Daniel 2

A careful study of the working out of God’s purpose in the history of nations and in the revelation of things to come, will help us to estimate at their true value things seen and things unseen, and to learn what is the true aim of life. Thus, viewing the things of time in the light of eternity, we may, like Daniel and his fellows, live for that which is true and noble and enduring. And learning in this life the principles of the kingdom of our Lord and Saviour, that blessed kingdom which is to endure for ever and ever, we may be prepared at His coming to enter with Him into its possession. PK 548.2

Dan 2:1 And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him.
Dan 2:2 Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to shew the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king.
Dan 2:3 And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream.
Dan 2:4 Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriack, O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation.

What two things did the king want from his wise men?

Dan 2:5 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.

Note: King Nebuchadnezzar had the kind of power that if he wanted to, he would make a command for a person he doesn’t like and their family to be cut up, for their house to be turned into a place where donkey’s go to the bathroom, and it would happen without resistance. That’s the kind of power he had. He was the most powerful man in the world.

Dan 2:6 But if ye shew the dream, and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honour: therefore shew me the dream, and the interpretation thereof.
Dan 2:7 They answered again and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation of it.
Dan 2:8 The king answered and said, I know of certainty that ye would gain the time, because ye see the thing is gone from me.

Note: If the king told the wise men the dream, they could counsel together and make up any interpretation they please. It would all be a trick. Therefore Nebuchadnezzar demanded the dream too. If a man could tell king Nebuchadnezzar the dream without being told it first, then the king would know for certain he truly can give the true interpretation

Dan 2:9 But if ye will not make known unto me the dream, there is but one decree 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 shew me the interpretation thereof.
Dan 2:10 The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can shew the king’s matter: therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean.
Dan 2:11 And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.

These wise men were on the the kings payroll for this exact reason. They all claimed to be connected with the “gods”. This wasn’t an unreasonable request because the king is paying these wise men large paychecks to do this very thing. But wisdom of the world can never understand divine matters.

Dan 2:12 For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.
Dan 2:13 And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain.
Dan 2:14 Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch the captain of the king’s guard, which was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon:
Dan 2:15 He answered and said to Arioch the king’s captain, Why is the decree so hasty from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.
Dan 2:16 Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would shew the king the interpretation.
Dan 2:17 Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions:

Where did Daniel and his friends go for this weighty request?

Dan 2:18 That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

Note: They wanted the interpretation of the dream so they went to God in prayer to understand “this secret”.

What does God reveal to his servants the prophets?

Amo 3:7 Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.

What do prophets do? Prophecy. So what ever this dream that the king has is dealing with prophecy.

When the prophecy was revealed to daniel what was his response?

Dan 2:19 Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
Dan 2:20 Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his:
Dan 2:21 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 know understanding:
Dan 2:22 He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.
Dan 2:23 I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast now made known unto us the king’s matter.
Dan 2:24 Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him; Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will shew unto the king the interpretation.
Dan 2:25 Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation.

What two things did the king ask if Daniel could make known to the king?

Dan 2:26 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?

When asked if Daniel could say the dream and the interpretation how did Daniel respond?

Dan 2:27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king;

Note: Daniel was considered in Babylon one of the wise men, by saying none of the wise men are able to show what the king is demanding he is clearing including himself also. Daniel makes it plain that he nor any other of the wise men or any man on earth is able to explain the prophecies but rather Daniel directs the king’s mind to the true “God in heaven” while taking no credit for himself first.

What time in Earth’s history is this prophecy for?

Dan 2:28 But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these;

Note: This prophecy is going to take us from Babylon all the way to the latter days. Though this prophecy was given over 600 years Before Christ we see that the reason of this prophecy is to show us what will happen in the last days. Even though it was written in their time, the primary purpose for this prophecy is for us living at the end of the world.

Dan 2:29 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 maketh known to thee what shall come to pass.
Dan 2:30 But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.

This is the dream.

Dan 2:31 Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible.
Dan 2:32 This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass,
Dan 2:33 His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.
Dan 2:34 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.
Dan 2:35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

This is the interpretation.

Dan 2:36 This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.
Dan 2:37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.
Dan 2:38 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.

Does the head of Gold represent the individual king or the kingdom he rules over? It represents his kingdom.

What does God use to when he ministers prophecy?

Hos 12:10 I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and used similitudes, by the ministry of the prophets.

What is a similitude?

Jas 3:9 Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.

Note: Man was made after the similitude of God.

What other two words did God use to say we were made after the similitude of God?

Gen 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

We were made after the similitude of God but Genesis says we were made after God’s image, and His likeness. Therefore a similitude is an image, likeness, symbol, or representation. The word Similitude is where we get the word simile. simile means comparing two things using like or as. Hosea 12:10 says God uses similitudes, symbols, respresentations when giving us prophecy.

Is Daniel only dealing with King Nebuchednezzar as being represented by gold?

Dan 2:38 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.

Note: No you cannot separate a king from his kingdom. When Daniel is speaking to the king saying you are the head of Gold he’s saying

How do we know Daniel is not just dealing with the king?

Dan 2:39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.

Not just Daniel 2 but the Bible represents the kingdom of Babylon as being gold.

Isa 14:4 That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!

Jeremiah does too.

Jer 51:7 Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD’S hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.

538 BC the head is no longer a nation.

Who is the silver kingdom?

Dan 2:39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.
Dan 5:25 And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.
Dan 5:26 This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.
Dan 5:27 TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.
Dan 5:28 PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.
Dan 5:29 Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.
Dan 5:30 In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain.
Dan 5:31 And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.

Babylon comes to it’s end in 538, then Medopersia becomes a nation. Interesting fact: Medopersia required all taxes to be paid in silver alone. Because of its extensive tax system (see Ezr 4:13) Medopersia accumulated enough silver to be distinguished by historians for their abundance of silver.

Isaiah prophecied the event of the fall of Babylon.

Isa 44:26 That confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof:
Isa 44:27 That saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers:
Isa 44:28 That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.
Isa 45:1 Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut;
Isa 45:2 I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron:

Note: 150 years before Cyrus the King of Persian is born is born, God prophesied by name who will cause Babylon to fall and how. Notice Cyrus was to subdue nations, loose the loins of kings, and render gates of brass useless.

Was this fulfilled during the fall of Babylon?

Dan 5:3 Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them.
Dan 5:4 They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.
Dan 5:5 In the same hour came forth fingers of a man’s hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king’s palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.
Dan 5:6 Then the king’s countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another.
Dan 5:7 The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and shew me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.

Note: After desecrating the holy vessels from the Lord’s sanctuary by a drunken party. That was the last straw. King Belshazzar the most powerful ruler in all the world saw a bloodless hand write on the wall “MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.” and it caused his knees to hit each other and he lost his bowls and peed himself. Just as prophesied in Isa 45.

What about the brass gates?

The city of Babylon was situated on the river Euphrates. It had great walls that were so 56 miles long, and over 300 feet high, and wide enough for two chariots to race side by side, if besieged Babylon had enough food to supply them for several years, because the river Euphrates flowed through Babylon the city had an unlimited supply of water. The city was impregnable. The size of the Medes and Persian army was quite small for a war against Babylon. The city had 25 large brass gates on each side, 100 gates total. They protected the city from any foreign invaders. Because it was impossible for the Medes and Persians army to take the city by force, they went up stream and dug canals to divert the river Euphrates away. At the signal, the Medo-Persian forces dried up and diverted the river upstream until the river was low enough to reach a man’s thigh. In one night during the drunken feast, the Medes and Persians stormed the city by marching under the thick brass gates, slaughtered the Lords, slayed King Belshazzar, and overthrew Babylon. In 548 BC the head of gold was overthrown by “another kingdom inferior to thee”.

Dan 2:45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.

After Medo-Persian which kingdom ruled

Dan 8:20 The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia.
Dan 8:21 And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.

Babylon: 677-538

Medopersia 538-332

Grecia: 332-158

How much of the world do these kingdoms bear rule over?

Dan 2:39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.

Note: Each of the metals are not dealing just with any kingdom, country, or nation but rather a delineation of consecutive nations that will and has had universal and world wide dominion. Another interesting fact, Greece is here represented as brass. The Greek army is famous for their “men of bronze”. They made bronze weapons, armor, stattues, vessels, and the brazzen bulls. Greece was the brazen clad army. A fit representation of the kingdom of Grecia.

Which Kingdom comes next?

Dan 2:40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.
Dan 2:33 His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.
We’re now in the legs of Iron. Greece was the last kingdom ruling in the old testament, which kingdom was ruling the world in new testament?
Luk 2:1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.

If this Caesar was able to send out a decree and the very next day the entire world was to be taxed. Obviously this Caesar rules the world. But what nation do we find in history that had the Caeser’s?

Act 11:28 And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.
Act 18:2 And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome and came unto them.

Claudius Caesar had the power command all the Jews to leave the nation of Rome. We learned who ever was the Caesar was also the ruler of the world. If Claudius Caesar is the ruler of Rome. Then Rome must be the Iron kingdom that rules over all the realms.

Babylon: 677-538

Medo-Persia: 538-332

Grecia: 332-158

Rome: 158

What is the next kingdom that is to rule over all the world?

Dan 2:41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.

Note: Found within the time of the feet you still have iron all the way down to the toes. But at the same time you find clay mingled together with the iron. But you have two types of clay mentioned. You see together “potter’s clay” and “miry clay”.

Let us see what iron represents in the Bible.

Rev 2:26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
Rev 2:27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.
What type of power rules over nations? Civil power or religious power? Civil
Rev 19:15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

Note: Again you see iron as a ruling power, which only a political power has the ability to rule. So you see iron represents statecraft.

Let’s see what clay represents in the Bible.

Isa 64:8 But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.

Who is speaking to the Lord? God’s people, his church. “We are the clay,”. Iron represents statecraft while clay represents churchcraft. But more specifically “potter’s clay” represents God’s people, his pure church.

Jer 18:6 O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.

In the time of the feet of iron and clay is displayed by a mixture of church and state being united. Who would rule the world in the time of the end? The church and state would rule the world.

Mingled with the Potter’s clay and iron you see miry clay. What does miry mean?

2Pe 2:20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.

Whose being spoken of in this context? God’s people who fall away from the truth.

2Pe 2:21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
2Pe 2:22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

When a sow or pig gets clean then it immediately goes back to the mire. But we don’t use that word anymore. We know pigs roll around in the mud. Miry means dirty. Miry clay is dirty clay. It’s a dirty religion. The Roman power is still at large. Iron or Roman power extends all the way to the toes except now it has taken on Christianity.

What else is spoken of in the Bible about this miry clay?

Psa 40:2 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.

Note: David is speaking. David is taken out of the miry clay and then establishes his feet upon a rock. When he was still standing in the miry clay his feet were not on the rock. Who is the Rock? The Rock is Jesus, the miry clay religion is a church power that is not founded on Jesus.

Though all other kingdoms have another metal following the last showing they get conquered by another kingdom, how are the feet represented?

Dan 2:42 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.

Note: This kingdom doesn’t get conquered by another kingdom but rather he is broken or divided. That’s exactly what happens with Rome, at the same time church and state are coming together the kingdom of Rome falls apart. Because national apostasy is followed by national ruin. How many toes does the average man have? Would it be safe to say this metal image has ten toes as well? Did you Rome was divided into ten barbarian tribes? If you look just bellow the Metal image you’ll see ten pieces of the metal image’s feet titled “THE TEN KINGDOMS” There you’ll read the following ten barbaric tribes,

Did God prophecy that the divisions of Rome would ever unite together again?

Dan 2:43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.

Note: The Bible is very clear, these ten nation would never cleave or unite one to another. Though many people have tried to unite Europe such as Napoleon, Hitler, Satlin, and others. The Bible clearly says all attempts to reunite Europe together will fail. The reason why Hitler failed is because God’s word said he would. Did you know Napoleon during the French Revolution was actually shown this very prophecy from the Bible. After seeing the prophecy Napoleon took the Bible and threw it across the room. He endeavored to do it anyways. Also did you know before the French Revolution there was no such thing as atheism? Before this every country in the world believed in God. The only depiction of God that France had was that which was painted of God by the church during the Dark Ages. This lead men to want nothing to do with God and ultimately reject is existence entirely. Napoleon set out in defiance to God and his Word, but of course he did not succeed. When Napoleon failed to reunite the nations, before he died, he was found saying the statement “I failed God is more powerful than me.”

After the time of the feet of iron and clay who’s kingdom is set up and how long shall it stand?

Dan 2:44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
Dan 2:35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

Note: After this kingdom no other kingdom comes follows.

What did the stone which destroys the image and becomes a great mountain represent?

Mic 4:6 In that day, saith the LORD, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted;
Mic 4:7 And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the LORD shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever.

This is Christ second coming. Christ the true rock is coming next and when he does he will destroy the former kingdoms and things. He will set up his great kingdom which will never be overthrown by another nation, and Christ will be our God and our King of kings throughout eternity and evermore.

What is the dream and interpretation?

Dan 2:45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.