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.
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. 39 Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the 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. 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. 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.”
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 revealer 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.
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
Daniel reported that king Nebuchadnezzar had dreamed of a large statue that had left him in awe. The head of the statue was made of gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, and its feet a combination of iron and clay. As he watched in his dream, the king saw a stone was cut (but not by human hands) and it hit the feet of the rock which broke them into pieces. Then the entire statue was broken into dust which blew away in the wind. The stone then grew into a great mountain that filled the whole earth.
Daniel interpreted that the statue represented various Gentile kingdoms that would rule over the earth. Daniel reminded the king that he had been given his dominion, power, might, and glory from the God of heaven. He and his kingdom was the head of gold. The kingdom of silver was the Medo-Persians that conquered the Babylonians in 539 BC, which lasted 200 years to 330 BC. The kingdom of bronze was the Grecian Empire of Alexander the Great who extended the Greek Empire expanding the known developed earth. The fourth kingdom of iron is the Roman Empire which conquered the Greek Empire in 63 BC. The Roman empire was strong and crushed all those that preceded it with unsurpassed cruelty. The metals diminish in value as they descend the statue and Daniel describes the kingdoms as inferior. Each kingdom was stronger and expanded its reach, so the inferiority may be a focus on the moral decay of each society. The world’s kingdoms are not moving towards utopia. The final kingdom, that of iron mixed with clay is a kingdom still future that will be joined by alliances and yet divided as clay does not mix with iron. The toes represent ten nations or people groups that will constitute one kingdom and yet never fully unite. The vision of chapter 7 corresponds with this vision and the fourth beast grows ten horns which Daniel specifically states represent ten kings. This ten-kingdom alliance is mentioned again in Revelation (Rev 13:1; 17:12). Daniel points to the cut stone as a kingdom that will never be destroyed. It will break into pieces all the other kingdoms and bring them to an end. The stone was not formed by human hands, but by divine origin. The stone represents Christ’s return at His second coming when He will establish His throne on earth and reign in the millennial kingdom.
King Nebuchadnezzar responded by paying homage to Daniel. Because of Daniel’s ability to reveal his hidden dream, he knew Daniel had spoken the truth. He presented offerings to Daniel as God’s representative. Daniel would never have allowed the king to worship him if that had been his intent. The king then acknowledged Daniel’s God as the God of gods. He didn’t acknowledge God as the only true God though. As a polytheist (one who worships many gods), the king was happy to add another god to the multitude he already worshipped. The king promoted Daniel and rewarded him with gifts as promised (Dan 2:6). Daniel made a request of the king and his friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon while Daniel remained in service in the king’s court.
We see kingdoms and nations rise and fall over history. Instead of bringing peace, each brings with it an increase in crime, war, and injustice. But one day Christ will return in glory. On that day He will bring peace on earth. Are you living in the hope of Christ’s sure return?
Major Stories of the Bible Reading Plan
Moses is Born: Exodus 2