Daniel

Lesson #5: The Interpretation of the Kings's Dream: Daniel 2:25-44;

VS 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.

Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste - Arioch did not waste any time in responding to Daniel's request.

And said thus unto him - Arioch is speaking to the king. He saw the importance of what had happened and used his position to introduce Daniel to the king. He attempted to get as much credit as he could for discovering a man who could reveal the king's secret.

I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation - Here we see Arioch trying to take some credit and glory from this situation.

God's glory is not up for grabs, and every legalist is actually trying to grab a piece of God's glory. We all should keep Psalm 75:6-7 in mind, "No one from the east or the west or from the desert can exalt a man. But it is God who judges; He brings one down, he exalts another."

It is understandable that Arioch would not give God the credit for the interpretation, but rather "a man of the captives of Judah." This introduction of Daniel also served to disassociate him from the wise men who had previously been the target of the king's anger.

VS 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?

In this verse we see the king trying to give the credit to Daniel.

The king answered and said to Daniel - After Arioch's introduction, the king immediately turns to Daniel.

Whose name was Belteshazzar - Daniel's Chaldean name was inserted here as a means of proper identification.

Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the intrepretation thereof? - The form of this sentence makes the knowledge of the dream the prominent part of the question.

VS 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, show unto the king;

Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said - Daniel's answer places this matter in its proper light and will give God all the glory.

The secret which the king has demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers show unto the king: In stating that the wise men could not be expected to reveal the secret, Daniel is, in effect, defending them somewhat from the king's wrath, while at the same time affirming their uselessness.

Daniel now looks around and sees everyone trying to get in on the glory, so he mentions the wise men of Babylon as having no say in the matter. He says this before their names happen to come up. So Daniel protected God's glory from the hands of the wise men.

The wise men could have said that Daniel was one of them and that they were all in the same club, and that they all should share in the glory and in the reward.

VS 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;

But there is a God in heaven - The words "in heaven" are used to make sure that no one ties the true God to the pantheon in Babylon.

That revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days - This implies that the God of Daniel is far superior to the gods of the Chaldeans and that He is the God who not only knows secrets, but is able to reveal them also.

The latter days - From the time of Nebuchadnezzar to the second coming of Jesus Christ, there will only be four great Gentile empires recognized by God.

(1) - The Chaldean Empire.
(2) - The Medo-Persian Empire.
(3) - The Graco-Macedonian Empire.
(4) - The Roman Empire.

These will be the last four empires in world history. These last four empires make up "the latter days." Not the "last days," but "the latter days." The "latter days" include these four empires, but the "last days" only include the Roman Empire. That is why throughout the New Testament the apostles wrote about the "last days," referring to the Roman Empire, and the Revived Roman Empire.

We must keep in mind that the latter days for Israel are not the same as the "last days" for the church. Though the Old Testament prophecy covers the present age, it does not include it in its considerations.

VS 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.

Nebuchadnezzar was a remarkable man, and the dream he dreamed was also a remarkable revelation from God.

While Daniel still had the attention of the king, eager to learn the secret of his dream, he pressed home the fact that the dream was a means of divine revelation, in which God had honored the Chaldean monarch.

EXPANDED TRANSLATION VERSE 29: "As for you, O king, your thoughts came into your mind upon your bed as to what should come to pass hereafter. And the One who reveals secrets makes known to you what shall come to pass.

VS 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.

But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living - Daniel is saying, "Just because this secret was revealed to me, it does not make me any smarter, or a better person than anyone else." So here we see Daniel refusing glory. We can see his spiritual maturity, his frame of reference and his grace orientation. Daniel is a great man.

But for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king - This construction is actually impersonal and should be translated "That the interpretation may be made known to the king."

Daniel is now ready to proceed with the dream.

VS 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.

Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image - Daniel first declares that the king saw a "great image." And this image actually refers to the form or shape of a man.

The word "great" refers to this image being "immense or large in form." By its very size this image was overwhelming in its power. Even Nebuchadnezzar, the great military leader and the absolute ruler, recognized this as something greater than himself.

Can you imagine what Nebuchadnezzar thought when Daniel started telling him what he saw in his dream? I can picture the king sitting on his throne listening, and as Daniel proceeded to describe his dream. I can see the king being greatly amazed as he hears the description of his dream in every detail. I can imagine that Nebuchadnezzar was very impressed by the spiritual insight and wisdom of Daniel.

God will use this image to describe the rise and fall of great empires from the time of Nebuchadnezzar down to the second coming of Jesus Christ.

Later on Daniel will be given this same information again, plus additional revelation. But it will not be given in the form of an image as we have here, but in the form of animals. Each animal will represent a certain empire. We will see this in chapter seven.

Literally, "O king, you saw a great image."

PRINCIPLE - This image fashioned as a man represented man's dominion over mankind in the form of great empires. We will notice that man's glory (as represented by these world empires) is only temporary. It is here today and gone tomorrow. Man's glory will not carry a man for eternity. Only the glory of God is permanent, only the glory of God is eternal. Therefore, man must rely on God for anything that is eternal, and regeneration is the only way man can have any part of God's glory.

Daniel is going to give the content of the king's dream first, then he will give its interpretaion. The content and explanation of this dream is understandable by unbelievers because it deals with historical facts and interpretation.

This great image whose brightness was excellent - This refers to the glamor of the world empires. There is a certain amount of glamor attached to these empires. The word "brightness" refers to color. The using of bright colors for official wardrobes, for ceremonies and for parades. The word "excellent" refers to glamor. This has to do with a national pride, which not only shows in official capacity, but is exhibited through an entire nation. Some call this "patriotism." The principle here is that nations tend to be glamorous when they are on the rise. When you have a great people they will dress like great people (neat, well-groomed, and clean). When you have a people declining, people dress like they are on a decline (not neat, sloppy grooming, weird styles and no consideration of anyone except themselves). In this condition many extremes will be seen.

Literally, "O king, you saw a great image. This great image was colorful and represented glamorous empires."

It stood before thee - This means "to stand in front you."

And the form thereof was terrible - The word "terrible" refers to something being "magnificent and powerful." This is what frightened Nebuchanezzar.

So these three words, "brightness, excellent and terrible" refers to human empires being glamorous and powerful.

VS 32 - This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass,

This image's head was of fine gold - This refers to Nebuchadnezzar. We will expand on this further when we get down to verse 38, where Daniel begins to explain what this image actually refers to.

His breast and arms of silver -One arm refers to the Medes, and the other arm refers to the Persians. The silver represents the Medo-Persian Empire.

His belly and his thighs of brass -The brass refers to the Graco-Macedonian Empire. The"belly" refers to Alexander the Great. The"thighs" refers to the Hellenistic Monarchies that existed after Alexander died, and his kingdom was divided.

VS 33 -His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.

His legs of iron -This refers to the Roman Empire. The two legs represent the two separate cultures and languages which made up the Roman Empire. Greek in the East and Latin in the West.

His feet part iron and part of clay -This is still future. This refers to the revived Roman Empire of the Tribulation period. The clay nations are weaker nations which will be dominated by the iron nations.

VS 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.

Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands - In other words, as Nebuchadnezzar was watching this image as it stood in front of him, he "saw a stone that was cut out without hands." The Hebrew word for "stone" is EBEN (eh-ben). This word actually refers to a "large rock." This refers to Jesus Christ. The phrase "cut out without hands" refers to the supernatural aspect of the setting up of the Kingdom of Christ, known as the Millennial Kingdom. This also has reference to the fantastic plan of God for Jesus Christ.

At His first advent Christ provided salvation. At His second advent He provides deliverance and total freedom, and in between the advents He is glorified.

Literally, "And you kept watching until you saw a large rock that was cut out without hands."

Which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces - This Rock, Jesus Christ, smashes the feet of this image and breaks them to pieces and destroys all that they represent. This is also taught in Revelation 19:11-21, in which the second advent of Jesus Christ is the context. Jesus Christ will return during the War of Armageddon.

EXPANDED TRANSLATION VERSE 34: "And you kept watching until you saw a large rock that was cut out without hands which struck the feet of iron and clay of the image and smashed them to pieces."

VS 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 threshing floors; 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.

Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold broken to pieces together - Every empire of the past has left various influences up the present. But when the Rock hits the feet of the image, or when Jesus Christ comes at His second advent, He crushes the feet and the rest of the image is also destroyed. This means that all of the influences of all of the empires of the past are destroyed.

And became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors: and the wind carried them away - In other words, the ideas and influences that all of the empires had were totally useless and of no value to the Lord Jesus Christ. So all of the pieces of this broken image were scattered to the winds.

Literally, "Then the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold were smashed to pieces together, and became like the useless chaff of the summer threshing floors: and the wind carried them away."

That no place was found for them - In other words, there is no place in the Millennial Kingdom of Christ for any of the influences of the nations of human history.

And the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth - The word "mountain" is used in the Bible to represent "kingdoms, empires, and governments." (Ezekiel 28:14).

And filled the whole earth - The Millennial Kingdom of Jesus Christ will cover the entire earth.

EXPANDED TRANSLATION VERSE 35: "Then the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold were smashed to pieces together,and became like the useless chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away and there was no place on the earth for them; and the rock that smashed the image became a great kingdom and filled the entire earth."

The Millennial Kingdom of Jesus Christ will replace all other kingdoms on the earth.

Nebuchadnezzar was so fascinated by the accuracy of the revelation given to Daniel that he did not say a word. This permited Daniel to go to the interpretation immediately.

VS 36 - This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.

This is Daniel speaking to Nebuchadnezzar.

EXPANDED TRANSLATION VERSE 36: "This is the dream and we will explain the interpretation of it for the king."

VS 37 - Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.

Thou, O king - This refers to Nebuchadnezzar.

Art a king of kings - This means, "You are greater than all other kings." Ezekiel calls Nebuchadnezzar "A king of kings" in Ezekiel 26:7.

For the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom - Notice that even the greatest king who ever lived received his ruling power from God.

A kingdom - This refers to organized government.

Power - This refers to power through the vigor of the people.

Strength - This refers to military power. Whether you like it or not, no nation ever became great, no nation ever protected its freedom, no nation ever had law and order without great military strength. Throughout history there were no nations that were ever great apart from their military strength. There are no exceptions.

When Israel was ruled by God through various prophets and kings, they were still commanded to have universal military training, (Numbers 1:1-3).

The greatness of a nation is the ability of that nation to defend its laws, its freedoms, its privacy, and its people, no matter where they are in the world.

When the military declines, the ability to protect also declines with it. No nation has ever gone down from the standpoint of the military without being exploited by nations coming up, from the standpoint of the military. You cannot interpret history apart from the military. For example: in Matthew 24:6, Jesus was interpreting history when he said, "There will be wars and rumors of wars." Why wars? Because vigorous people are coming to the front and they assert themselves through military power. While others are declining because they gave up their military power.

Glory - This refers to national glamor.

EXPANDED TRANSLATION VERSE 37: "O king you are a king of kings, for the God of heaven has given to you an organized kingdom, the power of vigorous people, the strength of a great military establishment and glamor."

VS 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.

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 - Nebuchadnezzar did not control the entire earth's surface, nor did he control all men and beasts and fowls of the entire earth. In literature this called a "hyperbole," which is an extravagant exaggeration. However, Nebuchadnezzar was in supreme authority in his area of the earth's surface.

This statement was a hyperbole as far as God is concerned, but in Babylon at this time the king was considered the personal representative of the creator god, Marduk, which placed the king of Babylon over all living creatures no matter where they lived.

Literally, "And wherever the sons of men live, the animals of the field and the birds of the air live, He has given into your hand and He has made you ruler over them all."

Thou art this head of gold - Daniel told the king that the head of gold on the image in the dream actually represents Nebuchadnezzar.

EXPANDED TRANSLATION VERSE 38: "And wherever the sons of men, the animals of the field and the birds of the air live, He has placed in your hand and He has made you the ruler over all of them. You are this head of gold." (10)

VS 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.

And after thee shall another kingdom inferior to thee - This refers to the arms and chest of silver. This refers to the Medo-Persian Empire. (11)

Literally, "And after you will arise another kingdom that will be inferior to you." (The Medo-Persian Empire: 559 BC to 331 BC).

And another third king of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth - This refers to the Graco-Macedonian Empire of Alexander the Great. (12)

EXPANDED TRANSLATION VERSE 39: "And after you there will arise another kingdom that is inferior to you (the Medo-Persian Empire), and also another one, a third kingdom of brass, which will rule over all the earth."

VS 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.

The fourth kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar's dream represented by the legs and feet of the image is obviously the most important. Daniel gives more attention to this fourth kingdom than to all the preceding kingdoms put together.

And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron - The fourth kingdom refers to the Roman Empire.

Forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things - This means that the Romans incorporated into their system all of the great nations and peoples of the past.

And as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise - Rome not only incorporated all of the past peoples and nations, but it also crushed all those nations and people who refused to be incorporated.

EXPANDED TRANSLATION VERSE 40: "And the fourth kingdom will be as strong as iron, and this iron breaks and smashes everything, and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the other kingdoms."(13)

VS 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.

With verse 41 we move into the Tribulation period, which is after the Rapture of the Church. The events beginning with verse 41 and following occur after the Church Age ends. The Church will not go through the Tribulation period.

Daniel is still talking to Nebuchadnezzar concerning the image of his dreams. The feet and the toes take us to the end of human history as we would know it.

There are two feet and five toes on each foot. These represent individual kingdoms or nations that will exist at the end of time.

Part of potters' clay and part of iron -These individual kingdoms or nations will form a federation. They will become united under one head. "Part of iron"refers to a continuation of the "legs of iron." The iron in the feet and toes refers to nations that were, in fact, a part of the old Roman Empire in the past. The phrase"part of potters' clay" refers to nations who were not a part of the old Roman Empire, but are a part of the revived Roman Empire during the Tribulation period.

The kingdom shall be divided -This refers to natural divisions such as: seas, oceans, mountains, etc., etc. This does not refer to a division of the iron and clay.

But there shall be in it the strength of iron -In other words, the military power of the revived Roman Empire will be similar to that of the old Roman Empire, and the nations of the world during the Tribulation period will have a great fear of Rome and her brilliant caesar.

Forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay -This great kingdom, the revived Roman Empire, will be as strong as iron, considering, of course, the iron being weakened because of it being mixed with clay.

EXPANDED TRANSLATION VERSE 41: "And as you saw that the feet and toes were part of clay and part of iron, so also will this kingdom be divided, yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with the clay."

VS 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.

And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay -If you have ever noticed, clay cannot mix with iron so as to become its own identity. No matter how hard you try to mix them or blend them, they still retain their own separate identities. Just like water and gasoline. So no matter what type of alliance is agreed upon, this kingdom will be very strong, yet very unstable. Just like nitroglycerin.

So the kingdom -This refers to the revived Roman Empire.

This means that it will have a great power and great influence in the world.

This actually means "brittle."

EXPANDED TRANSLATION VERSE 42: "And just as the toes of the feet were part iron and part clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle."

VS 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.

And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men -This refers to mass integration on all levels in order to bring all these kingdoms together. In other words, this refers to races, political ideologies, cultural interests and religions all together under one flag. And all this will prevent that empire from having real unity.

PRINCIPLE - Many different races and many different cultures can come together and form a fantastic unified nation. But all those races and cultures must adopt a common course of action for all races and cultures to follow. Regardless of the number of different races and cultures making up a nation, before that nation can become great and stay great there must be: one language, one culture, one form of government, freedom, privacy, and equal rights under law. In other words, "multiculturalism" is evil and weakens nations.

But they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay -In other words, all the different races and cultures cannot be pulled together to form a united empire. All these races do not and will not mix together, just as you cannot mix clay with iron.

EXPANDED TRANSLATION VERSE 43: "And as you saw iron mixed with clay, they will attempt to mix themselves with the various races of man, but they will not mix with one another, just as iron will not mix with clay."

VS 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.

And in the days of these kings - These kings refers to the ten toes of the image which represents ten kingdoms during the Tribulation period (also mentioned in Dan 7:24-25).

Shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed - This, of course, refers to the Millennial Kingdom, the thousand year reign of Jesus Christ on the earth.

And the kingdom shall not be left to other people - In other words, Jesus Christ will be the last world ruler, and His kingdom will not be handed down to successive generations as other earthly kingdoms which we studied in this passage of Scripture.

But it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms - This refers to the ten nation confederation that is organized during the Tribulation period.

And it shall stand for ever - When Jesus Christ returns the second time and destroys the revived Roman Empire, and sets up His own world wide kingdom, that kingdom will stand forever.

EXPANDED TRANSLATION VERSE 44: "And in the days of these kings of the ten nation confederation at the end of time, shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, and this kingdom shall not fall into the hands of other people, but it will break in pieces and totally destroy all these ten kingdoms and it will stand forever."

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