marking a transition from Daniel telling the king the content of his dream to telling him the dream’s interpretation.
The verb ʾǎmǎr denotes Daniel “communicating” to Nebuchadnezzar the interpretation of his dream.
The first person plural form of the verb means “we” and is an “editorial plural” expressing Daniel’s humility since in context and specifically in Daniel 2:30, Daniel told the king that the interpretation of dreams is not a human art but a gift from God.
Daniel 2:36 contains two statements, which are employed by Daniel to communicate to Nebuchadnezzar that he has completed telling the king the content of his dream and will now, with his statements to follow, tell him the dream’s interpretation.
Daniel’s description of the content of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream appears in Daniel 2:31-35 and reveals that the statue the king saw in his dream was composed of five different substances: (1) gold (2) silver (3) bronze (4) iron (5) clay.
The head is the most valuable substance followed by the chest and arms, then stomach and thighs which is followed by the lower legs and then lastly the feet and toes.
So the substances which compose each part of the body were telling Nebuchadnezzar something as well as Daniel and the reader, namely, the substances descend in value as you go from the head to the feet.
The diminishing value of the metals in the statue from gold to silver to bronze to iron represents a decrease in the character of authority and rulership.
Consequently, the substances from head to foot go from being soft to harder and then very soft.
This is significant since it indicates that the character of authority and rulership of the first kingdom was superior to the second, third and fourth kingdoms, the second superior to the third and fourth kingdoms, the third superior to the fourth.
The first was the only self-contained unit, the second and third contained one unit and two parts, and the fourth contained two parts and ten segments.
However, although the value of the metals decreases in value, the strength of these metals increase.
Daniel 2:37 “You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the strength and the glory 38 and wherever the sons of men dwell, or the beasts of the field, or the birds of the sky, He has given them into your hand and has caused you to rule over them all. You are the head of gold.” (NASB95)
Daniel makes clear to the king and the reader that the gold head of this statue represents Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon.
Since the metals of the statue decrease in value but increase in strength, the head of gold of the statue indicates that the character of authority and rule of the Babylonian empire was superior to the second, third and fourth kingdoms but its power or strength was inferior to these three.
Daniel 2:39 “After you there will arise another kingdom inferior to you, then another third kingdom of bronze, which will rule over all the earth.” (NASB95)
Daniel 2:39 teaches that silver arms and legs of the statue in Daniel 2:32 represent a nation which will immediately follow Babylon and history records the Medo-Persians conquering the Babylonians in 539 B.C.
The silver arms and legs of the statue indicate that the character of authority and rule of the Media-Persian Empire was superior to Greece and Rome and inferior to only Babylon but its power or strength was superior to Babylon but inferior to Greece and Rome.
History confirms that the Medo-Persian Empire, and the empire of Alexander the Great which followed, lacked the central authority and fine organization which characterized the Babylonian Empire, thus the Babylonian Empire was greater.
Daniel 2:39 indicates that the bronze belly and thighs of the statue mentioned in Daniel 2:32 represent an empire which will follow the second empire, which history records as Alexander the Great’s Greek Empire.
Alexander the Great conquered the Medo-Persian Empire between 334 and 330 B.C. and assumed authority over them and their territory as well as the entire earth.
The bronze belly and thighs of the statue indicate that the character of authority and rule of Alexander’s Greece was inferior to Media-Persia and Babylon and yet superior to Rome but its power or strength was superior to Media-Persia and Babylon and inferior only to Rome.
Daniel 2:40 “Then there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron; inasmuch as iron crushes and shatters all things, so, like iron that breaks in pieces, it will crush and break all these in pieces.” (NASB95)
Daniel tells Nebuchadnezzar that there will be a fourth empire which will follow the third and history records that the Roman Empire followed Greece as a world empire by conquering it in 63 B.C.
The Roman Empire was characterized by its strength, as iron is stronger than bronze (Greece), silver (Medo-Persia) and gold (Babylon) and was thus stronger than all the empires that preceded it.
The two legs of iron are an accurate portrayal of the Roman Empire since it ruled extensive areas of both the western and eastern divisions of the world and eventually was divided in A.D. 364 into two political divisions, the Western portion had Rome as its capital and the East had Constantinople as its capital.
The iron lower legs of the statue indicate that the character of the authority and rule of Rome was inferior to Alexander’s Greece, Media-Persia and Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon but its power or strength was superior to these three.
Daniel 2:41 “In that you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it will be a divided kingdom; but it will have in it the toughness of iron, inasmuch as you saw the iron mixed with common clay. 42 As the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of pottery, so some of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will be brittle. 43 And in that you saw the iron mixed with common clay, they will combine with one another in the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, even as iron does not combine with pottery.” (NASB95)
The feet of the statue represent an empire, which has not yet appeared on the pages of history but a comparison of Daniel 2:33 and 41-43 indicates that it will be an empire, which is connected to the Roman Empire yet inferior in character of authority and rule as well as power or strength.
The Scriptures teach that it will be a Revived Form of the Roman Empire, which will be composed of a ten-nation confederacy, which is indicated by the fact that iron in the feet indicates that the empire represented by the feet is related to the lower legs of the statue, which we noted represented the Roman Empire.
Also, Daniel does not say that the feet represent a fifth empire, which further indicates that the feet represent an empire which is connected to the Roman Empire.
The ten toes of the statue correspond to the ten horns mentioned in Daniel 7:24 which were ten kingdoms, out of which one horn will arise who will destroy three of the other kingdoms and lead the other seven and persecute believers in Jesus Christ.
Daniel 2:44-45 and 7:26-27 teach that this ten nation confederation depicted as ten toes of the feet of the statue will be destroyed by the Second Advent of Christ, which is depicted as a stone cut of the mountain without hands.
The Second Advent of Christ has yet to take place.
Some commentators have attempted to find a ten-toe state of the statue in the fifth and sixth centuries A.D. but the facts of history do not fulfill the ten toes of the statue.
The fact that the feet of this statue are composed of a mixture of iron and clay indicates that the character of the authority and rule of this yet future empire is inferior to Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon, Media-Persia, Alexander’s Greek Empire and Rome since the metals of the statue decrease in value.
The power or strength of the fourth kingdom is greater than the first three, and the third greater than the first two but inferior to the fourth, the second greater than the first but inferior to the third and fourth and the first inferior to the second, third and fourth kingdoms.
However, the feet of the image are composed of iron and clay with the former of course very hard and the latter was wet clay and would be very fragile.
This would indicate that the power of this yet future Revived Form of the Roman Empire under antichrist will possess some of the strength and power of the Roman Empire but will be very fragile.
Therefore, the strong yet fragile composition of the feet of the statue indicates that the power and strength of the Revived Form of the Roman Empire is inferior to Rome.
In Daniel 2:40-43, we can observe that there are several important features concerning the final form of Gentile power: (1) The final form of Gentile power is an outgrowth from and final development of the fourth great empire, Rome, which is represented by the feet and ten toes (Daniel 2:41-42). (2) The final form of this power is marked by division (Daniel 2:41), which is the significance of the emphasis on the ten toes and the clay and the iron. (3) The final form of the Gentile power is marked by a federation of states of that which is weak and that which is strong, autocracy and democracy, the iron and the clay (Daniel 2:42). (4) This final divided condition is not now historical but is prophetic. The “kings” mentioned in Daniel 2:44 do not come into existence until the time when the “stone…cut out of the mountain without hands” appears (Daniel 2:45).
Daniel 2:44 “In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever. 45 Inasmuch as you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold, the great God has made known to the king what will take place in the future; so the dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy.” (NASB95)
Daniel 2:44-45 interprets Daniel 2:34-35.
The Scriptures make clear that the rock or stone refers to Jesus Christ, the God-man and the destruction of the feet by this stone represents His Second Advent, which will bring an end to Daniel’s Seventieth Week, all Gentile rule over Jerusalem and the world and establish His millennial reign.
In Daniel 2:35, the stone become a great mountain and fills the earth which refers to the millennial reign of Christ which constitutes God’s kingdom on earth.
The stone striking the feet of the statue establishes God’s kingdom on earth forever according to a comparison of Daniel 2:34-35 with Daniel 2:44-45.
The chronology found in Daniel 2:34-35 and 2:44-45 teaches that rock destroys the statue and then becomes a great mountain which fills the earth.
Revelation 19:11-20:6 and Zechariah 14:1-11 teach that the Second Advent establishes God’s kingdom on earth, which indicates that Daniel 2:34-35 and 44:45 are referring to Jesus Christ’s Second Advent and subsequent millennial reign.
The chronology found in Revelation 19:11-20:6 teaches that at His Second Advent, Jesus Christ will destroy Antichrist and the false prophet, imprison Satan for a thousand years and establish His millennial reign.
Also, the chronology of Zechariah 14:1-11 teaches that Jesus Christ will establish His millennial reign by means of His Second Advent.
The first seven verses of Zechariah 14 prophesy of Christ’s Second Advent and verses 9-11, speak of His millennial reign.
Zechariah 14:12-15 parallels Revelation 19:11-21, which both speak of Christ’s Second Advent whereas Zechariah 14:16 speaks of the millennial reign of Christ, which parallels Revelation 20:1-6, which does the same.
Therefore, in Daniel 2:34 and 2:44-45, the stone refers to Jesus Christ and the destruction of the feet by this stone represents His Second Advent, which will bring an end to Daniel’s Seventieth Week as well as all Gentile rule over Jerusalem and the world and establish God’s kingdom on earth.
Daniel 2:44-45, 7:13-14, 27-28, Revelation 19:11-20:6, Zechariah 14 teach that the great mountain filling the earth mentioned in Daniel 2:35 refers to Jesus Christ’s millennial reign on planet earth, which will perfectly manifest or embody on earth God’s kingdom, which is also in heaven.
This kingdom will be preeminent over other Gentile kingdoms, which reigned during the times of the Gentiles.
Christ’s kingdom will have a larger impact on human history than these Gentiles empires since He Jesus Christ is the Son of God and will be the governmental head of this millennial kingdom.
He will be a perfect ruler who will also lift the curse of sin and Satan from the earth by means of His omnipotence.
This stands in contrast to the rulers of these previous Gentile empires, which were governed by sin and Satan rather than by God.
Daniel 2:35 and 44 indicate that Jesus Christ’s kingdom will be universal or He will rule planet earth with every nation at that time under its jurisdiction.
There will be no place on earth and no inhabitant on earth who will not be under the jurisdiction of Christ with no exceptions or distinctions.
Thus, Jesus Christ’s reign on planet earth for a thousand years will be total and complete.
There are several features regarding this fifth and final kingdom: (1) It will be set up by the God of heaven and not by man. (2) It will never be destroyed so that no other kingdoms will succeed it. (3) It will end and destroy all Gentile kingdoms portrayed in the image of the dream and will endure forever. (4) It will fill the entire earth indicating that it will rule the earth literally just as the Gentile kingdoms ruled the known earth of their days.