Daniel 2.45a-God Will Destroy The Four Kingdoms Represented In The Statue In The Vision And Establish His Own Kingdom On Earth
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Wednesday May 9, 2012
Daniel: Daniel 2:45a-God Will Destroy The Four Kingdoms Represented In The Statue In The Vision And Establish His Own Kingdom On Earth
Lesson # 71
Please turn in your Bibles to Daniel 2:31.
This evening we will begin a study of Daniel 2:45.
In this verse Daniel tells Nebuchadnezzar that the great God has made known to him that which will take place in those days to come because as he saw the rock was cut out from a mountain but not by human hands and then it crushed into pieces the iron, bronze, clay, silver as well as gold.
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. 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. 39 After you there will arise another kingdom inferior to you, then another third kingdom of bronze, which will rule over all the earth. 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. 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. 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)
“Inasmuch” is composed of the preposition k- (כְּ־) (kee) which is followed by the preposition lĕ (לְ) (leh) and then we have the preposition qǒḇēl (קֳבֵל) (kob-ale´).
The preposition k- is employed with the prepositions lĕ and qǒḇēl to form a conjunctive clause and means “because” since they present the reason why the great God has made known to Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the future.
Therefore, these three words indicate that the great God has made known to the king what will take place in the future “because” as he saw a rock was cut from a mountain but not by human hands and then it crushed into pieces the iron, bronze, clay, silver and gold.
“As” is the particle dî (דִּי) (dee), which functions as a comparative particle indicating that the great God has made known to the king what will take place in the future because “as” he saw a rock was cut from a mountain but not by human hands and then it crushed into pieces the iron, bronze, clay, silver and gold.
“You saw” is the second person masculine singular peʿal (Hebrew: qal) active perfect form of the verb ḥǎzā(h) (חֲזָה) (khaz-aw´), which means “to see” in the sense of receiving a prophetic revelation in a dream.
It refers to Nebuchadnezzar “receiving a prophetic revelation” in a dream which concerned itself with Babylon, Media-Persia, Greece, Rome, the Revived Form of the Roman Empire and the Messianic Kingdom of Jesus Christ.
“That a stone” is composed of the relative particle dî (דִּי) (dee), “that” and then we have the feminine singular noun ʾě∙ḇěn (אֶבֶן) (eh´-ben), “a stone” which refers to a hewn rock piece from bedrock.
It refers to Jesus Christ since Matthew 24:29-31, Luke 21:25-28 and Revelation 19:11-20:6 teach that the Father will establish His kingdom on earth through His Second Advent.
“Was cut out” is the third person feminine singular hitpeʿel (Hebrew: qal) passive perfect form of the verb gezǎr (גְּזַר) (ghez-ar´), which means “to cut out or quarry rock.”
It is used with the rock as its subject and signifies a divine action and specifically an action accomplished by God, which is indicated by the fact that the rock was cut from a mountain but not by human hands.
“Out of the mountain” is composed of the preposition min (מִן) (min), “out of” and its object is the masculine singular noun ṭûr (טוּר) (toor), “a mountain.”
The noun ṭûr means “mountain” and refers to the Father’s kingdom, which is indicated by the fact that the rock is said to have been cut from this mountain and the rock refers to Jesus Christ and this rock filling the earth refers to His millennial reign on planet earth.
It is the object of the preposition min, which is used as a marker of source meaning that the rock was cut “from” a mountain but not by human hands or in other words, this rock “originated from” the mountain.
“Without hands” is composed of the particle dî (דִּי) (dee), which is not translated and then we have the negative particle lā(ʾ) (לָא) (law), “without” which is followed by the preposition b- (בְּ־) (beth), which is not translated and followed by the feminine dual noun yǎḏ (יַד) (yad), “hands.”
The noun yǎḏ means “hands” and is used by way of metonymy meaning that the word signifies human power and is the object of the preposition b-, which functions as a marker of means indicating that this stone was cut from a mountain but not “by means of” human hands, i.e. human power.
The meaning of this prepositional phrase is negated by the negative particle lā(ʾ) indicating that the rock was not chosen by human agency but by God the Father to rule the earth.
The particle dî means “but” since the word is indicating that this expression is clarifying for the reader something about the rock or stone and denotes that the rock was cut out “but” not by means of human hands.
“And that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold” marks the next event which took place in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream after he saw a rock was cut from a mountain but not by human hands since the conjunction wa is a marker of a sequence of closely related events.
“It crushed” is the third person feminine singular hafʿel (Hebrew: hiphil) active perfect of the verb deqǎq (דְּקַק) (dek-ak´), which means “to crush” something into small pieces.
It refers to the rock in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream “crushing” into pieces the iron, clay, bronze, silver and gold of the great statue as a result of striking the statue on its feet.
It indicates that Jesus Christ’s victory over Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome and the final stage of the Roman Empire at His Second Advent will result in the destruction of any remnants of these previous empires.
“Iron” is the masculine singular noun pǎr∙zěl (פַּרְזֶל) (par-zel´), which is used with reference to the Roman Empire as well as the yet future Revived Form of the Roman Empire under Antichrist during Daniel’s seventieth week since Daniel is speaking of the destruction of the entire statue by the rock.
“Bronze” is the masculine singular form of the noun neḥāš (נְחָשׁ) (nekh-awsh´), which is used to describe Alexander the Great’s Greek Empire, which immediately followed the Media-Persian Empire.
“Clay” is the masculine singular noun ḥǎsǎp̄ (חֲסַף) (khas-af´), which is used to describe the yet future Revived Form of the Roman Empire under Antichrist, which is represented by the feet of the statue and will be destroyed by Jesus Christ at His Second Advent.
“Silver” is the masculine singular form of the noun kesǎp̄ (כְּסַף) (kes-af´), which is used to describe the Medo-Persian Empire, which conquered the Babylonian Empire.
“Gold” is the masculine singular noun dehǎḇ (דְּהַב) (deh-hab´), which is used to describe the head of the statue, which represents Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylonian Empire according to Daniel 2:36-38.
“The great God” is composed of the masculine singular construct form of the noun ʾělāh (אֱלָהּ) (el-aw´), “the God of” which is followed by the masculine singular form of the noun rǎḇ (רַב) (rab), “great.”
The noun ʾělāh means “the God” and is a reference to the Father who through the Holy Spirit gave Nebuchadnezzar this dream which contained revelation concerning the Father’s plan for planet earth and its inhabitants.
That the Father is in view is indicated by the fact that the Scriptures teach that He is the member of the Trinity who is the author of the salvation plan for sinful mankind (Ephesians 1).
Also, the Father is the absolute sovereign authority with the Son and the Spirit voluntarily subordinating themselves to Him even though they are co-equal, co-infinite and co-eternal and all sovereign over all of creation and every creature.
God the Son’s role in the Trinity is to carry out the plan of God the Father.
God the Holy Spirit reveals the Father’s plan and provides the power to carry it out.
God the Father is the author and planner of salvation.
Further supporting that the noun ʾělāh in this verse is a reference to the Father is that the Scriptures teach that the work of both the Son and the Spirit on behalf of sinners is designed to bring praise to the Father and glorify Him in the sense of revealing His character and nature (Ephesians 1).
The noun rǎḇ is modifying the noun ʾělāh and describes the Father as one who possesses supreme authority over every creature and all of creation.
He is the absolute sovereign authority over every creature and all creation with the Son and the Spirit voluntarily subordinating themselves to Him even though they are co-equal, co-infinite and co-eternal and all sovereign over all of creation and every creature.
“Has made known” is composed of the third person masculine singular hafʿel (Hebrew: hiphil) active perfect form of the verb yeḏǎʿ (יְדַע) (yed-ah´), which means “to inform, make known.”
It is used with God the Father as its subject and its object is what will take place in the future on planet earth indicating that by giving the king this vision of a statue God the Father “made known” to him what will take place in the latter days.
“To the king” is composed of the preposition lĕ (לְ) (leh), “to” and its object is the masculine singular form of the noun mě∙lěḵ (מֶלֶךְ) (meh´-lek), “king” which of course is used with reference to Nebuchadnezzar referring to the fact that he was governmental head of Babylon.
“What” is the interrogative pronoun mā(h) (מָה) (maw), which refers to entities, events, circumstances, and persons in the future.
Daniel 2:31-45 indicates that it refers to the revelation that God gave Nebuchadnezzar, which concerned itself with the future Gentile world powers as well as the future of the nation of Israel.
It also spoke of the kingdom of God being established on earth through the Lord Jesus Christ, and which kingdom He will establish at His Second Advent.
“Will take place” is the third person masculine singular peʿal (Hebrew equivalent is the qal) active jussive form of the verb hǎwā(h) (הֲוָה) (hav-aw´), which means, “to take place, occur.”
It is used of events taking place in the future indicating that Daniel is telling Nebuchadnezzar that God revealed to him in the dream that which “will take place” in the latter days.
“In the future” is composed of the the masculine plural construct form of the noun ʾǎ∙ḥǎrî (אַחֲרִי) (akh-ar-eeth´), “in the future” which is modified by the demonstrative pronoun denā(h) (דְּנָה) (dane-awe), which is not translated.
The noun ʾǎ∙ḥǎrî is in the plural and means “the days to come” since the revelation in the form of a vision that God gave to Nebuchadnezzar is referring to the future, which is indicated by the interpretation of the dream in verses 36-45.
The word refers to the extended period of time which begins with Nebuchadnezzar sacking Jerusalem in 605 B.C. culminating in the Second Advent of Christ and His subsequent millennial reign.
This prophetic period is called “the Time of the Gentiles,” which refers to an extended period of time when the Gentiles are the dominant world powers and Israel is subject to those powers.
It extends from the Babylonian capture of Jerusalem under Nebuchadnezzar (605 B.C.) and continues through the Tribulation (Revelation 11:2).
Daniel 2:45a “The great God has made known to the king that which will take place in those days to come because as you saw that the rock was cut out from a mountain but not by human hands and then it crushed into pieces the iron, bronze, clay, silver as well as gold.” (My interpretative translation)
Daniel 2:45a is a comparative clause, which inverts the protasis and the apodasis since the latter is put first followed by the former.
This is to emphasize with Nebuchadnezzar and the reader that the vision of the rock destroying the statue was a revelation from God about the future.
The protasis says that the great God had made known to the king that which will take place in the days to come.
The apodasis says that the rock was cut out from a mountain but not by human hands and then it crushed into pieces the iron, bronze, clay, silver as well as gold.
The literal rendering of this comparative clause would be “Because as you saw that the rock was cut out from a mountain but not by human hands and then it crushed into pieces the iron, bronze, clay, silver as well as gold, the great God has made known to the king that which will take place in those days to come.”
However, it makes better sense in English to render it as “The great God has made known to the king that which will take place in those days to come because as you saw that the rock was cut out from a mountain but not by human hands and then it crushed into pieces the iron, bronze, clay, silver as well as gold.”
God gave Nebuchadnezzar this revelation about the future and sent Daniel to interpret this revelation for the king in order to evangelize him.
The Father is attempting to get Nebuchadnezzar to forsake the worship of his gods and worship Him who is Daniel’s God and the God of the Jews.
By giving the king of Babylon this revelation and then sending Daniel to interpret it for him demonstrated to Nebuchadnezzar that even though Daniel’s nation has been subdued by his nation, Daniel’s God is superior to Nebuchadnezzar’s gods.
In fact, this revelation told Nebuchadnezzar that he is under the authority of Daniel’s God, who is the God ruling every kingdom under the heavens.
Thus, this dream made clear to the king that he was accountable to Daniel’s God who gave him the dream in the first place.
Not only was the Father attempting to get Nebuchadnezzar to worship Him by giving the king this revelation about the future but also the Father was attempting to do the same with the necromancers, witches, astrologers and occult priests in the city of Babylon and the entire population of the city.
Nebuchadnezzar has been told by the Father through Daniel that the Father’s plan for planet earth is for His Son to rule over its inhabitants for a thousand years and then merge into the eternal state (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:24-28).