Daniel\nwas a teenage captive in Babylon when God gave King Nebuchadnezzar a disturbing\ndream (Daniel 2). It became a nightmare when he could not remember it or\nunderstand its mysterious meaning. Tormented, he demanded his wise men tell him\nboth the dream and its interpretation. When they failed, he furiously ordered\nthem all to be executed, including Daniel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Arioch,\nthe captain of the king\u2019s guard, delivered the dreadful news. Arioch means\n\u201clion-like\u201d and is a fitting type of our adversary who roams about \u201cas a\nroaring lion, seeking whom he may devour\u201d<\/em> (1 Pt. 5:8). Satan is an\nexecutioner who seeks to steal, kill, and destroy men\u2019s souls. What do you do\nwhen a lion tries to destroy you? Do what Daniel did\u2014appeal to a bigger lion,\nthe Lion of the Tribe of Judah! When Daniel prayed, God answered by giving him\nthe same dream Nebuchadnezzar had (Dan. 2:17-19). Daniel showed class and\ncharacter by appealing for all the wise men of Babylon be spared instead of\njust saving his own skin (Dan. 2:24).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Daniel\nrushed to the palace where he told the king\u2019s dream in vivid detail: \u201cYou, O king, were watching; and\nbehold, a great image! . . . This image\u2019s head was of fine gold, its chest and\narms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet\npartly of iron and partly of clay. You watched while a stone was cut out\nwithout hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke\nthem in pieces . . . And the stone that struck the image became a great\nmountain and filled the whole earth\u201d<\/em> (Dan. 2:31-35). <\/p>\n\n\n\n This metallic image depicted the\nfour major empires that ruled the world in Bible times plus one future kingdom\nto come. Nebuchadnezzar saw these kingdoms as an image of coveted metals\nbecause, from man\u2019s perspective, earthly kingdoms are impressive. Daniel later\nsaw them as ferocious beasts because, from God\u2019s perspective, earthly kingdoms\nare wild and destructive (Dan. 7:3, 17). While man\u2019s kingdoms seem powerful,\nwealthy, and glorious, they have an ugly, beastly nature. They are cruel,\ncorrupt, bloodthirsty, power hungry, and brutal. Man\u2019s kingdoms are built by\nconquest, war, and bloodshed, and on the sweat, tears, and taxes of their subjects.\nGod\u2019s kingdom, in contrast, is built on the lamb-like nature of His agape love.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n The five kingdoms were represented\nby one image in the dream because they are all of the same spirit. One thing\nmany Gentile kingdoms have in common is their hatred for and persecution\nagainst Jews and Christians\u2014from the Pharoah\u2019s of ancient Egypt who enslaved\nand killed the Hebrews, to the Caesars of Rome who executed Christians for\nsport, to the hellish deathcamps of Hitler\u2019s Nazis regime, to the killing of\nChristians by Muslim extremists today. The same sinister spirit spurs the\nracial hatred of white supremacists, the KKK, neo-Nazis, Antifa, ISIS,\nJihadists, and other radical groups. This demonic hatred is fueled by the\nspirit of Antichrist which pervades this fallen world (1 Jn. 2:18; 4:3).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Daniel told King Nebuchadnezzar, \u201cYou\nare this head of gold\u201d<\/em> (Dan. 2:38). God allowed him to build a splendid\nkingdom, unprecedented in its power, wealth, scope, and scale. Ancient Babylon\nwas situated 30 miles southwest of present-day Bagdad, Iraq. It was protected\nby massive walls featuring 100 gates of brass and 250 watchtowers. The famous Ishtar\nGate<\/em> was decorated with enameled dragons, bulls, and lions. The Euphrates\nRiver ran under the wall dividing the city into two parts. The Ziggurat<\/em>,\na seven-story, pyramid-shaped temple to Merodach, was one of over fifty temples\nand was supposedly the rebuilt Tower of Babel. Nebuchadnezzar also built the Hanging\nGardens<\/em>, one of the seven ancient wonders of the world, for his wife,\nAmyitis. This multi-tiered palace featured lush vegetation on its terraces,\nluxury apartments, and an elaborate irrigation system. Babylon became the envy\nof the world during Nebuchadnezzar\u2019s 43-year reign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAfter you shall arise another\nkingdom inferior to yours\u201d<\/em>\n<\/strong>(Dan. 2:39). The chest and arms of\nsilver on the image represented the Medo-Persian empire. They captured Babylon\nby re-routing the Euphrates River and invading the city under the wall via the\nriverbed. This happened on the very night Daniel interpreted the divine,\nhandwritten message on the wall to King Belshazzar (Dan. 5:25-31). Just as\nsilver is inferior to gold, Persia was inferior to Babylon. Babylon was run by\nthe absolute rule of kings, whereas the Medes and Persians were a law-governed people.\nFor instance, King Darius was powerless to overturn the law he signed that sent\nDaniel to the lion\u2019s den for praying (Dan. 6:5, 8-10, 15). The two arms on the\nimage symbolize the two people groups involved which alternated kings\u2014the first\nwas Darius, a Median, who was succeeded by Cyrus, a Persian, and so on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThen another, a third kingdom of\nbronze, which shall rule over all the earth\u201d<\/em>\n(Dan. 2:39). The belly and thighs of brass on the image represented the Grecian\nEmpire, led by Alexander the Great. It overthrew the Persian Empire in 331 B.C.\nand possessed more territory than its predecessors. After Phillip II, King of\nMacedon, was assassinated in 336 B.C., his son, Alexander, took the world by\nstorm. Some say he wept when there was nothing left to conquer. In the summer\nof 323 B.C., he contracted fever and died at age 32. Without a clear successor,\nhis power was divided among his four generals (Dan. 8:5-8, 21-22) and the\nGrecian Empire slowly declined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe\nfourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron . . . that kingdom will break in\npieces and crush all the others\u201d<\/em> (Dan. 2:40). The legs of iron on the image\nrepresent the Roman Empire. Just as legs contain the strongest bones and\nmuscles in the body and as iron is stronger than most other metals, Rome was\nthe strongest of these kingdoms. By sheer military might and brute force they crushed\ntheir opponents into submission. They were extremely barbaric and cruel, crucifying\nhundreds of thousands of their enemies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All\nthe kingdoms mentioned so far are history to us but, remember, it was prophecy\nto Daniel. This dream has already been fulfilled\u2014except for the final part. A\nfifth and unnamed kingdom is symbolized by the feet of iron mixed with clay\nwhich will rise to power in the last days (Dan. 2:41-43). Eschatology experts\nbelieve the ten toes on the feet of the image represent ten kings who will ally\nwith the Antichrist. (Some scholars believe they correspond to the ten horns on\nthe dragon of Revelation 12:3 and the ten horns on the beast in Revelation 13:1\nand 17:3). Some speculate that these kingdoms will rise from the European\nCommon Market. Time will tell. The iron mixed with clay speaks of stronger\nkingdoms uniting with weaker nations, possibly monarchies allying with\ndemocracies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth\u201d<\/em> (Dan. 2:35). This stone clearly represents the kingdom of God. This kingdom is Satan\u2019s worst nightmare and all the kingdoms he manipulates. Notice the stone \u201cwas cut out without hands\u201d<\/em> (Dan. 2:34). This is not man-made; it is God-made! Also, notice the stone \u201csmote the image upon his feet\u201d<\/em> meaning this will occur in the last days\u2014\u201cIn the days of these kings<\/strong> the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed . . . and it shall stand forever\u201d<\/em> (Dan. 2:44). Furthermore, the stone became a great mountain and filled the whole earth representing the rapid expansion of God\u2019s kingdom. It started small as a spiritual kingdom with Christ and a few followers, but it will ultimately manifest as a literal kingdom conquering all the kingdoms of this world (Rev. 19:11-21).<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/strong>Jesus gave two parables to illustrate this point: He compared God\u2019s kingdom to a tiny mustard seed which becomes a great tree (Mt. 13:31-32). He also compared it to leaven or yeast, which a woman hid in meal (dough) until it permeated all of it (Mt. 13:33). This describes the \u201cquick work\u201d God will do in the last days to establish His kingdom here on earth. Is it possible we are living in the generation when the stone will smite the feet of the image? Nebuchadnezzar\u2019s nightmare will soon become a reality, and, to the true church, it will be a dream come true when all \u201cThe kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!\u201d<\/em> (Rev. 11:15) Daniel means \u201cGod is my Judge\u201d and He alone has the final verdict in the affairs of men. Nations and kings are pawns on His chessboard which He maneuvers to serve His purpose. No wonder Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords, taught us to pray, \u201cThy kingdom come!\u201d \u201cEven so, come, Lord Jesus!\u201d<\/em> (Rev. 22:20)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Daniel was a teenage captive in Babylon when God gave King Nebuchadnezzar a disturbing dream (Daniel 2). It became a nightmare when he could not remember it or understand its mysterious meaning. Tormented, he demanded his wise men tell him both the dream and its interpretation. When they failed, he furiously ordered them all to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":631,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=629"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":632,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629\/revisions\/632"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/631"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}