The Prophecy of the Kingdom in Daniel 2
1. Introduction to Chapter 2
A. Chapter 2 covers history from Babylon to Rome, and provides the foundation for understanding the other apocalyptic sections in the book.
B. Chapter 7 expands upon chapter 2, especially with regard to the second and third kingdoms.
C. Chapters 11 and 12 expand upon chapter 2, especially with regard to kingdoms two, three, and four.
D. These later chapters supply many details that are not mentioned here in chapter 2.
E. Chapter 2 also contains a beautiful description of the church.
2. Daniel 2:1-2
A. 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.
B. He calls all of his wise men to come and interpret the dream.
C. ‘Dream manuals’ have been found that list historical dreams and the events that followed them.
1. These wise men would have been very familiar with these very long volumes.
2. 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!
3. Daniel 2:3-6
A. Nebuchadnezzar asked his advisors to interpret the dream that he had, and the advisors at first seem eager to do so.
B. 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.
C. Nebuchadnezzar, however, is no fool. He asks them to tell him both his dream and his interpretation. Suddenly their confidence vanishes!
1. The King James Version translates verse 5 to indicate that the king had forgotten the dream. (“The thing is gone from me.”)
a) Ancient Babylonian Omen: If a man cannot remember the dream he saw then it means that his personal god is angry with him.
2. However, he remembers enough later in the story to be able to confirm Daniel’s interpretation.
3. Another possible interpretation is “The word from me is sure.”
D. Failure meant a horrible death and success meant rich rewards.
1. The threat in verse 5 is that they would be “made into limbs.” Some translations indicate that they would be cut into pieces, but that is not correct – no verb for cutting is used here and no cutting instrument is mentioned.
2. What the king had in mind was that their arms and legs would be tied to four trees that had been temporarily roped together.
a) When the ropes were cut, the victim would be torn into four pieces.
b) He was going to turn each wise man into four wise pieces!
4. Daniel 2:7-9
A. 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?)
B. Compare the first request in verse 4 with the second request in verse 7. Notice any difference?
1. In the second request, the wise men don’t start off by hoping that the king will live forever!
C. In verse 8-9, the king makes it very clear that he is serious.
1. He accuses them of planning to wait until “the times change.” That is, until the crisis has passed and the king has forgotten all about the dream and his threat.
5. Daniel 2:10-13
A. The wise men complain that no one could do what the king wanted.
1. In fact, they say that no king has ever asked such a thing.
2. Indeed, not even Joseph in Egypt was required to do this.
B. The wise men say that if they don’t know the answer then no one knows the answer.
C. The king, they say, isn’t being fair. He is asking too much.
1. After all, they may be magicians and wise men, but they aren’t mind readers!
2. No man can do what the king asks!
3. What will the logical conclusion be when Daniel reveals the dream? (I imagine they later regretted their words!)
D. The king becomes upset when he realizes that his “wise men” are suffering from an acute lack of wisdom.
E. In fact, he becomes furious and commands that they all be killed.
F. Daniel and his friends, unfortunately, are numbered among this group, and their lives become in danger from the king’s edict.
6. Daniel 2:14-16
A. Arioch (the captain of the King’s guard) shows up to take Daniel to death row, but Daniel talks him into taking him to the king instead.
1. Whoever this Arioch was, he must have known Daniel prior to these events, and Daniel must have made quite an impression on him.
B. The stage is now set to introduce King Nebuchadnezzar to the only true and living God.
C. Also, we are about to see a theme that will last throughout the book:
1. God is still in charge, he is still as powerful as ever, and he still loves and cares for his faithful followers.
2. This was true even after their temple had been burned, their city destroyed, and they had been dragged away in slavery.
D. If there is one clear message in the Bible it is that things are not always as they appear!
7. Daniel 2:17-19
A. The term ‘God of Heaven’ is used almost exclusively in the captivity books.
1. Daniel uses it 9 times, Ezra 6 times, and Nehemiah 4 times. Why?
2. 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)
B. What did Daniel and his friends do? They did not turn to astrology or crystal balls. Instead, they prayed.
C. Daniel is a wonderful example of the great power of prayer.
1. “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.”
D. What else did Daniel do? He went to bed!
1. He turned his problems over to God and then he went to sleep.
E. Notice that Daniel has already promised to answer the king – before he started praying for the answer.
1. Daniel knows that God will give him the answer that he needs.
8. Daniel 7:20-23
A. Daniel next expresses his gratitude to God for answering his prayer and saving him from certain death.
B. In verse 21, Daniel touches upon a major theme in the book.
1. It is God who changes times and seasons, removes and sets up kings, and gives wisdom and knowledge. God is in control.
2. 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.
C. Notice that Daniel refers to God as the God of his fathers.
1. Daniel trusted God because he knew what God had done.
2. As Isaiah 28:16 says, God is a tried stone. He has never forsaken his people, and he never will.
D. Also, notice that Daniel is absolutely sure that he knows the king’s dream even before he tells the king about it.
9. Daniel 2:24-25
A. In verse 25, Arioch tells the king: “I have found among the exiles from Judah a man who can make known to the king the interpretation.”
1. Incredible, isn’t it? All by himself Arioch has managed to solve the king’s problem.
2. He takes all of the credit in verse 25.
3. This may have something to do with the reward mentioned back in verse 6.
B. Arioch’s complete confidence in Daniel is interesting.
1. He shows no doubt that Daniel will be able to interpret the king’s dream.
2. If Daniel had failed, then it seems very likely that Arioch would have suffered the same fate as the wise men.
3. As we said before, Daniel must have already made quite an impact on Arioch.
10. Daniel 2:26-30
A. What does Daniel do?
1. Does he come before the king and say, “I have solved your problem. I know all of the answers. Look what I can do.”?
2. No. Unlike Arioch, Daniel does not mention himself.
3. He says look what God can do. The power was not within Daniel and Daniel knew it.
4. God had told Daniel what Nebuchadnezzar had dreamed – Daniel had not figured it out on his own.
B. In verse 27 Daniel tells the king (and us) the truth about astrology, magic, and fortune telling.
1. Daniel says that it does not work.
C. Notice that Daniel (although probably still a teenager) speaks to Nebuchadnezzar with great boldness.
1. 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.
D. We need to stop for a moment and consider the phrase “latter days” in verse 28. To what does it refer?
1. It could simply mean the future. That is, God was going to tell Nebuchadnezzar what would happen later.
a) 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.)
2. It could refer to the latter days of Jewish history, which ended as far as God was concerned in A.D. 70.
3. Premillennialists teach that it refers to a time yet future; in particular, to a short time of tribulation preceding the second coming of Christ.
a) Is this what Nebuchadnezzar would have thought?
b) “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 any sense at all?
4. There are many judgments in the Bible, and many are described using very similar language.
a) An important principle in interpreting the prophetic sections of scripture: Similarity of language does not imply similarity of subject.
b) When we see a phrase like the “latter days” we must not automatically assume that it means the final judgment. It may very well describe another judgment.
c) For example, Matthew 24 contains language that one might think could only apply to the end of the world, but verse 34 (the time frame) makes it clear that the language applies to a first century event (the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70).
11. Daniel 2:31-34
(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.)
A. Can you imagine the king’s astonished reaction when Daniel started describing his dream?
B. Can you imagine the astonishment (and relief) of his wise men?
C. Not only could Daniel reveal the meaning of the dream, he could reveal the content of the dream.
D. 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.
E. The king also saw a giant stone.
1. This stone was cut without hands – that is this stone was not of human origin.
2. This stone smites the feet of the image and turns the whole thing into dust.
3. Afterward, the stone becomes a great mountain and fills the whole earth.
a) It is interesting that the nations that fight against God are often called mountains.
b) Compare Jeremiah 51:25 where Babylon is called a destroying mountain.
c) The Babylonians pictured the earth as a huge mountain.
(1) In fact, they called the earth “E-kur” which means ‘Mountain House.’
(2) So it is fitting that the eternal kingdom would be pictured as a huge mountain.
d) Also, compare Revelation 8:8 where Rome is pictured as a mountain that is cast into the sea.
12. Daniel 2:36-38
(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.)
A. Luckily we are not left to figure this vision out for ourselves. Daniel tells us what the figures mean.
B. Daniel makes it very clear from the start who is in charge here.
1. Nebuchadnezzar had been given his rule and his kingdom by God. Any power, might, or glory that he had was a gift from God.
2. This was quite a bold thing to say to King Nebuchadnezzar!
C. King Nebuchadnezzar is the head of the gold – that is, the head of gold denotes his kingdom, Babylon.
1. 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.
2. The head of gold fell the furthest when the statue was destroyed.
a) This happened to Nebuchadnezzar before it happened to his kingdom. An amazing event occurs to this great king in chapter 4.
b) In Daniel 4:28-33, while the king is bragging about all he had done, God sends him out in the field to eat grass like an ox for a few years.
c) Poor Nebuchadnezzar. After all that he did, this is what he is most remembered for. Even Shakespeare mentions him with respect to this episode. In “All’s Well That Ends Well”, the clown, after being rebuked for his ignorance of herbs, responds by saying “I am no great Nebuchadnezzar, sir; I have not much skill in grass.”
d) No Babylonian record has been found that mentions any activity by Nebuchadnezzar during the period 582 to 575. Grazing, perhaps??
13. Daniel 2:39-40
(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.)
A. The remaining three parts of the statue also represent kingdoms.
B. Why were these four distinct kingdoms represented by a single figure?
1. What relationship does Babylon have with Rome, for example?
2. Taken together, they represent a sustained revolt of organized human society and government against the will of God.
3. Babylon set the tone for the kingdoms that followed.
4. Indeed, Babylon was another name for Rome in the New Testament.
a) 1 Peter 5:13 She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings.
b) Revelation 18:2 And he called out with a mighty voice, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!”
C. The second kingdom was Medo-Persia, which as we have seen overthrew the Chaldeans about 70 years after this vision.
1. Daniel lived to see this. Indeed, it was during this kingdom that Daniel was tossed to the lions.
D. As we mentioned in Lesson 1, Daniel does not consider the Medes and Persians to be separate kingdoms, but instead consistently considers them to be a single unified kingdom – which agrees with what historians tell us.
E. The third kingdom is Greece, which conquered the Persians under Alexander the Great.
F. The fourth kingdom is Rome, which by 146 BC had permanently subdued the Greeks.
1. Why did Rome fall?
a) Historians have debated this for centuries. Yet Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar why Rome fell nearly 1000 years before it happened! Listen to what he says:
14. Daniel 2:41-43
(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.)
A. This fourth kingdom was a divided kingdom – clay mixed with iron.
B. Was this true of the mighty Roman empire? Yes!
1. 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.
2. 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.
a) The inner strife was primarily due to the client kingdoms that Rome set up to rule the borders of its empire.
(1) “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.”
b) Did these groups contribute to the fall of Rome?
(1) 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.
c) But the statue did not fall by itself. It fell because the stone hit it. Why then did Rome really fall?
(1) Rome fell because God wanted it to fall. Because the first century Christians prayed that it would fall. The fall of Rome was a divine judgment. (Read the book of Revelation!)
(2) The church triumphed. Its bitter enemy Rome did not.
d) By the way, don’t fall into the trap of thinking that Rome became a Christian nation under Constantine.
(1) Rome did much more damage to the church by embracing it than it ever had by persecuting it.
(2) The church remained relatively pure during the years of persecution.
(3) The great falling away began when it suddenly became fashionable to be a Christian.
(4) If you wonder whether what emerged was more like the New Testament church or more like Rome, why don’t you ask a Roman Catholic!
C. The first phrase in verse 44 is vital to understanding this vision because it provides a time frame regarding the fifth kingdom.
15. Daniel 2:44-45
(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.”)
A. The fifth kingdom would be set up in the days of those kings.
1. 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.
2. Any interpretation that does not have the fifth kingdom set up during this time frame is not a correct interpretation.
B. What is this fifth kingdom?
1. It was not of human origin.
2. It began during the Roman empire.
3. It outlasted and overthrew the Roman empire.
4. It is an eternal kingdom from God.
5. What else could it be? The fifth kingdom is the church.
C. What do we learn about the church from this vision?
1. The church is not a divided kingdom.
a) There is one and only one stone in this image. The kingdoms shatter into pieces, but the stone does not.
b) Rome is pictured as a divided kingdom, but not the church.
c) There is one church and only one church.
(1) This is not a popular theme these days, but it is the truth.
(2) This message may not make us very popular at the local inter-denominational prayer breakfast, but we must continue to proclaim it.
(3) The church is unique and distinctive and not divided.
d) If God had wanted two churches, he would have made one for the Jews and one for the Gentiles.
(1) Listen to how Ezekiel describes this fifth kingdom:
(a) 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.
e) The church cannot be split! God has set up an eternal kingdom that cannot be divided.
(1) If someone tells you that the church has been split, don’t believe them. There is one church and it cannot be divided.
(2) The church is the body of Christ – and the body of Christ cannot be divided.
2. The church is not of human origin.
a) In verse 34, we see that this stone was cut out by no human hand. This stone is not from man.
b) The church is not a product of the Restoration movement.
(1) 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.
(2) The church is not some “movement” that started with Alexander Campbell.
(3) Our “religious heritage” does not begin with the Restoration movement.
(4) If the “kingdom” in Daniel 2, the church in Matthew 16:18, and the church of Christ are not synonyms, then “our church” is of human origin and we might as well leave right now. We are just wasting our time.
(5) Whatever we are, we are not the kingdom of Daniel 2 if we have a human origin.
c) 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) 1 Corinthians 3:11 For no other foundation can any one lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
(2) The church is the church of Christ – not the church of Man.
3. The church is powerful and eternal.
a) It completely demolishes and replaces these human organizations – as it will all human organizations.
4. I wish we could all learn to look at the church the way that God looks at the church.
a) The church is more important and more powerful than any human organization.
b) Do we view the church that way? Do we think of the church as just another in a long list of denominations?
(1) Do we want to fit in with and be accepted by all of our denominational friends?
(2) There is a move afoot in the church to turn the church into just another denomination.
(3) We are told that those of us who trace our origin back to the Day of Pentecost are naive.
(4) Instead, we are told, we should just take our position alongside all of the other denominations in the world.
(5) It is arrogant, we are told, to proclaim that there is one church and that we are members of that one church.
(a) But which is arrogant? Obeying God and trusting him to add you to his church – or ignoring God’s will, making your own church with your own rules, and then naming your new church after yourself?
(6) [For more information on these efforts to denominationalize the church, see the article on www.thywordistruth.com entitled “The ACU Agenda.” If, after reading the article, you have questions or comments, please call or send me an e-mail. I would be happy to discuss these issues with you.]
16. Daniel 2:46-49
A. This is a remarkable scene. One commentator has written:
1. “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!