Hello everyone. 🙂
I am grateful to be sharing the second part of the story of Daniel 2. This prophecy provides a bird’s eye view of the history and future of our world.
In my last blog post on Bible prophecy, we talked about how King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had a dream that he couldn’t understand. He forgot what the dream was, and asked his wise men to recount it to him. However, none of his “magicians, astrologers, sorcerers, or Chaldeans” Daniel 2:2 (KJV) were able to tell the king what his dream had been.
The king was so furious that he ordered that all of his wise men be killed.
When Daniel heard about this decree, he tactfully made the request to be given time, and that after this time was over, he would share the interpretation of the dream with the king. This request was granted. Daniel 2:14-16 KJV
Daniel then spent time in earnest prayer along with his godly friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (Daniel 2:17-18). God answered their prayers, and God told Daniel what King Nebuchadnezzar had dreamed. Amazing! God is all-knowing, all-powerful, infinitely wise, and loving!
“Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.” Daniel 2:19 (KJV)
We will now pick up the story here and talk about what King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream was, and what the interpretation of this dream is as well.
“Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him; Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will shew unto the king the interpretation.
Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation.
The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof?
Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king;
But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these…” Daniel 2:24-28 (KJV)
I recommend that you take a moment to read the account of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and the interpretation of it in Daniel 2:27-47.
The golden head of the image represents the kingdom of Babylon, of which Nebuchadnezzar was the king at the time of his dream. (Daniel 2:37-38) Through this dream prophecy, God showed King Nebuchadnezzar that his kingdom would not last forever.
“And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.
And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.
And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.
And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.
And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.” Daniel 2:39-43 (KJV)
So who were the kingdoms that followed the kingdom of Babylon and which kingdom is the final kingdom that will be on this earth?
Babylon (606-539 BC), the kingdom represented by the golden head, was conquered by Medo-Persia (539-331 BC), the kingdom represented by the silver chest and arms. Medo Persia was conquered by Greece (331-168 BC), the kingdom represented by the brass belly and thighs. Greece was conquered by Rome (168 BC- 476 AD), the kingdom represented by the iron legs. Rome was not overcome by a dominant power, but rather it was divided into different political areas, which today are some of the countries in Europe. The political areas which followed the disintegration of Rome are represented by the feet which are made partly of iron and partly of clay.
Going back to the kingdom represented by the head of the image, the buildings in Babylon were covered with gold. Furthermore, when King Nebuchadnezzar tried to defy God’s prophecy, he built a huge statue made of gold. He did this in an effort to proclaim that Babylon would last forever. However, no one can thwart God’s timeline for the world, and so Babylon did not last. We can read about the end of the kingdom of Babylon in Daniel 5. Additionally, we can read a prophecy about the Persian king, Cyrus, who conquered Babylon in Isaiah 45:1-3.
Note: King Nebuchadnezzar did eventually give his heart to God. You can read his testimony in Daniel 4.
Daniel worked for the Medo-Perian government. One famous story from this time in Daniel’s life is the story of how God delivered him from the lion’s den he was thrown into. You can read this story in Daniel 6.
The kingdom that followed the kingdom of Medo-Persia is the kingdom of Greece. Medo -Persia was conquered by the well-known general, Alexander the Great. Alexander conquered Medo-Persia during the Battle of Gaugemela (also known as the Battle of Arbela) in 331 B.C. The kingdom of Greece lasted from 331-168 B.C.
The kingdom of Greece was succeeded by the kingdom of Rome, which existed from 168 BC to 476 AD. The European nations that followed the kingdom of Rome have never been able to unite in another empire, just as God foretold. Daniel 2:41-43
Now comes the best part….the last and final kingdom in King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream is the kingdom of God.
“And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.” Daniel 2:44-45 (KJV)
God’s kingdom will last forever and it is a beautiful kingdom. It is open to anyone and everyone who is willing to surrender to and cooperate with the loving King of this kingdom: Jesus Christ. If you would like more information on how to cultivate a personal relationship with Jesus, I invite you to read this blog post.
Jesus is coming soon. He is going to make an end of sin and suffering and He is going to make everything alright. We may have hope in Him.
——————————————————
I hope that this blog post has been inspiring and encouraging to you all. I also hope that you all will stay tuned for next week’s blog post, and especially for the next blog post in this series on Bible prophecy which will be published the week after next week, the Lord willing.
Blessings and courage!
Learn and Grow 4ever 