#1201 Daniel 2 Part 3 The Interpretation From Gold To Terracotta

 

31 “You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. 32 The head of this image was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. 34 As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.

36 “This was the dream. Now we will tell the king its interpretation. 37 You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, 38 and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all—you are the head of gold. 39 Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. 40 And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall break and crush all these. 41 And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. 43 As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage, but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. 44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever, 45 just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.”

Daniel Is Promoted

46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and paid homage to Daniel, and commanded that an offering and incense be offered up to him. 47 The king answered and said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery.” 48 Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. 49 Daniel made a request of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon. But Daniel remained at the king's court. Daniel 2: 31-49 ESV

Daniel 2: 31-49 The Dream and It's Interpretation

…23How miserable those days will be for pregnant and nursing mothers! For there will be great distress upon the land and wrath against this people. 24 They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive into all the nations. And Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. 25There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among the nations, bewildered by the roaring of the sea and the surging of the waves.… Luke 21: 23-25

You saw, O king, and behold, a great image - Now we remember that Nebuchadnezzar had forgotten his dream, and it was put out to the wise men, the magicians and the Chaldeans that he wanted an interpretation of his dream, but they also had to tell him what the dream entailed. If they could not then he considered them phonies, liars, and the punishment for not meeting the expectation was death. Daniel has, with his friends, gone and sought the favor of the God of heaven through prayer. God has answered him by revealing Nebuchadnezzar's dream, and now Daniel is simply telling the king what he saw in that dream. I think the king was pondering his legacy and what things would come after him, and I think this becomes more obvious when he builds a statue later and demands that it be worshiped. Behold, he says, like "look" or "wonder of wonders, wow, see here, pay attention." He saw a great image, a statue, and it was in the form of a man, fittingly, as this will mark the beginning of the humanist "time of the gentiles". 

Exceeding brightness - We will see that this image, statue, is made up mostly of different metals.

And its appearance was frightening - Notice, Daniel didn't say, "it's appearance frightened you", but I'm sure it did, and again he was losing sleep over these dreams and willing to kill not only the captive wise men, but also his own countrymen, the Chaldeans. 

Side note: Abraham was from Ur of the Chaldeans, this is the land of Babel (Babylon), so when it mentions the Chaldeans separately, it is because they hold a place of preeminence by their birth or lineage. There were other similar situations in the middle, near and even far east. Joseph rose to a position of power in Egypt, yet it was considered taboo to the Egyptians to eat with a Hebrew. I have watched documentaries on China and the different ethnic groups there, and it was interesting that there was a group of people in western China that even exhibited blond hair. What was fascinating about it was the reaction of those around them, even relatives, they openly showed preference to those who looked more like the 90% of the country that identify with the ethnic group called the Hans. One woman, when asked, told her preference for dark hair and brown eyes, and stated that she would not want her children to look like the blond Chinese that were standing there listening to her. Even Nebuchadnezzar's own people were not safe from him in this; it has had a deep effect on him.

Gold, silver, bronze, iron, iron mixed with clay - J Mac, out of curiosity, looked up the specific gravity of these metals, and as you work your way down, you realize this is a really top heavy structure with a serious weak point at it's base, since the iron has been mixed with clay. Gold is your most rare and valuable, also the most pliable, silver the next and also next in value, bronze and then iron. Bronze was valuable in war, but then as we make our way down each metal becomes less pliable, less valuable, but stronger. Iron being the strongest.

Fruchtenbaum observes that the metals "increase in strength; but second, they decrease in value. The fulfillment will be in the decrease of the character of authority and rule: Babylon was an absolute monarchy with the monarch above the law; with Medo-Persia the monarch was not above the law and he did not have the authority to change his own decrees (cp Da 6:8, 11, 12, 15); the Hellenic kings had no dynastic or royal right to rule, and ruled by force of conquest and personal gifts; and Roman imperialism was a republic which degenerated into mob rule merging with the imperial form of government. Yet there will be an increase in strength of one empire over the other." (Fruchtenbaum, A. G. The Footsteps of the Messiah: A Study of the Sequence of Prophetic Events. 2003. Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries)

A stone was cut out by no human hand - This is Christ, the chief cornerstone, the stone the builders rejected. He was the Son of God, born of a virgin, a priest in the order of Melchizedek, born without sin, Holy. He was placed in the womb of Mary by the Holy Spirit. Those that believe in Him are also born not of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but like Peter, born again by the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit, and Christ is revealed to them and in them by the call of God in election. In Matthew 16 Jesus was not making Peter into a pope, for there is no such thing, this was not the start of the papacy, but the revelation of that which is born from above. You must be born again. 

…21I will give You thanks, for You have answered me, and You have become my salvation. 22The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. 23This is from the LORD, and it is marvelous in our eyes.… Psalm 118: 21-23

…15For you said, “We have made a covenant with death; we have fashioned an agreement with Sheol. When the overwhelming scourge passes through it will not touch us, because we have made lies our refuge and falsehood our hiding place.” 16So this is what the Lord GOD says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will never be shaken. 17I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the level. Hail will sweep away your refuge of lies, and water will flood your hiding place.… Isaiah 28: 15-17

…10then let this be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11This Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ 12Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”… Acts 4: 10-12

…17Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by My Father in heaven. 18And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. 19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”… Matthew 16: 17-19

…6For it stands in Scripture: “See, I lay in Zion a stone, a chosen and precious cornerstone; and the one who believes in Him will never be put to shame.” 7To you who believe, then, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” 8and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word—and to this they were appointed.… 1 Peter 2: 6-8

And it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay - This stone destroys the world's systems, the rule of men. He brings the time of the gentiles to an end.

14The second woe has passed. Behold, the third woe is coming shortly. 15Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and loud voices called out in heaven: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.” 16And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God,… Revelation 11: 14-16

…8Ask Me, and I will make the nations Your inheritance, the ends of the earth Your possession. 9You will break them with an iron scepter; You will shatter them like pottery.” 10Therefore be wise, O kings; be admonished, O judges of the earth.…

…11Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12Kiss the Son, lest He be angry and you perish in your rebellion, when His wrath ignites in an instant. Blessed are all who take refuge in Him. Psalm 2: 8-12

But the stone...became a great mountain - This stone replaces the rule of men, the kingdoms that reign during the time of the gentiles. Mountains are symbolic of rule, of kingdoms in the Bible. Jesus Christ will destroy the final kingdom of Antichrist and set up His Millennial Kingdom which will have it's headquarters in Jerusalem but encompass the whole earth.

Became a great mountain - This must be figurative language because it would be difficult to conceive of a great mountain filling the whole earth! And by comparing Scripture with Scripture we know that mountain is sometimes used figuratively to depict a kingdom. In fact, if we compare Da 2:35 with Daniel's description in Da 2:44 clearly parallels great mountain with a kingdom which will never be destroyed. So while great mountain is clearly figurative (a metaphor), remember that figurative language always has a literal meaning. In this context mountain clearly refers to a literal kingdom that will fill the entire earth, a truth which argues against those systems of belief (eg, Replacement Theology) that teach this refers to an invisible spiritual kingdom. (See discussion regarding The Arrival of God’s Kingdom)

…9This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. 10There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for only a little while. 11The beast that was, and now is not, is an eighth king, who belongs to the other seven and is going into destruction.…  Revelation 17: 9-11

1 In the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and the peoples will stream to it. 2And many nations will come and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways, so that we may walk in His paths.” For the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.… Micah 4: 1-2

This was the dream - So Daniel has completed the first part and I have already added some notes to it's explanation. He recalled the dream for the king, now he has to give an interpretation. 

The king of kings - This is how God is referring to Nebuchadnezzar, and not just as a tidal king, which means over nations with vassal rulers, that is part of it, but he is also the first part of the rule of the gentiles, when Israel no longer has it's own sovereignty or autonomy. 

…6and the villages on her mainland will be slain by the sword. Then they will know that I am the LORD.’ 7For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I will bring against Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots, with cavalry and a great company of troops. 8He will slaughter the villages of your mainland with the sword; he will set up siege works against you, build a ramp to your walls, and raise his shields against you.… Ezekiel 26: 6-8

And into whose hands he has given, wherever they dwell - Nebuchadnezzar was given rule of the earth, whatever he could manage.

You are the head of gold - That answers the gold part, and this probably went straight to a certain king's head. I hope you can see the timelessness of this; the first major humanist religion, uprising against God, came from the land of Babylon, the tower of Babel, and every kingdom of the earth has also come from there. When I say the applications from Daniel are timeless, well we are in the time of the gentiles, and I think we are near the end of it. Babylon is the head of gold, but when the prophet John speaks of the end of times, the end of the time of the gentiles, we have an economic system referred to as Babylon the Great, mother of harlots and another religious system called mystery Babylon. All the world's apostasy, false religions, humanism, atheism, has all flowed out of Babel. Daniel isn't just for OT readers, he is covering history from Babylon all the way to Christ's coming kingdom. 

Garland has an interesting comment on king of kings ("the king from (among other) kings") - This phrase designates the highest ruling authority on earth: not just any king, but the king among all kings. If we know the Scriptures, we immediately sense an historical tension because God previously promised this honor for a ruler seated upon the throne of David. "I have found My servant David; With My holy oil I have anointed him… I will make him My firstborn, The highest of the kings of the earth." (Ps 89:20, 27) If the Davidic rulers had been obedient to exercise righteous rule (1Ki 10:9; 2Chr. 9:8), this right would never have been transferred into Gentile hands. But, due to the ongoing sin of the rulers in the line of David, God had taken away their position as the highest king, invested with divine authority, and transferred it to Nebuchadnezzar. This is the condition prevailing during the Times of the Gentiles. At the end of the Times of the Gentiles, when the stone strikes the image, dominion will once again return to a man seated on the throne of David. The man’s Name is Jesus the Christ, Who is the only true Potentate, “the King of kings and Lord of lords” (1Ti. 6:15; Rev. 17:14-note; 19:16-note). - Garland quoted in Precept Austin

Another kingdom inferior to you shall rise after you - This is the silver and Daniel doesn't give a lot of details, some think to keep Nebuchadnezzar from going after Medo-Persia. Daniel is a student of scripture though, as we will continue to see, and the prophet Isaiah has already prophesied the coming of the Persian king, Cyrus. Gold is more precious than silver, yet the Persian kingdom will be bigger and stronger, yet it's rule will be more broken up, a Persian king cannot change a law that he or another Persian king has mandated. Nebuchadnezzar is well represented as the head, because he made all the decisions and could go back easily on his previous word. In other words, he did not answer to any laws.

…27who says to the depths of the sea, ‘Be dry, and I will dry up your currents,’ 28who says of Cyrus, ‘My shepherd will fulfill all that I desire,’ who says of Jerusalem, ‘She will be rebuilt,’ and of the temple, ‘Let its foundation be laid.’” Isaiah 44: 27-28

1This is what the LORD says to Cyrus His anointed, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him, to disarm kings, to open the doors before him, so that the gates will not be shut: 2“I will go before you and level the mountains; I will break down the gates of bronze and cut through the bars of iron. 3I will give you the treasures of darkness and the riches hidden in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who calls you by name.… Isaiah 45: 1-3

A third kingdom of bronze - This takes us up to  Greece, and the next line is, "which shall rule over all the earth". This is the title by which Alexander the Great called himself, first king of Greece, then when he conquered Persia, king of Persia, then Asia, and eventually king of all the earth. Greece is described as the leopard with wings, and the speed at which Alexander conquered the known world was extraordinary, and he died in his thirties. He ruled an area covering Europe then east to India and south to North Africa where there is a city named after him in Egypt, called Alexandria. His kingdom was split in four parts under the rule of his four generals, but they could not stand against Rome.

It’s characterized by bronze, I think, for other reasons. One writer says this. “It is easy to imagine what an astonishing impression the Greeks must’ve made on the civilized world. Consider the contrast between their soldiers and the soldiers of the Persian army.” They knocked off the Medo-Persian Empire. Had you seen a soldier of Media or Persia in the days when they controlled the civilized world, he would have looked like this. Here’s what a Medo-Persian soldier looked like. On his head would have been a soft turban. He would have been clothed with a tunic with sleeves and trousers full and long. That would have been a Medo-Persian soldier.

But when you saw a Greek soldier, he would have had on his head a helmet of brass, on his body a breastplate of brass. Before him he would be carrying a shield of brass and, believe it or not, a sword made out of brass. That is why the classic writers of ancient days refer to the brazen-coated Greeks. Brass became a sign and symbol of Greek conquests and the Greek empire. Gold, why? Because Nebuchadnezzar was preoccupied with gold. Silver, why? Because the Meads and the Persians were preoccupied with silver. Brass, why? Because it symbolized the power of the forces of Alexander the Great. - J Mac

The head… fine gold - Gold = Da 2:32, 38 = Lion Da 7:4 = Nebuchadnezzar (Babylon) (It began approximately 605BC when Nebuchadnezzar defeated the Assyrians and the Egyptians at the Battle of Carchemish and it fell in 539 BC - See Da 5:28, cp Da 8:20, 21, 22) (See Wikipedia article Neo-Babylonian Empire)

Breast and its arms - Silver = Da 2:32,39; Bear = Da 7:5; Ram = Da 8:6, 20 = Media & Persia (539-331 BC)

Its belly and its thighs - Bronze = Da 2:32, 39; Leopard Da 7:6; Male, Shaggy Goat = Da 8:8,21 = Greece under Alexander the Great (331-63 BC) - Precept Austin

Strong as iron - This is Rome, and no other kingdom has lasted so long, she is the two legs of iron, but also we shall see a revived Roman empire, the ten toes of iron mixed with clay, very short lived. Iron is the strongest of the medals, but might does not make right, and she is part of the continuing downward spiral of humanity. The original Roman empire was the longest lasting world empire. Iron represented her military might and also the force by which she ruled. These are the people who used crucifixion, yet had the slowness of a Republic. This was who was in charge during the time of Christ's first coming. 

A fourth kingdom - While this kingdom is not named in Daniel from history we know this to be the Roman Empire, larger, stronger and longer lasting than the 3 preceding kingdoms. Unlike the 3 preceding kingdoms, the Roman Empire fell both internally (moral collapse) and externally (Barbarian invasion). Also unique is that there is no absolutely definite date of its fall as there is with the other 3 kingdoms. - Precept Austin

Fred Barshaw gave me a very interesting article this week and I want to share it with you. It says the following was written by Professor Alexander Tyler nearly 200 years ago while our 13 original colonies were still a part of Great Britain. In fact, Tyler was at the time writing about the fall of the Athenian Republic over 2,000 years earlier. This is what he said and I'm quoting. “A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy always followed by dictatorship.

“The average age,” – says Tyler – “of the world’s greatest civilizations has been 200 years.” For us, that was 1976. “These nations have progressed through the following sequence” - now listen to this - “from bondage to spiritual faith, from spiritual faith to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency, from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependency, and from dependency back into bondage.”

Every nation follows the same cycle. And democracy seems to follow it just as fast or in some cases faster than any other form of government. By the way, it might shock you to know that democracy is not God’s form of government. God’s form is theocracy where one person rules, and that person is God. The world today then is simply going through the same cycles of dissolution that it has always endured. We can see the seeds of dissolution very, very manifested. - J Mac

And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay - Partly strong and partly brittle, and it's power is divided to ten kings, hence the 10 toes. 

…2She was pregnant and crying out in the pain and agony of giving birth. 3Then another sign appeared in heaven: a huge red dragon with seven heads, ten horns, and seven royal crowns on his heads. 4His tail swept a third of the stars from the sky, tossing them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, ready to devour her child as soon as she gave birth.… Revelation 12: 2-4

1Then I saw a beast with ten horns and seven heads rising out of the sea. There were ten royal crowns on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. 2The beast I saw was like a leopard, with the feet of a bear and the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.… Revelation 13: 1-2

…11The beast that was, and now is not, is an eighth king, who belongs to the other seven and is going into destruction. 12 The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but will receive one hour of authority as kings, along with the beast. 13These kings have one purpose: to yield their power and authority to the beast.… Revelation 17: 11-13

You say, “What’s the importance of that?” Because the weakness appears only in the final form. They were strong once. But in the final form, there’s going to be weakness, great weakness. And what is the weakness? Verse 43 says, “The clay is the seed of men.” What does that mean? What does that mean? Well, all kinds of scholars have played around with it and I don’t want to say that I know the absolute answer. But I’m going to give you what I think is best. You know what I think it means? I think it refers simply to human beings. I think the problem in the final form of the Roman Empire is going to be that there are too many people involved in the issues.

Solidarity will be lost in the final Roman Empire. It will be mixed. There will be a decay, a lack of solidarity. In fact, Robert Culver, who has done some marvelous work in this area of Scripture, says, “The clay represents the ultimate in debasement of the character of sovereignty.” At the top of the image is the gold head. That’s not an empire, that’s the only one of the four that he says is a man. That’s you, Nebuchadnezzar. In other words, the Babylonian Empire was solidarity personified because one man called all the shots. As you go down, it gets more diverse and more diverse and more diverse. And the more diverse government gets - watch this - the more you have problems with it. - J Mac

The dream is certain and it's interpretation sure - All these worldly kingdoms are going to come to an end, and Christ is going to come and set up His kingdom. 

…8The infant will play by the cobra’s den, and the toddler will reach into the viper’s nest. 9They will neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the sea is full of water. 10On that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples. The nations will seek Him, and His place of rest will be glorious.… Isaiah 11: 8-10

Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings - Many will say this, all will acknowledge it one day, but many will say, "Lord, Lord", every knee will bow and tongue confess, yet as we will see with Nebuchadnezzar, it is one thing to intellectually assent to the fact that God is God. Old Neb is a fickle one, but God isn't done with him. 

Chief prefect over the wise men - A ruler over Babylon, and this is smart on the kings part, he takes the wisest and puts him over the wise. Maybe they will learn something, and Daniel is smart, for he appoints his 3 loyal companions, and what amazing choices they were.