Daniel 2

Daniel Chapter TwoVerse 1 This chapter might well be entitled “The King’s Dream,” that being the principal feature of it. An outline of the chapter is as follows: (1) the occasion for the dream (Daniel 2:1); (2) the king’s demand (Daniel 2:2-9), (3) the failure of all the wise men (Daniel 2:10-11); (4) the king’s decree that they should all be put to death (Daniel 2:12-13); (5) Daniel’s request for a delay (Daniel 2:14-16); (6) the dream and its interpretation revealed to Daniel (Daniel 2:19-23); (7) Daniel refers all glory to God for the revelation (Daniel 2:24-30); (8) Daniel relates the dream and its interpretation to the king (Daniel 2:31-45); (9) Nebuchadnezzar’s response to the revelation (Daniel 2:46-49). Daniel 2:1“And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams; and his spirit was troubled, and his sleep went from him.“THE KING’S DREAMThis great chapter of God’s Word with its magnificent predictive prophecy of the establishment of the kingdom of God has been the object of the most unreasonable and vicious attacks by Biblical enemies. Under their “a priori” rules which disallow any such thing as a genuine prophecy, they are forced to deny a chapter like this, no matter what preposterous and false arguments they must seize upon in their vain efforts to destroy the chapter. The attack begins on the word “and,” the very first word. According to the critics, this signals an interpolation, or arouses suspicion. However, as Leupold said, “The word is very much in place here, because it connects the events of Daniel 1 with those recorded here."[1] Furthermore this use of “and” is a genuine indication of Biblical style. The word “and” begins all four of the four final books of the Pentateuch; and this extensive use of that connective extends all the way into the New Testament where in Mark it is found to be one of the salient features. Note that Daniel 1:17 relates that Daniel had “understanding in all visions and dreams.” The “and” of this passage, connects the events of Daniel 2 with that special skill of Daniel recorded in Daniel 1:17. Another ground of assault is the statement that this troublesome dream came “in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar.” It is alleged that this is a contradiction, because the four Hebrew companions have just concluded a three-year term of education provided by Nebuchadnezzar. No problem! It was while Nebuchadnezzar was commanding the first western expedition that Daniel and his companions were deported and enrolled in the special school; and it was, “While Nebuchadnezzar was on that first expedition that his father Nabopolassar died; and Nebuchadnezzar suddenly left the front and went back to assume the throne."[2] Thus, in all probability, the training of the Hebrew youths actually began a year before Nebuchadnezzar actually ascended the throne. In any case this is a picayune objection having no substance whatever. “There are too many uncertainties about the chronology of the last twenty years of Israel’s history (which include the time in focus here) to permit this to be labeled erroneous.[3] In addition, there is the near-certainty that, “The phrase three years (Daniel 1:5) refers only to portions of years, so that the first year of training would comprise part of the year of Nebuchadnezzar’s succession; and thus the third year would have been part of the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign (Babylonian style of reckoning)."[4]The only objection that critics have been able to raise against the fact just cited was stated by Owens: “With this reckoning, one system of of time is found in Daniel 1 but a different method in Daniel 2![5] Certainly! There was the Judaic system in chapter 1 and the Babylonian system here. Nothing could be wrong with this. The apostle John followed exactly the same pattern in the Gospel where he followed the Jewish system of counting the hours of the day in some instances; while, in others, where the Roman government or its representatives were under consideration, he followed the Roman system. Verse 2 “Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the enchanters, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream. Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in the Syrian language, O king, live forever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation. The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if ye make not known unto me the dream and the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill. But if ye show the dream and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honor: therefore show me the dream and the interpretation thereof.

They answered the second time and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation. And the king answered and said, I know of a certainty that ye would gain time, because ye see the thing has gone from me. But if ye make not known unto me the dream, there is one law for you; for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, till the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can show me the interpretation thereof.“THE KING’S DEMANDCertainly His Majesty was in a vile mood! The KJV indicates that Nebuchadnezzar had actually forgotten the dream; but our version seems to reveal the king’s utmost distrust of the alleged “wise men” who had been summoned. The last two lines of the passage cited here reveal the king’s purpose of requiring the wise men to tell him the dream in order that he might also trust them to reveal the interpretation of it. In this light, we do not know whether Nebuchadnezzar had actually forgotten the dream, or if he had merely decided to test his enchanters and magicians by requiring them to repeat the dream. Of interest is the mention of the Chaldeans in this passage. `This was a name that came to be applied to the astrologers, soothsayers, magicians, enchanters, diviners and wise men as a class, and without reference to race. The inclusion of Daniel in the number here indicates as much. (See the introduction for more on this.) It will be noted that the Chaldeans also included a special group who bore that name; but they seem to have been spokesmen for the entire group. In Daniel 2:4 b, the Syrian language is introduced, not by the author of Daniel, but by the Chaldeans; and Daniel, the faithful author was able to report the proceedings in the language by which the communications were carried on. It is a virtual certainty that only Daniel could have done such a thing. The preposterous notion that some forger some four hundreds years subsequent to the times of Daniel could have done this is such an outlandish improbability that it seems impossible that intelligent writers should have been deceived by it. This Syrian language (the 6th century Aramaic) continues through Daniel 7. “O king, live forever …” Such language of respect and servility was the stock in trade of all flatterers and courtiers at oriental courts. The king in this instance was unmoved by all the high sounding words. He wanted one thing, actually two, (1) the dream repeated to him, and (2) its proper interpretation. After all, the thing that the king required was not all that unreasonable. Is it not true, that if a man can reveal the future, he should have no trouble remembering someone else’s dream? Something had compelled the king to believe that the alleged wise men could not do either! “Ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses made a dunghill …” Such cruel and excessive punishments were common in the behavior of oriental despots; and there is no doubt that the whole confraternity of the wise men were threatened at this juncture with destruction. The Chaldean spokesmen repeatedly informed the king that they would be unable to interpret the dream unless they were given the essentials of the dream to form the basis of their interpretation; but the king refused to be moved. Verse 10 “The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can show the king’s matter, forasmuch as no king, lord, or ruler, hath asked such a thing of any magician, or enchanter, or Chaldean. And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is no other that can show it before the king, except the gods whose dwelling is not with flesh.“THE WISE MEN THEIR Here was a full admission by the Chaldeans and their associates of their utter inability to do what the king required. Furthermore there was an inherent confession in their words of their belief in the supernatural, “the gods” to which they referred. This set the stage for the recognition of Almighty God’s hand in the ultimate giving of the dream and its meaning through Daniel. What the Chaldeans said here was simply the truth, except for the implied polytheism. Verse 12 “For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. So the decree went forth, and the wise men were to be slain; and they sought Daniel and his companions to be slain.“THE DECREE THAT THEY SHOULD BE PUT TO DEATHIt is not clear whether the wise men were being put to death as they were found, or if there was planned a public execution of all of them at one time. It appears that the latter was what was intended to be done. The creel injustice of such an unreasonable destruction was absolutely characteristic of the tyrannical monarchies of that era. Verse 14 “Then Daniel returned answer with counsel and prudence Arioch the captain of the king’s guard, who was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon; he answered and said to Arioch the king’s captain, Wherefore is the decree so urgent from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel. And Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would appoint him a time, and he would show the king the interpretation.“DANIEL A DELAYThis is an abbreviated account. Even high servants of the king, such as Daniel, would not merely have gone into the presence of the king without observing the formalities that the occasion would have required. The daring account of how Esther defied tradition and custom by going unbidden into the presence of a Persian king at a later time shows how this was true. Therefore, we must conclude that all necessary formalities were observed on this occasion, just as they were in Daniel 2:24, below, and that they were merely passed over here by the abbreviated account.

The great fact working for Daniel and the wise men was that the king had a burning desire to find out what the dream meant. Another indication that the account is abbreviated here is seen in the fact that no mention was made of the king’s compliance with Daniel’s request for a delay; but a delay there surely was. Verse 17 “Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions: that they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his companions should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.“DANIEL AND GO TO PRAYERThis was a wonderful way, and the only way, that the believer should confront every crisis in his life. Like these Hebrew companions, let the believer go down upon his knees in prayer whenever the issues of life and death are involved and where unaided human effort is doomed to futility. Daniel’s leadership in this was wonderful; and when the victory came, when the secret was revealed, Daniel failed not to deny all credit for it, and to give the glory to God. A nobler example may hardly be found anywhere. Verse 19 “Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God forever and ever; for wisdom and might are his. And he changeth the times and the seasons; he removeth kings and setteth up kings; he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that have understanding; he revealeth the deep and secret things; he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him. thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and now hast made known unto me what we desired of thee; for thou hast made known unto us the kings’s matter. Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and said unto him Destroy not the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show unto the king the interpretation.“THE DREAM AND THE Daniel exhibited here all of the skill and diplomacy of an accomplished statesman. Note that, even in his prayer, he included his companions.

Note the “we” in Daniel 2:23. Furthermore, since Daniel had already received a delay from the king and an appointed day when he might reveal the secret, Daniel, in all probability at that point, might have gone directly to the king; but he sought out the captain of the king’s guard Arioch, thus going through channels. A collateral benefit of this was that it also could have delayed the execution of some of the wise men, that is, if Arioch was already proceeding with the executions. Furthermore, it gave Arioch the opportunity to play a conspicuous part in the process of the dream’s revelation, an opportunity which Arioch apparently exploited fully. (See Daniel 2:25). Many scholars have pointed out how Daniel’s prayer displayed an intimate acquaintance with Old Testament literature, including the Psalms. Like Jonah’s prayer from the belly of the fish, Daniel referred to God as “the God of heaven.” Many of the phrases used in Daniel’s language here are found in the Psalms. Verse 25 “Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said unto him, I have found a man of the children of the captivity 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 before the king and said, The secret which the king hath demanded can neither wise men, enchanters, magicians, nor soothsayers, show unto the king; but there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and he hath made 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: as for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter; and he that revealeth secrets hath made known to thee what shall come to pass. But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than many living, but to the intent that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that thou mayest know the thoughts of thy heart.“DANIEL GIVES THE GLORY TO GODDaniel’s disclaimer of any glory for himself in that situation should have disarmed much of the jealousy that was certain to arise against him; but we later learn that it did not. What Daniel said here was a complete defense of the wise men, for he affirmed that “no man,” but only God, could reveal what the king demanded. That corresponds fully with what the wise men said. “The `latter days’… (Daniel 2:28). This expression reveals the passage as Messianic. In the Old Testament, “the latter days” invariably speak of the days of Christ’s kingdom. “The dream is eschatological, it deals with the Messianic age."[6]Note that Arioch announced to the king, “I have found a man …!” (Daniel 2:25). Under the circumstances, it seems that Arioch should be pardoned for presenting himself as the man who found the man who could unravel the mystery! Such self-seeking on the part of the king’s ministers contrasts with the reluctance of Daniel to claim any glory for himself. Verse 31 “Thou, O king sawest, and, behold, a great image. This image which was mighty, and whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the aspect thereof was terrible. As for this image, its head was of fine gold, its breasts and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of brass, its legs of iron, its feet part of iron and, part of clay. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon its feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them in pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold broken in pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, so that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.“THE DREAM WAS RELATEDThe significance of various features of this immense image will appear in the interpretation of it which Daniel promptly revealed to the king. That this image was indeed the feature of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream appears in the fact that the king accepted it as the revelation of the dream which he had. “No place was found for them …” (Daniel 2:35) is merely an archaic way of saying that, “No trace of them was found."[7]“A stone cut out by no human hand would be heaven-sent."[8]Verse 36 “This is the dream, and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. Thou, O king, art king of kings, unto whom the God of heaven hath given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory; And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens hath he given into thy hand, and hath made thee to rule over them all: thou art the head of gold. 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 crushes all these, shall it break in pieces and crush. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters clay, and part of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom; but there shall be in it of the strength of 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.“THE Owens noted that the number four prevails in this chapter. “There were four Hebrew children, four classes of wise men mentioned, four metals in the image, which represented four kingdoms."[9] The identity of the four kingdoms is certain. For the first 1700 years of the Christian religion, the four kingdoms represented by the four parts of the image were universally understood to be: The kingdom of Babylon, represented by the head of gold. The Medo-Persian Empire, represented by the silver. The World-Wide Kingdom of Alexander, represented the brass. The Roman Empire, represented by the iron mingled with clay. Owens admitted that this understanding of the passage dates back to the book of 2Esdras in the apocryphal Old Testament, although we were unable to find it from the reference he gave (2Es 12:12).[10] No one can deny that the understanding of the fourth kingdom as that of the Romans is actually older than Christianity. Despite this and without regard to the truth that the fourth kingdom cannot possibly be identified with any other except the Romans, the current crop of Biblical critics are shouting in the most vociferous manner that the fourth kingdom was that of the Greeks. There is only one reason for such allegations, that being the purpose of critics to get rid of the magnificent predictive prophecy in this chapter of the establishment of the kingdom of heaven. That kingdom, of course, was set up in the days of those Roman kings; and, after moving the date of Daniel as close to those times as they dared (quite arbitrarily, of course), the predictive prophecy still foretells the establishment of the kingdom of Christ! So, what do they do? They misinterpret the prophecy in a vain and ridiculous attempt to make it say that the kingdom of Christ would be set up in the days of the Alexandrian Empire. One has to be ignorant of both the Bible and human history in order to be deceived by such a perversion of the truth. The first thing to be determined in the interpretation of this prophecy is the question of what the four kingdoms mean, whether regimes or individual kings, or persons. Owens was correct in his declaration that, “There is no question as to the identification of regimes instead of persons. It was not Nebuchadnezzar as a person, but the Babylonian era,"[11] that was meant by the head of gold. Even today there is no disagreement on this. Now, as any student of history knows, Babylon was succeeded by the Medo-Persian Empire, not two empires, but only one. The Medes and the Persians are repeatedly mentioned in the Book of Esther as joint names of a single government (Esther 1:19, etc.). However, in order to move the prediction of the establishment of Christ’s kingdom from the days of the Romans, the critics have (in their own eyes) removed the kingdom of the Romans from the image! How do they attempt such a thing? By making the nonexistent Kingdom of the Medes to be the second kingdom, that of the Persians the third, and that of the Greeks the fourth. We reject such an adjustment of history out of hand.

As Leupold put it, “There never was such an empire as the Median empire,"[12] that is, in the worldwide extent indicated by the vision, and especially if it must be found as a successor to Babylon, that is, coming after Babylon, a vital requirement of the vision. There was, of course, a state called Media (never a world empire); but it was conquered by Babylon in 550 B.C.,[13] years before Babylon itself was conquered by the Medo-Persians. Even more disastrous to the theory of making the Medes a successive empire to that of Babylon, is the fact that the Medes were also subjugated by Alexander the Great in 330 B.C.,[14]thus forming a portion of the Greek Empire, exactly as they had been subjugated at an earlier time by the Babylonians. Thus, the Medes were an important subordinate part of both the Babylonian and Greek empires. In the days after Babylon, they enjoyed their greatest worldly authority as identified with Medo-Persia. The Medes first appear in ancient history in the year 836 B.C.; but throughout the greater part of their entire history they were subject to Assyria, Babylon, (subordinate partners with Persia for awhile) and then subject to Alexander the Great. Herodotus referred to Media as an empire; but in view of what is known concerning them they were never an empire in the worldwide sense indicated in this vision, and certainly not after the fall of Babylon! In view of these facts and others to be cited below, the critical device of making subordinate Media one of these worldwide empires is totally unacceptable. Critics misconstrue Daniel 5:31, which declares that Darius the Mede took the kingdom. However, there is no reference in that to a Median kingdom, for the same passage says that, “The kingdom was divided and given to the Medes and Persians” (Daniel 5:19); thus it was one kingdom with two prominent elements, The Medo-Persian Empire. The mention of Darius’ race inDaniel 5:31 did not change the facts. It was just like saying that Herod the Idumean (the Great) ascended the throne of Judea; but that could never have meant that he took over the Kingdom of Esau! (Idumeans were Edomites, the posterity of Esau). The interpretation of the vision by Daniel continues. Verse 43 “And whereas thou sawest the 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 doth not mingle with clay. And in the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall the sovereignty thereof be left to another people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that a 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.” We shall now notice how exactly the traditional interpretation of these four kingdoms fits the image of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. BABYLON was the head of gold. And, by the progressive decrease in the value of the materials in the image, the principle that human governments shall wax worse and worse throughout history is established. It will appear strange to some, in view of Nebuchadnezzar’s unreasonable cruelty, that Babylon should have been the head of gold. However, since it was Daniel’s duty to interpret the vision, it would have been fatal to him, perhaps, if anyone except Nebuchadnezzar had been named as the head of gold. Besides that, the deep religious convictions of Nebuchadnezzar, and the strict manner in which he honored his word, and a great many other commendable qualities of his reign attest the appropriateness of this symbol. In the matter of the captives, Nebuchadnezzar did not seek out young women to gratify his lust, but young men to be trained in art and science.

Later human systems reversed this completely. We have never read of a commentator who denied that Babylon was the head of gold. MEDO-PERSIA was the breasts and arms of silver; and it seems impossible that a more appropriate representative of this dual authority could have been devised than the breasts and arms of the great image. That Medo-Persia was indeed the empire that succeeded Babylon is a matter of history. Darius the Mede was a close confederate of Cyrus who appointed him as his first governor over Babylon after it was taken from the Chaldeans. His name is found on ancient monuments as Gubaru or Ugbaru. (See the full discussion of this in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, pp. 788,789). It is impossible to suppose that any authority, other than that of the Medes and the Persians succeeded the overthrow of Babylon. THE GREEK EMPIRE succeeded to worldwide authority upon the overthrow of Medo-Persia. This power was symbolized by the belly and thighs of brass. “A third kingdom of brass” is the Biblical description; and Jamieson tells us that “This third empire (the Greeks) were celebrated for the bronze armor of their warriors."[15] Another distinguishing mark of this third empire was “its universality."[16] It is said of this third empire, “They shall bear rule over all the earth” (Daniel 2:39). This mark of identification settles forever the error of ascribing this third spot to Persia, for Persia never was able to conquer Greece; and, while it must be admitted that “the whole earth” here must mean the “whole known world”; a prominent nation like Greece could not have been left out of the reckoning. Such allegations as that of Owens which states that, “The third kingdom is that of the Persians,"[17] is clearly in error. Alexander alone conquered the whole world and then sat down and wept because there were no more nations to conquer! There is yet another identification mark of this third world power; and it was pointed out by Thomson. “The word translated “belly” (Daniel 2:32) is plural; and it expresses along with the two thighs the idea of four-foldness!"[18] This points squarely to the Alexandrian Empire, because, upon the death of Alexander, the empire was promptly divided among the four generals of Alexander’s army. “Not only that, the four parts eventually were only two: Syria and Egypt.

These are the two thighs of the statue."[19] Efforts to make Alexander’s Empire the fourth world power represented by the image fail completely. As Young noted, “The understanding of these four world powers foretold by the image as Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome is the only position that interpretsDaniel 2:44 correctly. That verse states emphatically that God’s kingdom will appear in the days of these four powers; that means the kingdom had to be established after the fourth of these great powers appeared on earth, that is, in the clays of the Roman kings. THE ROMAN EMPIRE corresponded to the legs of iron and the feet of iron mingled with miry clay. “It shall be a divided kingdom.” Rome divided into the Eastern and Western Empires with capitals at Rome and Constantinople. The iron-like nature of the Roman power to break in pieces and crash all nations is known to every student of history. “They shall not cleave one to another” shows that Rome’s conquests, despite their overwhelming nature, and the brutal ruthlessness with which they were executed could never actually unite the conquered peoples. Note the rebelliousness of the Jews and that of the Parthians, and that of practically every other power subdued by the Romans. In no sense whatever were Rome’s conquered peoples ever united. Iron cannot mix with clay. “They shall mingle themselves with the seed of men.” We find no basis whatever for viewing this as the intermarriage of Roman kings with the heads of conquered states, or any such thing. What seems to be indicated by this is the absorption into the historic Roman Empire of successive waves of barbarian invaders. None of these things suggests either the empire or the times of Alexander. THE KINGDOM OF GOD is symbolized by the little stone cut out of the mountain without hands, and which smote the great image upon the feet, broke it all into pieces and scattered all of the world empires as dust, and which increased until it filled the whole earth! Some have dared to assert that such a thing never happened, to which it may be replied that all of the world powers of this vision have long since disappeared from the earth; and nothing whatever is known of any of them except what men have written about them in the libraries of the world; but the kingdom of God is still flourishing. There have been more buildings erected to the honor and service of Jesus Christ in the United States of America alone during the last decade only than were previously erected all over the world in honor of all the kings and rulers who ever lived. A certain critic quoted by Leupold stated that, “The victory of Christianity over Paganism was in no sense a victory of Christianity over the Roman Empire."[20] This, of course, is a gross error. Yes indeed Christianity destroyed the Roman Empire. As Leupold put it, “Christianity was in a sense God’s judgment upon sinful Rome."[21] Will Durant has this: “There is no greater drama in human record than the sight of a few Christians, scorned or oppressed by a succession of emperors, beating all trials with fierce tenacity, multiplying quietly, building order while their enemies generated chaos, fighting the sword with the word, brutality with hope, and at last defeating the strongest state that history has known. Caesar and Christ had met in the arena, and Christ had won."[22]The Roman Empire was the climax of paganism; and even in the days of Theodosius there yet remained four hundred twenty four pagan temples, each of them manned by a tremendous staff of pagan priests.[23] Every emperor was a self-styled god; and well into the second century Christians were being burned alive for refusing to burn incense to the emperor, as proved by the martyrdom of Polycarp at Smyma (155 A.D.). Did Christianity win over that? Yes. In the year 389 A.D., the Emperor Theodosius closed down all the pagan temples, proscribed and outlawed the pagan priesthood, and initiated many other changes that emphasized the totality of the Christian victory. Verse 46 “Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odors unto him. The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth your God is the God of gods, and the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou hast been able to reveal this secret. Then the king made Daniel great, and gave him many great gifts, and made him to rule over the whole province of Babylon, and to be chief governor over all the wise men of Babylon. And Daniel requested of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel was in the gate of the king.“It may be that Daniel protested against divine honors being offered to him by the king, because the king’s “reply” seems to indicate such a protest. At any rate, the worship conferred upon Daniel was intended to honor Daniel’s God, as the king plainly indicated. Notice also that Daniel’s being made to “rule” over the province of Babylon did not mean that this “rule” was absolute. Daniel recognized this in procuring the king’s permission to name his companions to responsible posts. The magnificent prophecy of the establishment of Christ’s kingdom reaching its climax in Daniel 2:44 above is one of the great features of the Book of Daniel. It is significant that all schools of interpreters accept this as a prophecy of the establishment of Christ’s kingdom. “Interpreters of all schools, Christian, Jewish, rationalistic, unbelieving, millennial, amillennial, etc., agree that Daniel 2:44 refers to Christ’s kingdom."[24]This alone is more than sufficient to establish Daniel as a valid prophet of future events. If Daniel was not inspired by God, and even if he wrote as late as 165 B.C. (which we emphatically deny), then how could he or anyone else have known that Christ’s kingdom would be established and that it would flourish and fill the whole world? We conclude with the immortal words of Sir Isaac Newton: “To reject Daniel’s prophecy is to reject the Christian religion, for this religion is founded upon his prophecy of the Messiah. This vision composed of the four metals is the foundation of all of Daniel’s prophecies. It represents four great nations who should reign over the earth successively, viz. the people of Babylonia, the Persians, the Greeks, and the Romans … And the stone cut out without hands which smote the image and filled the whole earth shows that in the days of those Roman kings, the God of heaven would set up a kingdom that should never be destroyed, the Kingdom of Messiah."[25] Commentary On Daniel Two by Eric HallIntroduction to Chapter 2 Chapter 2 covers history from Babylon to Rome, and provides the foundation for understanding the other apocalyptic sections in the book. Chapter 7 expands upon chapter 2, especially with regard to the second and third kingdoms. Chapters 11 and 12 expand upon chapter 2, especially with regard to kingdoms two, three, and four. These later chapters supply many details that are not mentioned here in chapter 2.

MESSAGE OF CHAPTER 2: God’ s promises to Israel have not been forgotten. (This is the same message in Romans 9– 11.) The Gentiles (those outside of the covenant) are in charge now, but one day (under the Messiah) the kingdom will be restored to the faithful. Verse 1-2 1 In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was troubled, and his sleep left him. 2 Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned, to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. The world’ s most powerful ruler has just assumed the throne – and almost immediately he is troubled by his dreams and can’ t sleep. God was trying to tell him something and like most people he found that troubling. He calls all of his wise men to come and interpret the dream. Note that the term ‘ Chaldean’ is used here to denote a special class of wise men. Nebuchadnezzar was himself a Chaldean in the ethnic sense. ‘ Dream manuals’ have been found that list historical dreams and the events that followed them. These wise men would have been very familiar with these very long volumes. There general course of action would have been to have heard the dream and then looked it up in their book – but Nebuchadnezzar has other ideas! Does God talk to us today in dreams? When God talked to people with dreams in the Old Testament, they knew it. They received a definite message, and God was very persistent about it. Nebuchadnezzar knew that this was no ordinary dream. If God did talk to us today with dreams then what would he say? What more do we need to hear from God? The word he has already given us is able to instruct us about salvation (2 Timothy 3:15) and equips us for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16). Are you looking for a message from God? You have one! The Bible is God’ s message to us. Those who claim that God speaks to them today apart from his word generally have found something in his word that they don’ t like. As scarce as the truth is, the demand has never exceeded the supply! Verse 3-6 3 And the king said to them, “ I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.” 4 Then the Chaldeans said to the king, “ O king, live for ever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.” 5 The king answered the Chaldeans, “ The word from me is sure: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins. 6 But if you show the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. Therefore show me the dream and its interpretation.” Beginning in verse 4 and continuing through 7:28, the book of Daniel is written in the Aramaic language. Even the Dead Seas Scrolls make this switch to Aramaic. (This strongly suggests that the original was also written in two languages.) Other Aramaic sections in the Old Testament: Ezra 4:8– 6:18, Ezra 7:12– 26, and Jeremiah 10:11. Nebuchadnezzar asked his advisors to interpret the dream that he had, and the advisors at first seem eager to do so. They ask him to tell them the dream that he had, and I am sure that they would have come up with any number of interpretations. They expressed no doubt regarding their abilities in verse 4. Nebuchadnezzar, however, is no fool. He asks them to tell him both his dream and his interpretation. Suddenly their confidence vanishes! The King James Version translates verse 5 to indicate that the king had forgotten the dream. However, he remembers enough later in the story to be able to confirm Daniel’ s interpretation. A better interpretation is found in the Revised Standard Version, which we read above. ANCIENT OMEN: If a man cannot remember the dream he saw then it means that his personal god is angry with him. Failure meant a horrible death and success meant rich rewards. The threat in verse 5 is that they would be “ made into limbs.” The NIV translation that they would be cut into pieces is not correct – no verb for cutting is used here and no cutting instrument is mentioned. What the king had in mind was that their arms and legs would be tied to four trees that had been temporarily roped together. When the ropes were cut, the victim would be torn into four pieces. (He was going to turn each wise man into four wise pieces!) Verse 7-9 7 They answered a second time, “ Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show its interpretation.” 8 The king answered, “ I know with certainty that you are trying to gain time, because you see that the word from me is sure 9 that if you do not make the dream known to me, there is but one sentence for you. You have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the times change. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation.” They do not think that the king is serious, so they ask him for the dream one more time. (Do they seem a little nervous to you?) Compare the first request in verse 4 with the second request in verse 7. Notice any difference? In the second request, the wise men don’ t start off by hoping that the king will live forever! In verse 8-9, the king makes it very clear that he is serious, and he lets them in on his strategy. He accuses them of stalling and of planning to lie to him. (Of course, they are stalling! They are repeating themselves in verse 7.) He says that they were planning to wait until “ the times change.” That is, until the crisis has passed and the king has forgotten all about it. Verse 10-11 10 The Chaldeans answered the king, “ There is not a man on earth who can meet the king’ s demand; for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean. 11 The thing that the king asks is difficult, and none can show it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.” The wise men complain that no one could do what the king wanted. In fact, they say that no king has ever asked such a thing. (Indeed, not even Joseph in Egypt was required to do this.) The wise men say that if they don’ t know the answer then no one knows the answer. Job 12:2 “ No doubt you are the people, and wisdom will die with you.” Finally, they speak the truth. They admit to the king (whether they know they are admitting it or not) that their profession is a fraud. This is definitely a lesson we need to hear today. Anytime we look for answers to our problems or answers about our future from someone other than God, we need to seriously consider our spiritual health. SIMPLE PROOF THAT ESP DOES NOT EXIST: Have you ever wondered how they decide how many numbers to use in the state lottery? (6 between 1 and 50) The lottery is designed according to the laws of statistics. The lottery would not work as expected if ESP existed. The fact that it does work as expected (often there are no jackpot winners at all) proves that their is no “ latent ESP” in the populace. The king, they say, isn’ t being fair. He is asking too much. Imagine, asking a fortune teller to tell someone’ s fortune! Again, they hit upon the truth. Only God can reveal someone’ s thoughts. What will the logical conclusion be when Daniel reveals the dream? (I imagine they later regretted their words!) Verse 12-13 12 Because of this the king was angry and very furious, and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed. 13 So the decree went forth that the wise men were to be slain, and they sought Daniel and his companions, to slay them. The king becomes upset when he realizes that his “ wise men” are suffering from an acute lack of wisdom. In fact, he becomes furious and commands that they all be killed. (You would think that some of these fortune tellers would have seen this coming and have left town!) Daniel and his friends, unfortunately, are numbered among this group, and their lives become in danger from the king’ s edict. It is possible that Daniel is still in school. That is, the three years of schooling may not yet be over. If this were true, then Nebuchadnezzar must have ordered that all of those who were preparing to be wise men be killed as well. This would explain why Daniel was not with the wise men when they first tried to interpret the dream. As for not standing before the king until the three years were over (1:5), recall that standing before the king was a Persian term for royal service. Verse 14-16 14 Then Daniel replied with prudence and discretion to Arioch, the captain of the king’ s guard, who had gone out to slay the wise men of Babylon; 15 he said to Arioch, the king’ s captain, “ Why is the decree of the king so severe?” Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel. 16 And Daniel went in and besought the king to appoint him a time, that he might show to the king the interpretation. Arioch shows up to take Daniel to death row, but Daniel talks him into taking him to the king instead. The word for “ severe” in verse 15 really means “ hasty.” Daniel did not question the punishment, but the haste with which the king ordered it. This death sentence was Daniel’ s opportunity. It sounded like very bad news, but Daniel saw it as a gift from God and jumped at it. Christians should be eternal optimists! We usually see the light at the end of the tunnel and think it must be an oncoming train. If God is on our side, then who can be against us. Daniel is a great example of how we should be optimistic since God is on our side. A “ pessimistic Christian” is the ultimate oxymoron. Daniel seems awfully confident in his abilities. Where did this teenager get such confidence? He knew the source of all wisdom. His confidence was not in himself but in his God! The stage is now set to introduce King Nebuchadnezzar to the only true and living God. Also, we are about to see a theme that will last throughout the book: God is still in charge, he is still as powerful as ever, and he still loves and cares for his faithful followers. This was true even after their temple had been burned, their city destroyed, and they had been dragged away in slavery. [The city was destroyed in 587 B.C. This scene occurred in 602 B.C.] If there is one clear message in the Bible it is that things are not always as they appear! We must see things the way that God sees them. Verse 18-19 17 Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, 18 and told them to seek mercy of the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19 Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Note that his three companions are referred to here by their less familiar Hebrew names. The term ‘ God of Heaven’ is used almost exclusively in the captivity books. Why? (Daniel uses it 9 times, Ezra 6 times, and Nehemiah 4 times.) When Judah turned from the Lord, Ezekiel had a vision in which he saw the glory of God depart from the holy of holies in the temple and leave the earth. (Ezekiel 10 and 11) What did Daniel and his friends do? They did not turn to astrology or crystal balls. Instead, they prayed. Notice that Daniel doesn’ t do it all by himself, either. He asks them all to pray with him. Prayer is a team effort! “ Prayer is where the action is. Any church without a well organized and systematic prayer program is simply operating a religious treadmill.” “ The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, and prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray.” What else did Daniel do? He went to bed! He turned his problems over to God and then he went to sleep. Again, I detect an important lesson for us. Notice that Daniel has already promised to answer the king – before he started praying for the answer. Again, Daniel knows that God will give him the answer that he needs. What confidence! What utter dependence on God! The “ mystery” or “ secret” is revealed to Daniel during the night. The word “ secret” occurs 9 times in this chapter. Ezekiel 28:3 using irony against the prince of Tyre told him “ Behold thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that is hidden thee.” Who was Ezekiel referring to? Remember that if Ezekiel referred to Daniel then the late date theory falls in ruin. Verse 20-23 20 Daniel said: “ Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever to whom belong wisdom and might. 21 He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; 22 he reveals deep and mysterious things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him. 23 To thee, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for thou hast given me wisdom and strength, and hast now made known to me what we asked of thee, for thou hast made known to us the king’ s matter.” Here Daniel expresses his gratitude to God for answering his prayer and saving him from certain death. Notice in verse 20 that Daniel emphasizes God’ s wisdom and power. GOD IS . He controls history. He controls nature. He created the universe and keeps it operating. He is the creator, sustainer, and sovereign of the universe. GOD IS WISE. We like to think we are wise, but any wisdom we have comes from what God has told us. Although we have certainly progressed in our knowledge of the world, we still know virtually nothing about how it all works. The further you progress in science, the more you realize just how little we really know. When you think you know everything they give you a bachelor’ s degree, when you realize you don’ t know anything they give you a Master’ s degree, and when you realize that no one else knows anything either they give you a Doctorate. Remember what Paul said: 1 Corinthians 1:25,30 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. … 30 He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom, our righteousness and sanctification and redemption. In verse 21, Daniel touches upon a major theme in the book. It is God who changes times and seasons, removes and sets up kings, and gives wisdom and knowledge. God is in control. Men look at the world, see a mess, and say that God is dead. But throughout the Bible, we see that God is always working – especially when things look the worst. Was the world in bad shape before the flood? Yes. Was God in charge? You bet he was! From a human perspective, could things have looked any worse than they did at the cross? Yet God was at that very moment working out the culmination of a plan that he had formed at the very beginning. We must try to see things the way that God sees them! Daniel did and you can see what the result was. Note that Daniel was not a fatalist. He knew that men could make real decisions and effect history. He also knew, however, that God had the final word on the matter. Daniel did not see himself and the Babylonians as puppets. Verse 21 says that God sets up and removes kings. Read Psalms 2:1– 4.1 Why do the nations conspire, and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and his anointed, saying, 3 “ Let us burst their bonds asunder, and cast their cords from us.” 4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord has them in derision. Does he just set up the good kings, or does he set them all up? Although we may have trouble understanding it, the Bible says that God sets them all up and we should (at least in that respect) show respect to them all like Daniel did with Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel was polite and respectful to the one who had deported him because he knew that whatever power Nebuchadnezzar had was given to him by God. We are not required to agree with them (thankfully), but I think that we are required to show them respect and honor. Listen to what Paul and Peter have to say about this: Romans 13:1-5 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. 2 Therefore he who resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of him who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain; he is the servant of God to execute his wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be subject, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 1 Peter 2:13-17 Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, 14 or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right. 15 For it is God’s will that by doing right you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. 16 Live as free men, yet without using your freedom as a pretext for evil; but live as servants of God. 17 Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. Were Peter and Paul just speaking of good rulers? How could they be! There were no good rulers back then. These men were imprisoned and killed by these rulers. I think there is an important lesson for us here, even though we may not want to hear it. On the other side of the coin, it is certainly permissible to pray that evil rulers be removed. The Christians did this in Revelation, and God answered their prayers by judging Rome. Are we then supposed to honor a ruler who we think is wicked. Well, read 1 Peter 2:17 again. The answer is clearly yes. Daniel called God the God of his fathers. Daniel trusted God because he knew what God had done. As Isaiah 28:16 says, God is a tried stone. He has never forsaken his people, and he never will. Notice that Daniel is absolutely sure that he knows the king’ s dream even before he tells the king about it. God said it and Daniel knew it was true. Daniel was thanking God in advance because the king had not yet spared his life. God had made it known “ to me” what “ we” asked of him. Again, we are reminded of the power of combined prayer. Daniel asked his friends to pray with him, and he did not forget their contribution when he thanked God. Verse 24-25 24 Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and said thus to him, “ Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show the king the interpretation.” 25 Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus to him: “ I have found among the exiles from Judah a man who can make known to the king the interpretation.” Incredible, isn’ t it? All by himself Arioch has managed to solve the king’ s problem. Notice how he takes all of the credit in verse 25. (This may have something to do with the reward mentioned back in verse 6.) Many things have changed over the centuries, but human nature has not changed one little bit since the Garden of Eden. Very often you hear modernists claiming that we need a new church, a new Bible, and a new theology for a new age. But of course we don’ t. Man has not changed. Sin has not changed. The remedy has not changed. God has not changed. We may see ourselves as vastly improved, but all we are doing is worshipping different idols. Arioch’ s complete confidence in Daniel is interesting. He shows no doubt that Daniel will be able to interpret the king’ s dream. Daniel had already made quite an impact on Arioch. Verse 26-30 26 The king said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “ Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?” 27 Daniel answered the king, “ No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king the mystery which the king has asked, 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. Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these: 29 To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be hereafter, and he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be. 30 But as for me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living has this mystery been revealed to me, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your mind. Notice that Daniel reminds the reader of his Babylonian name but then resumes using his Hebrew name. And what does Daniel do? Does he come before the king and say, “ I have solved your problem. I know all of the answers. Look what I can do.” No. Unlike Arioch, Daniel does not mention himself. He says look what God can do. The power was not within Daniel and Daniel knew it. God had told him what Nebuchadnezzar had dreamed. See verse 30. Again, we are faced with the truth about astrology, magic, and fortune telling. Daniel says that it does not work. Read verse 27. Now, do we agree with Daniel or not? I hope we all agree with him. Daniel speaks to Nebuchadnezzar with great boldness. Keep in mind that Daniel was under sentence of death, yet he takes this opportunity to tell the king that all of his gods are worse than useless. He tells the king that there is a God who reveals mysteries. Daniel’ s answer to the king is that “ there is a God in heaven.” That is a good answer, isn’ t it! Note also the contrast that Daniel draws between the false Babylonian gods and the one true God. The king’ s gods were helpless, but there is a God in Heaven who is all powerful.

We need to stop for a moment and consider the phrase “ latter days” in verse 28. To what does it refer? It could simply mean the future. That is, God was going to tell Nebuchadnezzar what would happen later. This seems to fit well with parallel passage that appears in verse 29. (To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be hereafter.) It could refer to the latter days of Jewish history, which ended as far as God was concerned in A.D. 70. Premillennialists teach that it refers to a time yet future; in particular, to a short time of tribulation preceding the second coming of Christ. Is this what Nebuchadnezzar would have thought? “ Well, I guess Daniel is about to tell me about what will happen in about 2600 years when the Chinese suddenly decide to invade the Holy Land and toss out the Arabs and fight against the troops sent by the Antichrist who will be living in Rome at the time…” Does that make sense? Verse 31-35 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 breast and arms of silver, its belly 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 smote 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. Can you imagine the king’ s astonished reaction when Daniel started describing his dream? Can you imagine the astonishment (and relief) of his wise men? (Daniel had saved their lives. You will see later how they repay him.) Not only could Daniel reveal the meaning of the dream, he could reveal the content of the dream. What did the king see? A single great image consisting of four parts: (1) A head of gold. (2) breasts and arms of silver. (3) belly and thighs of brass. (4) legs and feet of iron and clay. The king also saw a giant stone. This stone was cut without hands – that is this stone was not of human origin. This stone smites the feet of the image and turns the whole thing into dust. Note: Many interpretations of this vision make a big deal out of the toes of this image. In particular, many make a big deal out of the ten toes on this image. The toes are not mentioned at all when Daniel first describes what the king saw. Nowhere does Daniel mention “ ten toes.” Certainly, we might be able to infer that there were ten toes, but if there were some symbolic significance to the number 10, you would think that Daniel would have mentioned the number ten. Afterward, the stone becomes a great mountain and fills the whole earth. The nations that fight against God are often called mountains, also. Compare Jeremiah 51:25 where Babylon is called a destroying mountain. The Babylonians pictured the earth as a huge mountain. In fact, they called the earth “ E-kur” which means ‘ Mountain House.’ So it is fitting that the eternal kingdom would be pictured as huge mountain. Also, compare Revelation 8:8 where Rome is pictured as a mountain that is cast into the sea. Recall Christ’ s comments in Mark 11:23. (This really happened in Revelation! I think that Jesus had Rome in mind when he said this.) Mark 11:23 Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. In this passage, we have a great mountain that is from God. What could it be? Perhaps it is a kingdom from God that will replace these earthly kingdoms that are destroyed. Stay tuned… Verse 36-38 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 sons of men, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the air, making you rule over them all— you are the head of gold. Luckily we are not left to figure this vision out for ourselves. Daniel tells us what the figures mean. Daniel makes it very clear from the start who is in charge here. Nebuchadnezzar had been given his rule and his kingdom by God. Any power, might, or glory that he had was a gift from God. This was quite a bold thing to say to King Nebuchadnezzar! Why were these four distinct kingdoms represented by a single figure? What relationship does Babylon have with Rome, for example? Taken together, they represent a sustained revolt of organized human society and government against the will of God. Babylon set the tone for the kingdoms that followed. Indeed, Babylon was another name for Rome in the New Testament. 1 Peter 5:13 She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings; and so does my son Mark. Revelation 18:2 And he called out with a mighty voice, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!” King Nebuchadnezzar is the head of the gold – that is, the head of gold denotes his kingdom, Babylon. The king may have initially taken this as a complement, until he remembered what had just happened to the head of gold! It was turned to dust with the rest of the image. Let’ s quickly review the history of this first empire. The Neo-Babylonian Empire of the Chaldeans started in 626 BC when the Chaldean chieftain Nabopolassar captured Babylon and declared independence from Assyria. Nabopolassar made an alliance with the Medes, and in 612 BC their combined army attacked and destroyed the Assyrian capital Ninevah. The Assyrians and their Egyptian allies were completely defeated in 605 BC by Nebuchadnezzar, the son of Nabopolassar. Nebuchadnezzar ruled for about 40 years, but his empire did not last long beyond his death. His sons proved worthless, and eventually Nabonidus engineered a coup and took over. Finally, in 539 BC, Babylon fell to the Persians. This takes us to the second kingdom that King Nebuchadnezzar saw in his dream. Verse 39- 40 39 After you shall arise another kingdom inferior to 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 which crushes, it shall break and crush all these. The remaining three parts of the image are also kingdoms. The second kingdom was Medo-Persia, which as we have seen overthrew the Chaldeans about 70 years after this vision. (Daniel lived to see this. Indeed, it was during this kingdom that Daniel was tossed to the lions.) Why is this second kingdom said to be “ inferior” to the first? After all it defeated the first kingdom. Wouldn’ t that mean that it was superior? The Hebrew word for “ inferior” means “ beneath you.” Thus, it may simply mean that the second kingdom was beneath the first in the image that Nebuchadnezzar saw. A second possibility is that the second kingdom was inferior to Nebuchadnezzar in the sense that its leader did not share the same absolute and unfettered power that he did. Later in Daniel 6:12 we will see that a Persian ruler lacked the power to annul a law once he had made it. From this “ despotic standpoint” each of these empires was inferior to the ones above it. Let’ s review the history of this second kingdom, Medo-Persia. As we mentioned earlier, Daniel does not consider the Medes and Persians to be separate kingdoms, but instead explicitly considers them to be a single unified kingdom – which agrees with what historians tell us. This empire began with Cyrus the Great, who conquered Babylon in 539 BC and died ten years later. His older son, Cambyses, conquered Egypt and died in 523 or 522. He was succeeded by an upstart who claimed to also be a son of Cyrus. This upstart was quickly assassinated and Darius (not the Mede) came to power and established a new dynasty. This empire ruled for about two centuries, but was never able to completely subdue the Greeks on its western border. Darius’ son invaded the Greeks but was defeated, and his successor tried to set the Greek city-states against each other. Alexander the Great invaded Persia in 334 BC. The third kingdom that would rule over all of the earth was Greece which conquered the Persians under Alexander the Great. Alexander the Great invaded Persia in 334 and completely defeated it in 331. At one point, Alexander ruled an area from Yugoslavia to India, the largest empire of ancient times. After Alexander died in 323, his kingdom was split into four pieces ruled over by his former generals. Consider the following passages from the book of Daniel, which were written hundreds of years before Alexander the Great! Daniel 8:8 Then the he-goat magnified himself exceedingly; but when he was strong, the great horn was broken, and instead of it there came up four conspicuous horns toward the four winds of heaven. Daniel 8:21-22 And the he-goat is the king of Greece; and the great horn between his eyes is the first king. 22 As for the horn that was broken, in place of which four others arose, four kingdoms shall arise from his nation, but not with his power. Daniel 11:3-4 Then a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion and do according to his will. 4 And when he has arisen, his kingdom shall be broken and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not to his posterity, nor according to the dominion with which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be plucked up and go to others besides these.Now you see why the liberals hate this book so much! If they take the early-date view then they must admit that the Bible is from God – and this they cannot do! Eventually most of the Greek empire was annexed by Rome, the fourth kingdom in Nebuchadnezzar’ s vision. By 146 BC, Greece was permanently subdued. Egypt became a Roman province in 31 BC. The fourth kingdom (strong as iron) was Rome, which overthrew Greece. The mighty Roman empire started out as a dusty village on Italy’ s Tiber River in the 8th century B.C. Rome was always fortunate in that it confronted its enemies one at a time rather than all at once. That way it was able to grow and strengthen with each victory. By 270 B.C. Rome had control of the Italian peninsula, and begin to look elsewhere for new worlds to conquer. After the Punic Wars and the defeat of Carthage, Rome turned its sights toward the East – attacking Philip V’ s Macedonia and Antiochus III’ s Seleucid empire (both successor states of Alexander the Great). Without giving any of the intervening details, let’ s jump ahead to consider a question that has intrigued historians for centuries. Why did Rome fall? Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar why Rome fell nearly 1000 years before it happened! Listen to what he says: Vere 41-43 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 miry 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 miry clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage, but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. This fourth kingdom would also be a divided kingdom – clay mixed with iron. In verse 42, the “ toes” of the image are finally mentioned, but the toes do not cause the weakness in the fourth kingdom. The weakness is caused by the clay that is mixed with the iron. Again, the number 10 is not mentioned at all Was this true of the mighty Roman empire? Yes! In Revelation 13 and 17 we see very clearly that Rome fell partly because of inner strife. This fits very well with what history tells us about Rome. Gibbon’ s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire lists four reasons why Rome fell: external invasion, inner decadence, inner strife, and the injury of time and nature. The inner strife was primarily due to the client kingdoms that Rome set up to rule the borders of its empire. Here is how Michael Grant in his book the History of Rome describes the client kings. The client kings were tied to the service of Rome in order to defend its frontiers and serve as listening posts to the outside world. In return, they were supported by the Romans against internal subversive movements and allowed a free hand inside their own countries. In his book The Fall of the Roman Empire he describes what eventually occurred with these client kingdoms. In 382, Theodosius I took the revolutionary step of allowing whole German tribes to reside in Imperial territory as separate, autonomous, allied or federate units. committed to serving in the Roman army, though under the command of their own chieftains. Thereafter the practice continued and increased, until such federates became a regular and widespread feature of the life of the Empire. Did these groups contribute to the fall of Rome? The Visigoths were the first group to receive federate status and they sacked the city of Rome in A.D. 410 marking the first time in 800 years that the city had been taken by a foreign invader. Why did Rome fall? Because God wanted it to fall. Because the first century Christians prayed that it would fall. The fall of Rome was a divine judgment. The church triumphed. Its bitter enemy Rome did not. By the way, don’ t fall into the trap of thinking that Rome became a Christian nation. Rome did much more damage to the church by embracing it than it had by persecuting it. Yet still the one true church survived, and the Roman Empire did not. Verse 44-45 44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall its sovereignty be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand for ever; 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 hereafter. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.” The first phrase in verse 44 is vital to understanding this vision because it provides a time frame. Without a time frame we get the ‘ Nostradamus effect.’ That is, any statement can be made to appear prophetic if we can choose the event from all of history. For example, Nostradamus says that a political leader and his brother will be killed. So we move that statement along the time line until it matches something and we conclude that Nostradamus was speaking about the Kennedys. But are the Kennedys the only match to that vague prediction. Of course not! A prophecy without a time frame is not worth much unless it is extremely detailed. Matthew 24, for example, is often considered a difficult chapter, but when you consider the time frame in verse 34 the interpretation is much easier. The book of Revelation includes a time frame. It contains things that were to shortly come to pass after the time it was written. (This is mentioned four times!) Verse 44 is our time frame regarding the fifth kingdom. The fifth kingdom would be set up in the days of those kings. Which kings? Either all of the kings of the vision (meaning that the kingdom would be set up before all of the those kingdoms passed away) or the kings of the fourth empire. Any interpretation that does not have the fifth kingdom set up during this time frame is not a correct interpretation. Many elaborate interpretations exist that try to have the fifth kingdom set up some time in the future. Generally, they have some sort of revived Roman empire that pops up some 2000 years after the first Roman empire. This is not what Daniel said! What is this fifth kingdom? It was not of human origin. It began during the Roman empire. It outlasted and overthrew the Roman empire. It is an eternal kingdom from God. What else could it be? The fifth kingdom is the church. What do we learn about the church from this vision?

1. The church is not a mistake or a fall back plan. It has been a part of God’ s plan right from the start. Premillennialists teach that Christ came to earth the first time to set up an earthly kingdom but was unable to do so because the Jews rejected him.As a ‘ Plan B’ he decided to set up the church until he could return a second time to set up an earthly kingdom. The premillennialists have a severe logical problem with their interpretation of Daniel. First, they say that Jesus wanted to create an earthly kingdom in the first century, but failed to do so. But they also say that Daniel talks about the delayed kingdom. Now, how could it be true that the need for a delayed kingdom was unexpected, yet Daniel predicted it? Thus, they teach that the church is the result of a failed plan. JESUS CHRIST DID NOT FAIL IN HE DID. WENT EXACT¬LY TO GOD’ S PLAN. Is the church a mistake? Listen to Paul: Ephesians 5:25-27 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.Acts 20:28 Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God which he obtained with the blood of his own Son. This fifth kingdom is the church of Jesus Christ and it will demolish and outlast any human organization just like Daniel says it will. This includes a large number of human organizations that call themselves churches. And this brings us to another important point that we learn from Daniel about the church.
2. The church is not a divided kingdom.There is one and only one stone in this image. The kingdoms shatter into pieces, but the stone does not. There is one church and only one church. This is not a popular theme these days, but it is the truth. This message may not make us very popular at the local inter-denominational prayer breakfast, but we must continue to proclaim it. The church is unique and distinctive. Ephesians 4:4-5 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism. 1 Corinthians 10:17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. Colossians 3:15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. John 10:16 And I have other sheep, that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed my voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd. If God had wanted two churches, he would have made one for the Jews and one for the Gentiles. Listen to how Ezekiel describes this fifth kingdom: Ezekiel 37:22-27 and I will make them one nation in the land, upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all; and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms. The church cannot be split! God has set up an eternal kingdom that cannot be divided. If someone tells you that the church has been split, don’ t believe them. There is one church and it cannot be divided.
3. The church is not of human origin.In verse 34, we see that this stone was cut out by no human hand. This stone is not from man. The church is not a product of the Restoration movement. Many of us are Christians because of the preachers who came out of the Restoration movement, but the church predates the Restoration movement by some 1800 years. The church is not a denomination. Read what Paul had to say when denominations first started to form in 1 Corinthians 3:11. He concludes in verse 11 by saying: 1 Corinthians 3:11 For no other foundation can any one lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
4. The church is powerful and eternal. It completely demolishes and replaces its opposition. I wish we could all learn to look at the church the way that God looks at the church. The church is more important and more powerful than any human organization. Do we view the church that way? Do we think of the church as just another in a long list of denominations? Do we want to fit in with and be accepted by all of our denominational friends? If so, we need to carefully consider what Daniel has to say about the one true church. In Luke 6:26 Jesus said: Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets. Our goal is not to be liked by all the world. Our goal is to preach the truth to all the world. We are not told to go into all the world and be liked, or to go into all the world and don’ t rock the boat, or to go into all the world and agree to disagree. We need to preach what the world needs to hear, not what the world wants to hear. The false prophets always told the people just what they wanted to hear, and as Jesus said, everyone liked them. (That is, everyone but God!) Verse 46-49 46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and did homage to Daniel, and commanded that an offering and incense be offered up to him. 47 The king 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 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. This is a remarkable scene. One commentator has written: “ The despot who but an hour before had ordered the execution of all his wise men was prostrating himself before this foreign captive from a third-rate subject nation! Even though he opposed the wisdom of the Chaldeans, this absurd monotheist (Daniel) had somehow found the right answer.” Did Daniel approve of the king’ s worship of himself? No. How do I know? The Bible doesn’ t say one way or the other, but I know Daniel. After all he has said, do you really think that he could have approved of someone falling down to worship him. He had already said that God had interpreted the dream. Was the king “ converted” in verse 47. No, I don’ t think so. He was saying the right things, but only because he just seen a clear and undeniable demonstration of God’ s power. True worship is in spirit and in truth. The king spoke the truth, but the spirit was not there. (We will get some proof of this in chapter three.) Did the king make Daniel great? No. God made Daniel great. Nebuchadnezzar just noticed it. The king fulfilled the promise he made in 2:6 and loaded Daniel down with gifts and royal honors, in addition to making him governor of the capital city, and ruler over the wise men. (Don’ t you imagine they loved that!) Did Daniel forget his friends? Not at all. How easy it would have been to forget about his prayer partners, but Daniel did not. Other Theories About the Four Kingdoms in Daniel 2 Babylon, Media, Persia, Greece We have already dealt with this theory. It is the view put forth by those who think that Daniel was written around 168 B.C. This view must be rejected for several reasons:
5. Daniel did not believe or teach that an independent Median empire defeated the Chaldeans.
6. This view meant that Daniel thought that the Messianic kingdom would be established before the end of the Grecian kingdom (before 31 B.C.).
7. Jesus quoted Daniel in Matthew 24 and applied the prophecy to the near future. Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece (under Alexander), the Successor States. This view must also be rejected:
8. Daniel never treated the Greek kingdom as two independent kingdoms during and after Alexander.
9. In fact, Daniel distinctly treated the two periods as two phases of the same kingdom. (In Daniel 8, we have one goat with four horns.) Rome is the fourth kingdom, but it is split into an ancient part and a future part that has not yet arisen. This view must also be rejected: This view requires one to believe that the kingdom was not established in the first century. Mark 1:15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel.” Mark 9:1 And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.” Matthew 16:28 Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.” Jesus said the time was fulfilled in the first century. The premillennialists say that it was not. Who are we goingto believe? Christ, or false teachers? This view relies heavily on the “ ten toes” in the image, but the number ten is never mentioned!

“THE BOOK OF DANIEL”

The Kingdom That Shall Never Be Destroyed (Daniel 2:1-49)

1. In Daniel 2, we read about Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and Daniel’s interpretation… a. Nebuchadnezzar challenges his magicians, sorcerers, et al, to tell him both the dream and its interpretation, and they are unable - Daniel 2:1-13b. God reveals the secret of the dream to Daniel in a night vision

• Daniel 2:14-23c. Daniel approaches the king and explains that God has made known to him both the dream and its interpretation - Daniel 2:24-30d. Daniel then tells the dream, and gives the interpretation of it, to the amazement of Nebuchadnezzar - Daniel 2:31-49 (read)

1. The king had seen a great image a) With head of gold b) With chest and arms of silver c) With belly and thighs of bronze d) With legs of iron, and feet mixed with iron and clay
2. The great image was destroyed by a small stone made without hands a) The image representing the rise and fall of four world empires b) The stone representing a kingdom that God would set up
3. The king praises God, and exalts Daniel along with his three friends

2. There are certainly two key thoughts expressed in this chapter… a. God is a revealer of secrets - Daniel 2:19; Daniel 2:22; Daniel 2:28-29; Daniel 2:47b. God can make known the future and bring it pass - Daniel 2:28-29; Daniel 2:21

3. But of particular interest to us ought to be the “kingdom” in Daniel 2:44… a. Which the God of heaven Himself shall set up b. Which shall never be destroyed, but consume other kingdoms and stand forever

4. Several questions naturally come to mind concerning this “kingdom”… a. When would God set it up? b. Has it been set up as foretold? c. If it has, and if it shall never be destroyed…

1. Where is it now?
2. What is the future of this kingdom?
3. Can we be a part of this indestructible kingdom?

[In this lesson, we shall endeavor to provide the answers to these questions. Let’s start with the first: When would this “kingdom” be set up…?]

I. THE FOR THE KINGDOM A. “IN THE DAYS OF THESE KINGS…” (Daniel 2:44)1. Daniel describes the image as depicting four kingdoms which shall rise and fall 2. The first one is definitely Babylon - Daniel 2:37-383. With Babylon as the starting point, world history confirms that the next three kingdoms would be: a. The Medo-Persian empire, represented by the chest and arms of silver b. The Grecian empire, represented by the belly and thighs of bronze c. The Roman empire, represented by the legs of iron, with feet mixed with iron and clay 4. Thus one could look for the establishment of the “indestructible kingdom” in the days of the Roman empire

B. WHEN “THE TIME IS “…1. Notice what John the Baptist began preaching during the days of the Roman empire (“the kingdom of heaven is at hand”)

• Matthew 3:1-22. Jesus proclaimed this also, adding “the time is fulfilled”
• Mark 1:14-15a. What “time” was fulfilled? b. The time described by Daniel!

[So the “indestructible kingdom” was to be set up in the days of the Roman empire. During Roman empire both John and Jesus anticipated its establishment. This leads to our next question: Has it been set up as foretold…?]

II. THE OF THE KINGDOM A. DURING JESUS’ EARTHLY , IT WAS “AT HAND”…1. This is what both John and Jesus proclaimed - Matthew 3:1-2; Mark 1:14-152. Yet after Jesus’ death, there were those who were still waiting for the kingdom - e.g., Joseph of Arimathea, Luke 23:50-51 B. BUT THE OF JESUS…1. He is far above all principality, power, might, dominion - Ephesians 1:20-212. All has been made subject to Him - 1 Peter 3:223. He is ruler over the kings of the earth - Revelation 1:54. He rules the nations with a rod of iron - Revelation 2:26-27– He truly has all authority in heaven and on earth! - cf. Matthew 28:18 C. THIS WHAT IS LATER IN DANIEL…1. Consider Daniel 7:13-14a. Where one like the Son of Man approaches the Ancient of Days (God) b. And is given dominion, glory, and a kingdom which shall not be destroyed 2. Compare this with Acts 1:9a. Daniel describes the ascension from a heavenly perspective b. Whereas Luke describes it from an earthly perspective!

[It is clear, then, that the King (Jesus) has received a kingdom, that the indestructible kingdom was set up when He returned to heaven! But one might naturally ask: Where is it now? The answer is found when we consider…]

III. THE NATURE OF THE KINGDOM A. THINGS TO ABOUT THIS KINGDOM…1. It was described by Daniel as a “stone cut…without hands which became a great mountain and filled the whole earth”

• Daniel 2:34-35a. “without hands” suggests it is not your ordinary kingdom b. Also, it would start small and then grow larger

2. Compare this with what Jesus taught about the nature of His kingdom a. His kingdom is not of this world - John 18:36; cf. Romans 14:17b. It would start small, and grow to encompass the earth - Matthew 13:31-33– Thus this “indestructible kingdom” would start small, and be spiritual in nature

B. THIS KINGDOM THOSE IN THE CHURCH…1. The Christians at Colosse were in the kingdom - Colossians 1:12-132. Those at Thessalonica likewise - 1 Thessalonians 2:123. Along with the seven churches in Asia - Revelation 1:6; Revelation 1:94. Indeed, all Christians receive their part in this “indestructible kingdom” - Hebrews 12:28a. Including us gathered here this day! b. Fulfilling the statement that this kingdom would fill the whole earth! c. For here we are, on the other side of the planet from Jerusalem, yet citizens of this kingdom foretold by Daniel!

[Whoever is willing to “repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15) can be a part of the kingdom Jesus established when He sat down at the right hand of God following His ascension to heaven. This leads us to yet another question: What is the future of this kingdom…?]

IV. THE FUTURE OF THIS KINGDOM A. IT WILL LAST FOREVER…1. As Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar - Daniel 2:44a. “which shall never be destroyed” b. “it shall stand forever” 2. As the writer to the Hebrews stated: “a kingdom which cannot be shaken” - Hebrews 12:283. As the angel Gabriel spoke to Mary: “of His kingdom there will be no end” - Luke 1:31-33 B. AT CHRIST’S COMING, IT WILL BE TO THE FATHER…1. As taught by Paul to the Corinthians - 1 Corinthians 15:23-26a. When Christ comes, He shall deliver the kingdom to God the Father, having put an end to all rule, authority and power b. Until then, Christ shall reign until all enemies are placed under His feet, the last enemy being death 2. As Jesus taught in the parable of the tares - Matthew 13:40-43a. At the end of the age, His angels will gather out of the kingdom those that offend and practice lawlessness b. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father

1. And so this kingdom… a. Foretold by Daniel, proclaimed by John the Baptist and Jesus Himself b. Was begun in the days of the Roman empire, with Christ as its king and His disciples as its citizens

2. It is an indestructible kingdom… a. That continues on, ever growing b. With the hope of a glorious future in eternity

3. But let us not forget the last question raised in our introduction: Can we be a part of this indestructible kingdom?a. Yes! For Jesus and His apostles tell us how

1. We must be born again of water and the Spirit - John 3:5; cf. Titus 3:52) An allusion to baptism, commanded of penitent believers - Matthew 28:19 Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38b. But beware, some in the kingdom may one day be cast out!
2. As Jesus warned in the parable of the tares - Matthew 13:41-432) Telling us later of the necessity of an enduring faith - Revelation 2:10 Therefore, once we have been obedient to the gospel (cf. Romans 6:17-18) we must remain diligent in our faith, if we wish to experience the future glories of “The Kingdom That Shall Never Be Destroyed”!

Chapter Two Nebuchadnezzar has a dream, challenging his would-be interpreters to first tell him the contents of the dream (Daniel 2:1-13). God reveals the dream to Daniel (Daniel 2:14-23) who then interprets it for the king (Daniel 2:24-45). Impressed, the king promotes Daniel, and in turn, his three friends (Daniel 2:46-49).

POINTS TO PONDER

• The kingdoms represented by the image in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream

• The kingdom which shall never be destroyed: its identity and establishment

REVIEW

1. What are the main points of this chapter?- Nebuchadnezzar’s dream - Daniel 2:1-13- God reveals the dream to Daniel - Daniel 2:14-23- Daniel interprets the dream - Daniel 2:24-45- Daniel and his friends are promoted - Daniel 2:46-49

2. How does Nebuchadnezzar determine who can really interpret his dream? (Daniel 2:1-13)- By requiring that one first be able to tell him what his dream was about

3. How was Daniel able to reveal the dream and its interpretation? (Daniel 2:17-23)- In answer to prayer, God revealed the dream and its interpretation to him

4. What are the key elements of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream? (Daniel 2:31-35)- A great image with head of gold, chest and arms of silver, belly and thighs of bronze, legs of iron with feet of iron and clay mixed

• A small stone made without hands striking the image in its feet, destroying it, then becoming a great mountain that filled the earth

5. What was the interpretation of the dream? (Daniel 2:36-45)- The image represented four successive kingdoms, starting with Babylon

• The fourth kingdom would be strong like iron, but ultimately unstable
• In the days of the fourth kingdom God would establish an indestructible kingdom

6. What do the four kingdoms of this dream likely represent?- Head of gold: Babylon empire (606-539 B.C.)

• Chest and arms of silver: Medo-Persian empire (539-331 B.C.)
• Belly and thighs of bronze: Greek empire (331-63 B.C.)
• Legs of iron with feet of iron and clay mixed: Roman empire (63 B.C.-397 A.D.)

7. What indestructible kingdom does the stone represent? (Daniel 2:44-45)- The kingdom of God proclaimed by Christ - Mark 1:15; Matthew 28:18- Christ’s reign begun when He ascended to heaven - Ephesians 1:19-23; Revelation 1:5; Revelation 1:9; Revelation 2:26-27

Daniel 2:1

Daniel 2:1. Paul says that, God spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets (Hebrews 1:1) and that He did it at sundry times and in diverse manners. And we also know that He delivered messages to heathen men by dreams and visions and various signs. Thus we now have an instance of it in this chapter, and the king of Babylon is the person who was caused to have a dream. This date is definitely given, the second year of the king’s reign which was also the second year of the Jewish captivity. A dream comes to a man in his sleep, but this verse says that Nebuchadnezzar’ s sleep brake front, him.

The situation is understandable, for the dream caused him to awaken, and its mystifying character so worked him up that he was unable to go to sleep again. What added to his worries was the fact that he could not even recall the dream, much less understand its meaning.

Daniel 2:2

Daniel 2:2. As was usual in such cases, the king called for his socalled wise men to help him out of his confusion. Among them the Chaldeans are named in a way that indicates they were a special class of men. See the comments on chapter 1:4 for information concerning them. The first object in calling for these wise men was that they might shew the king his dreams because he had forgotten them.

Daniel 2:3

Daniel 2:3. With the preceding verse in view we understand that know the dreams here means to be told what he dreamed. This is indicated also by a statement in verse 6.

Daniel 2:4

Daniel 2:4. Syriac was similar to the language spoken by the Jews, and was the common tongue of the court of Babylon. This explains why the wise men used it when speaking to Nebuchadnezzar. They made what they doubtless thought was a reasonable statement, that if the king would tell them his dream they could give the interpretation of it.

Daniel 2:5

Daniel 2:5. But the wise men were not to get off so easily, for they were demanded to tell the king both the dream and its interpretation. The word dunghill occurs 6 times in the Old Testament, and when used figuratively means a foul or corrupt condition.

Daniel 2:6

Daniel 2:6. These gifts and rewards are not to be regarded in the light of bribes, but as legitimate returns for services rendered. These men were subjects of the king and any assistance they could give towards clearing up the confusion their master was undergoing would he proper and would entitle them to some reward.

Daniel 2:7

Daniel 2:7. The men could only repeat their statement of verse 4.

Daniel 2:8

Daniel 2:8, Gain is from zebaw, which Strong defines, “ To acquire by purchase.” These men had nothing of purchasing power or value by which literally to obtain more time, so we know the word is used figuratively. The explanation is in the closing words oi the verse, because ye see the thing is gone from, me. In the hope that the king’ s memory would finally return and he could recall the dream, they kept repeating their suggestion as a means of gaining more time.

Daniel 2:9

Daniel 2:9. Tell me the dream, and 1 shall know. The logic of Nebuchadnezzar was correct, for if these men possessed the superhuman knowledge they professed to have, it would have been as easy to recall the dream as to interpret it. If there was any difference it would have been easier, since the dream was something that had already occurred while the interpretation was in the future. This consideration led the king to doubt the sincerity of all their pretensions of being wise men in the sense that term was used, and it showed him their reason for seeking more time, which is the meaning of till the time be changed. But one decree means that no change would be made in the decree that was threatened in verse 5.

Daniel 2:10

Daniel 2:10. The statements the wise men made to the king were true, but they disproved their claims to being possessed with superhuman knowledge. It is true that no mere normal man can reveal that which is unknown or hid from humanity, but the Chaldeans professed to be superhuman beings as to their knowledge.

Daniel 2:11

Daniel 2:11. The statements of these Chaldeans shows they believed in the existence of invisible, supernatural beings who did not live among men. It indicates also that these gods possessed knowledge that was never transmitted to men, for they claimed to have knowledge that ordinary men did not have. The gist of the verse is that the king was asking something that was impossible even of men possessing superhuman talents,

Daniel 2:12

Daniel 2:12, However, such a conclusion rested only on the assertion of these men, for no authority was cited for limiting the extent to which these gods could transmit their knowledge to men if they saw fit to do so, hence there was no valid excuse for the failure of these Chaldeans. The king evidently saw this point and concluded that the socalled wise men were frauds as a class and decided to destroy them all.

Daniel 2:13

Daniel 2:13. Wise men was a term that designated all men who were looked upon as belonging in the group possessing special talents pertaining to the mind. That is why the executioner of the king’s decree sought Daniel and Ms fellows, knowing they had been pronounced even by the king himself as belonging in such a class (chapter 1: 19, 20).

Daniel 2:14

Daniel 2:14. The executioner found Daniel and informed him of the king’s decree. Daniel would have been helpless had he tried to resist the actions of the officer, and it would also have been helpless had he tried to resist the actions of the officer, and it would also have been foolish to use any rash language to him, especially since the executioner had no choice in the matter. Instead of such a course, Daniel spoke with counsel and wisdom, which is defined in the lexicon as ’ prudence” and “ judgment.”

Daniel 2:15

Daniel 2:15. So far the executioner had only announced to Daniel the decree of death with which he was provided as he contacted him and his three companions. Hasty is from ciiatsaph and Strong defines it, “ A primitive root; properly to shear or cut close; figuratively to be severe.” This is what shows Daniel’ s good judgment in his speech to the captain. He did not raise any question as to the authority of the king, nor as to whether none of the socalled wise men were guilty of death. He only asked why the decree was so severe or sweeping In its decision to slay all the wise men. This question induced the executioner to tell Daniel the particulars of the situation that ended with the wholesale death sentence from the king.

Daniel 2:16

Daniel 2:16. Having learned that disappointment at failure to obtain the interpretation of his dream was the real cause of the king’ s action, Daniel requested him to give him the opportunity and he would get the desired information for him. This request of Daniel produced a “stay of execution” for a while.

Daniel 2:17

Daniel 2:17. Went to his house, and made the thing knvtcn. This indicates that Daniel and hfs three companions lived together, or at least were together much of the time. That would he a fair conclusion since they were such close .companions in tribulation as we shall see in later chapters of this book.

Daniel 2:18

Daniel 2:18. The purpose of telling his companions of the situation was that they unite with him in prayer to God. It is good to observe that, his personal safety was not the first consideration as a motive for the prayer, but that God would give him information concerning the secret of the king’s dream to relieve the tension holding him. Their escape from the threatened destruction was the next purpose of their prayer.

Daniel 2:19

Daniel 2:19. After this prayer service Daniel retired for the night, and God answered the prayer In a vision. (See Hebrews 1:1.) The prophet was grateful and blessed the God of Heaven for the vision. This is another instance discussed in the note cited at chapter 1: 15,

Daniel 2:20

Daniel 2:20. This verse continues Daniel’ s prayer of thanksgiving for the favor of God in giving him the information asked for. He attributes all wisdom and might to God, and that is more significant than might be realized at first thought. Wisdom would qualify Him to formulate decrees and might would furnish the ability to do them.

Daniel 2:21

Daniel 2:21. Times Is from ipdajt which Strong defines, “A set lime,” and seasons is from ZEMAN which is defined. “An appointed occasion,” It indicates control over periods and arrangements that are supposed to be fixed. The right and ability to replace one king with another was shown in the histories of the books of Samuel and Kings. Wisdom to the wise means that God will favor those who show their appreciation for and the judgment to use more wisdom: the same thought is in the words knowledge and understanding as to God’s dispensing of them to men.

Daniel 2:22

Daniel 2:22. The gist of this verse is that there is nothing that is hid from the knowledge of God, hence he is able to expose all secrets.

Daniel 2:23

Daniel 2:23. This verse sums up the powers and favors of God. In giving to Daniel the revelation of the matter that was troubling the king.

Daniel 2:24

Daniel 2:24. Daniel was now ready to make good his word to the king. He got in contact with Arioch who was the king’s captain and who was the one to execute the death sentence on the wise men. The unselfishness of Daniel is shown by his desire to save all the wise men of Babylon. He requested a hearing before the king which he expected to be arranged through the services of the captain.

Daniel 2:25

Daniel 2:25. The meeting was arranged without delay and the captain brought Daniel into the presence of the king. He was introduced as one of the Judean captives who had the ability to interpret the king’s dream.

Daniel 2:26

Daniel 2:26. In Daniel 1:20 Is a statement that might seem to have made the inquiry of the present verse unnecessary. However, that other occasion only pertained to matters supposed to be within the mental qualifications of magicians or astrologers and Chaldeans, and the king had been told that they were not able to solve such a problem as the present situation presented. Now comes this Daniel Who, though found in the first interview with him to exceed the other wise men, was yet in their classification, Hence it was consistent to ask him the questions of the present verse.

Daniel 2:27

Daniel 2:27. In his answer to the king, Daniel confirmed the statements of the Chaldeans related in verses 10 and 11, but which did not explain the inconsistency in the pretensions of the wise men to high abilities regarding mysterious subjects,

Daniel 2:28

Daniel 2:28. Daniel is about to fulfill his promise to the king that he would give him the answer to his problem. But before doing so he makes it clear that it will not be through his ability as a soothsayer. It Is to be through the wisdom of God in heaven that the vision is to be recalled and explained.

Daniel 2:29

Daniel 2:29. Thy thoughts came upon thy ted signifies that Nebuchadnezzar had not seen some image or statue somewhere among the works of men. It was all a mental picture that came to him while asleep and hence was not a material one.

Daniel 2:30

Daniel 2:30. When God revealed this great secret to Daniel it was not in recognition of any special talents lie already possessed; in truth, it was not for any personal consideration of Daniel at all, The word their is not authorized by the original and it is in the way of the proper rendering of the passage. The American Standard Version translates the passage, “But to the intent that the interpretation may be made known to the king,” and Moffatt’s translation and others agree with this rendering.

Daniel 2:31

Daniel 2:31, Daniel will first recall the vision to the king then tell him the interpretation. Image is from TsEuau which Strong defines, “An idolatrous figure.” It was appropriate for the Lord to use such an object for the present purpose since Nebuchadnezzar was a worshiper of idols. Brightness has been rendered also by “countenance,’’ and excellent is defined in the lexicon by “preeminent.” It means that the image had an imposing appearance. Form, is from a word that means “appearance,” and terrible means to be dangerous or threatening. This image with its various parts represented the four world empires described or figurized by the “ four living creatures” in Ezekiel 1 namely, Babylonian, MedoPersian, Macedonian and Roman. In our present chapter the Lord saw fit to represent the four governments by a giant of mixed materials in his bodily composition.

Daniel 2:32

Daniel 2:32. Three of the world empires are represented in this verse, using the image down as far as the thighs, which will be shown when Daniel comes with his interpretation of the whole vision.

Daniel 2:33

Daniel 2:33. This verse is very brief, making only a short mention of the materials composing the remainder of the image, which we shall learn represents the fourth and last of the world empires to which reference has been made in verse 31.

Daniel 2:34

Daniel 2:34. The speech of Daniel is still about his recalling what the king saw in his dream. After the image stood before Nebuchadnezzar until its impression of terrible greatness was fastened upon him, another subject mysteriously appeared on the scene. A stone tea.* cut out, and verse 45 supplies the word mountain which wiil be explained at that, place. This stone was cut out without hands which also will be commented upon when we come to studying the interpretation of the vision by Daniel. We will observe only at present that the stone smote the image oil his feet and broke them; more will be said on that later.

Daniel 2:35

Daniel 2:35. The immediate effect of the smiting on the feet by this stone was the crushing of the entire image into powder. It was not only crushed to pieces, but the fragments were blown out of sight as chaff is blown away. Slimmer threshingfloors has reference to an ancient method of threshing grain. The whole straw was piled on the floor in the path of the wind, it was beaten with a flail or trodden by oxen until the grain was forced out of the hull and the whole mass was a mixture of gTaln and chaff. Then it was scooped up and tossed into the air by an instrument called a winnowing shovel (called “ fan” in Matthew 3:12).

The passing breeze blew the chaff away because it was light, and the grain, being heavier, fell back to the ground to be recovered for use or to be stored. It should be noted that after this attack was made by the stone, it enlarged until it filled the whole earth.

Daniel 2:36

Daniel 2:36. Interpretation is from an original word which Strong defines with the simple phrase, “ An interpretation,” and neither is it rendered by any other word in the King James version of the Bible.

Daniel 2:37

Daniel 2:37. The description which Daniel gives of Nebuchadnezzar is for the purpose of showing why he should be represented by the most valuable of the materials. King of kings means not only that he is king over other rulers, but the phrase has the force of an adjective to describe the greatness of his power. God of heaven hath given thee means that the greater power of Nebuchadnezzar was not solely by his personal achievements, but that it was the divine will that he be a great ruler. Neither should we conclude that it was in reward for his personal merit, for this king was an idolater and a wicked man who had to be humbled severely later. But the Almighty had a great scheme of the ages that called for the existence of such a monarch.

Daniel 2:38

Daniel 2:38, Wheresoever . . . men dwell is what justifies the term “world power” that has been ascribed to Nebuchadnezzar and his dominions. Beasts . . . fowls . . . into thine )Mnd. It helps to arrive at the meaning of a statement to learn first what it does not mean, especially if some explanation has previously been offered that may be incorrect. A popular theory is that when man sinned, God deprived him o£ his dominion over the beasts of the field that was given him in Genesis 3: 28, and that it was renewed on behalf of this king. But such a theory is disproved by Genesis 9:2 where the same dominion is given to man which was after the “fall of man.” Also, James 3:7 declares that “every kind of beasts . . . and serpents . . , is tamed of mankind,’’ and that was in the days of the writer, many centuries after the sin of Adam. So by the process of elimination, the theory mentioned must be rejected which will require us to look for another explanation.

The reasonable conclusion is that while God gave man the right to rule over the beasts and birds, the e.afe«£ of that power was not Specified. Hence our verse means that Nebuchadnezzar was given that dominion to a complete degree. It is an indication of the complete cooperation that this heathen king enjoyed with the many units of his vast domain. Thou art this head of gold Includes Nebuchadnezzar and his kingdom, for when Daniel goes on to the next division of the image he says “another kingdom,” which shows that an absolute monarch and his dominions are one unit.

Daniel 2:39

Daniel 2:39. This verse introduces briefly the two world powers that succeeded Nebuchadnezzar. The first is mentioned simply as one inferior to thee [Nebuchadnezzar], and the next the prophet calls a kingdom of brass, and he says it was to bear rule oi’ er all the earth which is the reason it is designated as a “world empire” in history. By referring to comments on verse 31 the reader will see that this kingdom of brass was the Macedonian, otherwise called the Greek. We have seen in a number of instances the advantage of citing secular history by way of explaining and corroborating the statements of the scriptures, and I shall do that here on the statement that the third kingdom was one of brass. “After Psammetichus [an Egyptian ruler] had passed some years there, waiting a favorable opportunity to revenge him3elf for the affront which had been put upon him, a courier brought his advice, that brazen men had landed In Egypt. These were Grecian soldiers, Carians and Ionians, who had been cast upon the coast of Egypt by a storm, and were completely covered with helmets, cuirasses, and other arms of brass,” — Rollin’ s Ancient History, volume 1, page 223. “Knowing, then, that he [Psammeii chus] had been exceedingly injured by them, he entertained the design of avenging himself on his persecutors; and when he sent to the city of Buto to consult the oracle of Latona, where is the truest oracle that the Egyptians have, an answer came, ’ that vengeance would come from the sea, when men of brass should appear.’ He, however, was very incredulous that men of brass would come to assist him.

But when no long time had elapsed, stress of weather compelled some Ionians and Carians [Greek soldiers], who had sailed out for the purpose of piracy, to bear away to Egypt; and when they had disembarked and were clad in brazen armour, went to the marshes to Psammetichus, and told him that men of brass, having arrived from the sea, were ravaging the plains. He perceiving that the oracle was accomplished, treated these Ionians and Ca ldans in a friendly manner, and having promised them great things, persuaded them to join with him,’’— Herodotus, Book 2, section 151.

Daniel 2:40

Daniel 2:40. The fourth and last one of the world kingdoms was the Roman Empire which Daniel describes as being strong as iron. This does not refer to the extent of territorial position, for all four of the kingdoms in the geneva! prediction were to be known, as world powers. The characteristic of iron attributed to the fourth one pertains to its power. On this point I shall quote a paragraph from an authentic work of reference: “ The last of the Old World empires was the one having Its capital on the seven hills of Rome. Like most of the others, it was the dominion of a single city; but, unlike others, it represented the conquests, not of a single conquering king, as Nebuchadnezzar or Cyrus, but of a SELF- AND PEOPLE; and, unlike its predecessors, It was not a loose aggregation of states, ready to fall apart as soon as the hand that fettered them was removed, but an empire, carefully welded together, building up in every land.

Its own civilization, and developing a national unity which held its possessions together for a thousand years.”— Rand McNally Bible Atlas. Edward Gibbon, author of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire says of it, “The frontiers of that extensive monarchy were guarded by ancient renown and disciplined valor. The gentle but influence of laws and manners had gradually cemented the union of the provinces.”— Chapter 1. The above estimates by the authentic writers fully justify the prediction of Daniel that the fourth kingdom was to be strong as iron, and that It would be able to break in pieces the elements of resistance which might be encountered by It in the world.

Daniel 2:41

Daniel 2:41. The Lord selected the form of a giant man for the imagery of this prediction in the vision of Nebuchadnezzar because it would serve certain features Of the subject better. In proceeding along that line we observe a being with ten toes which represents something that was a part of the Roman Empire. It refers to ten of the prominent governmental units that were incorporated within the Empire and that formed a great part of its strength. I shall reserve the more detailed comments on these ten governments until we reach the 7th ehap (er of this book. Shall be divided does not mean organic or bodily division, but was to be composed of two elements.

Daniel 2:42

Daniel 2:42. Tilts verse is much the same as the preceding one, but it adds the statement that the mixture of clay with the iron will cause the kingdom to be partly broken. That is from tebar and Strong’ s definition is, ‘‘ To be fragile.” That justifies the rendering of “brittle” that is in the margin of some Bibles, and Moffatt’ s version renders it by the same word. The thought is that, while the presence of Iron will make the kingdom strong, the mixture of clay will force it to have within itself the elements of weakness that will eventually cause it to fall.

Daniel 2:43

Daniel 2:43. Mixed and mingle both are derived from a word that Strong defines, “A primitive root; to braid, i.e., intermix; technically to traffic (as if by barter); also to give or be security (as a kind of exchange; to commingle.” Cleave is from debaq which the same lexicon defines, “To stick to.” Seed, of men is from an original that means human posterity, indicating that the “mingling” predicted was to he some human relationship, whether by business and political association, or by intermarriage. The above predictions are fully carried out in the vast historical field pertaining to the Roman Empire. It can be seen that (he Roman government and institutional life was infiltrated through the civilized world even in cases where the people did not surrender their personal traits. On the other hand, the Romans were also averse to losing their patriotic identity although they were striving to enlarge the power of Rome through the means of colonization, Hence we read in Acts 16:21 a complaint against the .Tews because they “Teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans,” In other words, the Roman Empire was eager to enlarge its borders by any means that would accomplish that purpose. That included war, colonization, political and commercial traffic, and marriage.

But so particular was (he empire to retain its own inherent character that the above relationships did not result in a genuine fusion or merging together of all the personalities that professed to embrace the Roman cause. This created an element of weakness that was destined finally to result in the decay of the empire.

Daniel 2:44

Daniel 2:44. A question that is susceptible of two answers calls for the consideration of both. These kings could mean those represented by the ten toes, or the entire four kingdoms represented by the giant man considered as a whole. Both would be correct, but the first is more specific since it was literally in course of the ten smaller divisions of the Roman Empire that the event occurred just here being predicted. One very important item which must not be overlooked is that She mentioned event was to take place while the Roman Empire was in its full power, not after it ceased to be. The great event consisted of the setting up of another kingdom, and its character is indicated by the fact that the Ood of heaven was to set it up, whereas the four world powers of the image had been set up by man.

It would seem scarcely necessary to state that this institution that was to be set up is the church or kingdom of Christ, set up by the God of heaven and delivered to His well beloved Son. Not left to other people was said in contrast with these kingdoms of the image, concerning which it was said that one was to come after the other, and history shows that was accomplished by the one in power being given over to another.

The kingdom of Christ will have no successor and hence it will stand forever. Break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms. Note that it was to destroy all these kingdoms, not just destroy kingdoms. True that is a distinction of Qnty one word, hut there is a vast amount of meaning in the distinction, for without it the prediction would be that all temporal governments were to be overthrown by the kingdom of Christ. That not only is not the prediction here, but it would contradict the teaching of the New Testament. Without taking apace by quoting the many lines that are in point, I shall Cite references that prove beyond any doubt that Christ endorses and expects man to have his own governments and that His servants are to be in subjection thereto. (See Romans 13: 16; 1 Timothy 2:13.) It is an unavoidable conclusion that God would not ask His servants to pray for an institution if the very one of which those servants are members was divinely intended to destroy the one to be prayed for.

But the key thought in the noted passage is that the kingdom that God was to set up would destroy these kingdoms, which means it would bring about the end of worldwide empires such as the four represented by the giant man. Neither does it mean that the church would destroy such empires by a direct and arbitrary attack on the very existence of such governments, but it was to accomplish that end through the principles of individual responsibility, and the inherent right of all human beings to have a part in their own government, that were to be taught by this kingdom of God and Christ, In proportion as men received this teaching thus offered to them through the kingdom which the Cfod, of heaven set up, they were to see that worldpowers with their stifling of individual rights were improper and they would rebel against them, which would result in their overthrow.

Such was the prediction which Daniel made and it was fulfilled according to history and other authentic sources to which the attention of the reader is next invited. 1 shall first make a quotation from Myers’ Ancient History (page 495) to show the influence that Christianity had on the Roman Empire. “It was in the midst of the reign of Tiberius that, in a remote province of the Roman Empire, the Saviour was crucified. Animated by an unparalleled missionary spirit, his followers traversed the length and breadth of the empire, preaching everywhere the ‘ glad tidings/ Men’ s faith in the gods of the old mythologies, the softening and liberalizing influence of Greek culture, the unification of the whole civilized world under a single government, the widespread suffering and the inexpressible weariness of the oppressed and servile classes,— all these things had prepared the soil for the seed of the new doctrines. In less than three centuries the pagan empire had become Christian not only in name but also very largely in fact. This conver sion of Rome is one of the most important events in all history. A new element is here introduced Into civilization. an element which has given color and character to the history of all succeeding centuries.” The next, historical information will be from Edward Gihbon, author of the famous Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Gibbon was an infidel and would not write anything with the motive or corroborating the scriptures.

But he was an authentic historian, and any testimony that comes from him that is favorable to the claims of the Bible will be valuable. In the first paragraph of his great history is the following statement: “During a happy period of more than fourscore years, the public administration was conducted by the virtue and abilities of Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, and the two Antonines.

It is the design of this, and of the two succeeding chapters, to describe the prosperous condition of their empire; and afterwards, from the death of Marcus Antonius, to deduce the most important circumstances of its decline and fall; a revolution which will ever be remembered, and is still felt by the nations of the earth.” (Emphasis mine, E.M.Z.) My purpose in this quotation is to show that the succeeding chapters of Gibbon’s work are histories of facts that he regarded as causes of the fall of the Roman Empire, the event that Daniel said was foreshown by the dream of Nebuchadnezzar. Among the causes of that “decline and fall,” Gibbon devotes two lengthy chapters (35 and 16) to the “ Progress of the Christian Religion,” and “The Conduct of the Roman Government Towards the Christians.” The mere fact of his devoting these t ,o chapters to an end which he declares is to show the causes of the fall of the Roman Empire is very significant, and impresses us with the truth of Daniel’s prediction. However, I deem it helpful to quote from the first paragraph of the 15th chapter: “ A candid but rational inquiry into the progress and establishment of Christianity may be considered as a very essential part of the historv of the Roman empire. While that great body was Invaded by open violence, or undermined by slow decay, a pure and humble religion gently insinuated itself into the minds of men, grew up in silence and obscurity, derived new vigor from opposition, and finally erected the triumphant banner of the Cross on the ruins of the Capitol.” in the third paragraph of this 15th chapter is tlie following: “ Our curiosity is naturally prompted to inquire by what means the Christian faith obtained so remarkable a victory over the established religions of the earth. To this inquiry an obvious but satisfactory answer may be returned; that it was owing to the convincing evidence of the doctrine itself, and to the ruling providence of its great Author.” The foregoing citations to history are sufficient to show that the principles brought to the world through the church or kingdom of Christ resulted in the downfall of the Roman Empire as predicted by Daniel. That was the fourth of the worldwide empires and it was to be tbe last.

Not that no one would ever desire and try to set up another; Napoleon, the German Kaiser and Hitler thought they could accomplish a universal rule, but all of them failed. And any other man or group of men who attempt to accomplish such a worldwide government are doomed to failure.

Daniel 2:45

Daniel 2:45. Mountain, is from TAWR and defined in the lexicon, “ A rock or hill.” Stones are often cut out from a bed of rock by some quarry instrument in the hands of a workman, but this one was seen to be extracted out of a hill of rock and no human worker was visible. The thought is intended to be a contrast with the kingdoms represented by the giant man, which were the productions of man. The stone and the kingdom that the God of heaven was to set up are the same Inasmuch as it was said of both that they were to smite amt destroy the giant image. Of course the church or kingdom of Christ is not a production of man, hence it was said to have been cut out without [human] hands. As thou saieest was to recall to Nebuchadnezzar the dream that he had, and since Daniel was able to do this, it was evidence to the king that the prophet knew what he was talking about. That constituted the assurance that both dream and interpretation were decreed by the Lord and would prove to be sure.

Daniel 2:46

Daniel 2:46. It was natural for the king to act as the account shows for gratitude alone would prompt it. And there would not be anything strained about his views of propriety seeing he had never known any kind of religious activities other t*±an those belonging to idolatry which usually involved some priest or other attendant to represent the deity being worshiped. Nebuchadnezzar had forgotten his dream, but there was nothing to prevent him from remembering it after Daniel recalled it for him. He could not know that the prediction would he fulfilled, but he could know whether the recalling of the dream was correct. He then employed the reasoning he had made with the Chaldeans in verse 9, and concluded that Daniel was a true magician and worthy of devotions.

But the record does not say that he accepted them, and we are sure he did not judging from his conduct at other times. Instead, he informed the king that it was not through any superior wisdom that he possessed that he could explain the situation, but that it was by the help of his God, This is indicated by the word answered in the following verse which is properly translated.

Daniel 2:47

Daniel 2:47. The king then acknowledged that Daniel’s God was greater than ail other gods or ruters. That meant that He had honored Daniel by enabling him to reveal this secret to the king.

Daniel 2:48

Daniel 2:48. Offering gifts to Daniel was on the same principle as those promised to the wise men in verse 6 and was proper. The king was eager to do something to show his appreciation for the favor that Daniel had shown him. Making him ruler over the province of Babylon means he was to manage the affairs, even having seniority over other managers, hut of course it would be under the jurisdiction of the king. There was a logical reason for offering such a position to him. The monarchs all had need of such subordinates in their dominions, and Daniel had shown that he possessed great wisdom and was qualified and worthy of such a trust

Daniel 2:49

Daniel 2:49. Daniel’ s unselfishness manifested itself again, and through his request the king gave the honor to the prophet’s three companions while he was content to remain at the court of the palace, ready to perform any service that might be desired. In thus passing the honor on to his friends Daniel gave a good example of the performance that Paul teaches in Romans 12:10.