Examining Daniel 2:31-45
Introduction
This revisiting of the account in Daniel 2:31-45 of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of an Image, was prompted by the examination of Daniel 11 and 12 about the King of the North and the King of the South and its results.
The approach to this article was the same, to approach the examination exegetically, allowing the Bible to interpret itself. Doing this leads to a natural conclusion, rather than approaching with preconceived ideas. As always in any Bible study, the context was very important.
Who were the intended audience? It was interpreted in part to Nebuchadnezzar by Daniel under God’s Holy Spirit, but it was written for the Jewish nation as it affected their future. It also occurred in the 2nd year of Nebuchadnezzar, right at the beginning of the Babylonian domination of Judah as the World Power, which it took from Assyria.
Let us begin our examination.
Background to the Vision
When Daniel had heard of the dream that Nebuchadnezzar had dreamed and wanted an interpretation and was going to kill the wise men because they did not understand it, Daniel asked the king for time to show him the interpretation. He then went and prayed to Jehovah to make the answer known to him. He also asked his companions Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah to pray on his behalf as well.
The result was “in a night vision the secret was revealed” (Daniel 2:19). Daniel then thanked God for revealing the answer. Daniel went on to tell King Nebuchadnezzar, not only the dream but the interpretation. The timing was the 2nd Year of Nebuchadnezzar, with Babylon already have subsumed the Assyrian Empire and taken control of Israel and Judah.
Daniel 2:32a, 37-38
“As regards that image, its head was of good gold”.
The answer was “You, O king, [Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon] the king of kings, you to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the might, and the strength and the dignity, 38 and into whose hand he has given, wherever the sons of mankind are dwelling, the beasts of the field and the winged creatures of the heavens, and whom he has made ruler over all of them, you yourself are the head of gold.” (Daniel 2:37-38).
Head of Gold: Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon
Daniel 2:32b, 39
“its breasts and its arms were of silver”.
Nebuchadnezzar was told that “And after you there will rise another kingdom inferior to you;” (Daniel 2:39). This proved to be the Persian Empire. There were constant revolts and assassination attempts against its kings, Esther 2:21-22 records one such attempt, and after Xerxes defeat by Greece, its power faded until it was finally defeated by Alexander the Great.
Breast and Arms of Silver: Persian Empire
Daniel 2:32c, 39
“its belly and its thighs were of copper”
Daniel explained this saying “and another kingdom, a third one, of copper, that will rule over the whole earth.” (Daniel 2:39). Greece had a larger kingdom than both Babylon and Persia. It stretched from Greece to western parts of Northern India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan and south to Egypt and Libya.
Belly and Thighs of Copper: Greece
Daniel 2:33, 40-44
“its legs were of iron, its feet were partly of iron and partly of molded clay”
This fourth and final part of the image was explained to Nebuchadnezzar as “And as for the fourth kingdom, it will prove to be strong like iron. Forasmuch as iron is crushing and grinding everything else, so, like iron that shatters, it will crush and shatter even all these.” (Daniel 2:40).
The fourth kingdom proves to be Rome. Its expansion policy could be summarized as submit or be destroyed. Its expansion was relentless until the early 2nd century AD.
There was more explanation Daniel 2:41 “And whereas you beheld the feet and the toes to be partly of molded clay of a potter and partly of iron, the kingdom itself will prove to be divided, but somewhat of the hardness of iron will prove to be in it, forasmuch as you beheld the iron mixed with moist clay”
After Augustus, the first Emperor, who ruled alone 41 years, Tiberius had the 2nd longest reign at 23 years, most were less than 15 years, even for the rest of the first century. After that, the rulers were generally on rulers for short periods of time. Yes, while it had an iron-like attitude to the countries it ruled and attacked, at home it was divided. That is why Daniel continued to describe Rome as “42 And as for the toes of the feet being partly of iron and partly of molded clay, the kingdom will partly prove to be strong and will partly prove to be fragile. 43 Whereas you beheld iron mixed with moist clay, they will come to be mixed with the offspring of mankind; but they will not prove to be sticking together, this one to that one, just as iron is not mixing with molded clay.”
The power of Rome started to decay very early in the 2nd Century. The society became more and more corrupt and decadent, and so it began to lose its iron-like grip, its stability and cohesiveness weakened.
Legs of Iron and feet of Clay/Iron: Rome
In the days of the fourth kingdom, i.e. Rome, Daniel 2:44 goes on to say “And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be brought to ruin. And the kingdom itself will not be passed on to any other people”.
Yes, in the days of the fourth kingdom, Rome, which ruled Babylon, Persia, and Greece, Jesus was born, and through the lineage of his parents inherited the legal right to be the king of Israel and Judah. After being anointed by Holy Spirit in 29AD, when a voice from heaven stated, “This is my son, the beloved, whom I have approved” (Matthew 3:17). For the next three and a half years until his death in 33AD, he preached about God’s kingdom, the Kingdom of the Heavens.
The God of heaven would set up an everlasting kingdom during the time of the fourth kingdom.
Is there any Biblical evidence that this happened?
In Matthew 4:17 “Jesus commenced preaching and saying: ’Repent, you people for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near’”. Jesus gave many parables in Matthew regarding the kingdom of the heavens and that it had drawn near. (See in particular Matthew 13). That was also the message of John the Baptist, “Repent for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near” (Matthew 3:1-3).
Rather, Jesus indicated that the Kingdom of the Heavens was now setup. When speaking to the Pharisees he was asked when the kingdom of God was coming. Note Jesus answer: ”The Kingdom of God is not coming with striking observableness, neither will people be saying ‘see here! Or There! For, look! The kingdom of God is in your midst”. Yes, God had setup a kingdom that would never be brought to ruin, and the king of that kingdom was right there in the midst of the group of Pharisees, yet they could not see it. That kingdom was to be for those accepting Christ as their savior and becoming Christians.
Daniel 2:34-35, 44-45
“You kept on looking until a stone was cut out not by hands, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and of molded clay and crushed them 35 At that time the iron, the molded clay, the copper, the silver and the gold were, all together, crushed and became like the chaff from the summer threshing floor, and the wind carried them away so that no trace at all was found of them. And as for the stone that struck the image, it became a large mountain and filled the whole earth.”
There then appears to be a period of time before the next event, before Rome was to be destroyed as suggested by the phrase “You kept on looking until” which would indicate waiting until the time that “a stone was cut out not by hands”. If the stone was not cut out by human hands, then it had to be by God’s power, and God’s decision as to when this would take place. Jesus told us in Matthew 24:36 that “Concerning that day and hour nobody knows, neither the angels of the heavens nor the Son, but only the Father.”
What would take place following this?
As Daniel 2:44b-45 recorded “It [the stone] will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it itself will stand to times indefinite; 45 forasmuch as you beheld that out of the mountain a stone was cut not by hands, and [that] it crushed the iron, the copper, the molded clay, the silver and the gold.”
God’s kingdom will be in due course crush all kingdoms regardless of their power, when Christ exercises his power as king, and comes to crush the kingdoms at Armageddon. Matthew 24:30 reminds us that “And then the sign of the Son of man will appear in heaven and then all the tribes of the earth will beat themselves in lamentation, and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” (see also Revelation 11:15)
Unspecified time gap until all worldly powers are destroyed by God’s Kingdom at a time of God’s choice, that he has not communicated to anyone else.
This is the only part of this prophecy that appears to refer to the future as God’s kingdom has not yet crushed all these kingdoms.
Archived Comments
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Comment by matijevic on 2020-08-18 13:26:58
Thanks for sharing your thoughts! However, how should we understand Daniel 7:7,8 17-27? Who is little horn? Also, who is seventh and eighth king according to Rev 17:9-11?
Reply by Tadua on 2020-08-18 19:07:15
Hi Matijevic
You will be pleased to know an article on Daniel 7 will be published next week and Daniel 8 the week after.
Your brother
Comment by Fani on 2020-08-19 02:29:38
Il y a environ 2 mois j'ai relu Daniel 2 comme si je le lisais pour la 1ère fois, il m'est apparu naturellement que cette vision nous amenait à la naissance du Royaume lors de la venue du Christ sur terre.
C'est lors de sa conception sur terre que l'ange dit à Marie : "Luc 1:32-33
[32]Il sera grand et sera appelé Fils du Très Haut, et le Seigneur Dieu lui donnera le trône de David, son père.
[33]Il règnera sur la maison de Jacob éternellement, et son règne naura point de fin."es pas ami de César. Quiconque se fait roi se déclare contre César.
Lorsque Pilate lui dit : Jean 18:37 (Jérusalem)
[37]Pilate lui dit: Tu es donc roi? Jésus répondit: Tu le dis, je suis roi. Je suis né et je suis venu dans le monde pour rendre témoignage à la vérité. Quiconque est de la vérité écoute ma voix."
Il ne contredit pas Pilate en lui disant : non, je ne suis pas roi. Être Roi fait partie de la vérité pour laquelle il a témoignée.
Pilate et les juifs l'ont bien compris puisque Jean 19:12,14
[12]Dès ce moment, Pilate cherchait à le relâcher. Mais les Juifs criaient: Si tu le relâches, tu n
[14]C`était la préparation de la Pâque, et environ la sixième heure. Pilate dit aux Juifs: Voici votre roi."
(19) Pilate fit aussi un écriteau et le mit sur le poteau de supplice. Il y était écrit : « Jésus le Nazaréen, le Roi des Juifs."
La naissance du Royaume avait eu lieu.
Nous attendons que le Roi que nous reconnaissons detruise tous les royaumes humains.
Merci pour tout ton travail
("Toi et Deep blue" etait formidable - merci à toi et Deborah
Gloire à Dieu !)
Comment by Truth-Seeker on 2020-08-22 04:40:07
Yes, the 'feet of clay' was how the Roman Empire ended. Let's forget about the 'dual Anglo-American' power in Bible prophecy.
Comment by Dan Adams on 2020-08-25 21:25:22
Does anyone here see a connection between the stone spoken of in Daniel and the "upon this rock I will build my congregation" phrase in Matthew 16:18? Just curious from a non-JW perspective how that's looked at.
Reply by Tadua on 2020-08-28 07:57:41
Hi Dan
We cannot be sure, but it is certainly possible. I hadn’t linked the two when researching so many thanks for highlighting it.
Comment by sarah smile on 2023-10-27 22:04:01
This is an interesting idea. There are some questions that I have related to this specific topic that are not addressed in this article.
"In the days of those kings" is being interpreted to refer to the kings (emperors) of Rome, the 4th kingdom. Given that the scriptures have just told us that there are 4 kingdoms, why not interpret "kings" as being the kings of the 4 kingdoms? There is no specific reference to "kings" of Rome.
What do the 2 mountains in this account represent? The mountain at verse 45 from which the stone was cut, and the mountain at verse 35 which appears after the stone has struck the image.
If I am reading this correctly, the interpretation is that the crushing of the image is a future event. Why is it a future event, and why doesn't it apply to the fall of the literal Roman Empire? Don't get me wrong, I agree that the Roman Empire was not crushed by God's kingdom (represented by the stone, verse 44) at its end.
What I am getting at is this: What connection is there between this masculine "immense image" of kings with Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon as its head; and Babylon the Great of Revelation, a woman, who sits as a queen and is described as a great prostitute, also a great city that has a kingdom over the kings of the earth?
If the stone (God's kingdom) is going to crush the iron, clay, copper, silver and gold representing the 4 kingdoms of Daniel, then how do we make the leap between the literal 4 kingdoms that no longer exist, and something grander and of symbolic significance?