Study #1 - Daniel 2
"The Metal Man Image"

Read all of Daniel chapter 2 and we will detail the significance of this prophecy regarding the future history of the nations of the world.

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.
2:2 Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to show the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king.
2:3 And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream.
2:4 Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriack, O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.
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.
2:6 But if ye show the dream, and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honour: therefore show me the dream, and the interpretation thereof.
2:7 They answered again and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation of it.
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.
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 show me the interpretation thereof.
2:10 The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can show the king's matter: therefore [there is] no king, lord, nor ruler, [that] asked such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean.
2:11 And [it is] a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.
2:12 For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise [men] of Babylon.
2:13 And the decree went forth that the wise [men] should be slain; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain.
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:
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.
2:16 Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would show the king the interpretation.
2:17 Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions:
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.
2:19 Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
2:20 Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his:
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:
2:22 He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what [is] in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.
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.
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 show unto the king the interpretation.
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.
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?
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, show unto the king;
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;
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.
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.
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.
2:32 This image's head [was] of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass,
2:33 His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.
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.
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.
2:36 This [is] the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
2:46 Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him.
2:47 The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth [it is], that your God [is] a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret.
2:48 Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise [men] of Babylon.
2:49 Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel [sat] in the gate of the king.

Verses 1 - 13

Nebuchadnezzar had a dream and it had a profound affect on him. God gave him the dream and then made him temporarily forget it. But he had to know what the dream was about. So he calls in the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers and the Chaldeans. (All his supposedly wisest men on payroll). He tells them he had a dream and he wants them to tell him what he dreamed and to give him the interpretation. They butter him up with kind words and then tell the king that he must tell them what he dreamt and they will interpret. He refuses and tells them what punishment is in store if they don't tell him and what rewards are in store for the one who does reveal it. They again ask for the dream. He again tells them they must tell him the dream and the interpretation. A Chaldean states THERE IS NOT A MAN ON EARTH who can do what the king requests, only the gods who do not dwell with men. The king gave the decree to destroy all the wise men in Babylon.

Verses 14 - 18

Daniel and the three friends that were captured with him from Judah, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, lived together and were considered very wise. They were in advanced schooling in Babylon. Daniel's Babylonian name was Belteshazzar and his three friend's Babylonian names were Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego. When the captain of the guard Arioch came to Daniel and told him the decree he must execute, Daniel was able to tell Arioch that he would let the king know that he will tell the king his dream and interpretation, just give him a little time. Arioch and Daniel became friends on the over 1,000 mile journey from Judah to Babylon. Daniel got the needed time. He then went to his home and consulted with the three friends and they, being strong in faith, sought God for the dream and it's interpretation.

Verses 19 - 23

God gives Daniel the dream and it's interpretation. Daniels gives God the glory and the praise.

Verses 24 - 30

Daniel appeals to Arioch to stop the killing of the wise men as he will tell the king what he wants to know. Arioch ushers Daniel into the king and announces he has found a captive from Judah who can reveal the dream and it's meaning. Verse 27, Daniel can't resist rubbing it in about how all his high paid staff couldn't answer his demand. Then in verse 28 he gives tribute to his God in heaven as the source of the revelation.

Verses 31 - 35

Daniel describes this great image that Nebuchadnezzar saw having a gold head, chest and arms of silver, thighs of brass, legs of iron and feet part of iron and part clay. Then a rock strikes the image on the feet and destroys it.

Verses 36 - 45

Daniel begins the interpretation. Verses 36-38, Daniel identifies the Babylonian empire and Nebuchadnezzar as the head of gold. The first of four empires to rule the world. Verse 39 describes the next kingdom to arise (chest and arms of silver) and just as silver is inferior to gold, so this kingdom would be inferior to Babylon. Then a third kingdom would arise, the brass or bronze kingdom, then a fourth kingdom would arise, an iron kingdom. Ruthless in it's description in verse 40. Next in verses 41-43, he explains how the kingdom falls and becomes a mixture of strong and weak nations. Verses 44-45, while in the time of the feet, a great stone would strike it and break it in pieces consuming them, and God would set up a kingdom that would not be destroyed.

Verses 46 - 49

The king was astounded and remembered the dream as Daniel revealed it. He then placed Daniel in a position of high honor along with his three friends.

Daniel 2, written in the 6th century before Christ, accurately forecasted the future of the world from Daniels time to the second coming of Christ.

The First World Empire - BABYLON

Verse 38. The Head of Gold kingdom was Babylon and it ruled the world from 612 BC to 539 BC. (73 years). It was known for its magnificent displays of wealth, especially the hanging gardens and golden lions that were all throughout the kingdom.

The Second World Empire
The MEDO/PERSIAN KINGDOM

Next, in verse 39, the chest and arms of silver kingdom was the Medes and the Persians who overthrew Babylon in 539 BC and ruled the world as the Medo-Persian empire from 539 BC to 331 BC. (208 years).

The Third World Empire - GREECE

The third kingdom of bronze or brass had Alexander the Great leading its armies and took over rule of the world as the Grecian empire from 331 BC to 168 BC. (163 years) Alexander conquered the Medes and the Persians at the battle of Arbela. At the time of Daniel's writing this book of prophecy, Greece was only a fishing port.

The Fourth and Last World Empire - ROME

Then in verse 40, the brass kingdom was crushed by the iron monarchy of Rome represented by the two legs of iron. That final battle was the Battle of Pydma in 168 BC. The two legs represented the two great divisions of the Roman empire, eastern and western Rome. Rome ruled the world from 168 BC to 476 AD. (644 years). Between the years 351AD to 476AD, a series of invasions by Barbaric tribes from northern Europe completely overran the Roman Empire and brought it to its knees. In 476 AD the fall of the Roman empire was complete. There would NEVER be another nation of men that would rule the earth again. Verses 41-43 reveals the feet part of iron and part of clay, the ten toes symbolized the 10 nations that would arise out of the fall of the Roman empire. Some would be strong (iron) and some would be weak (clay). Just as iron and clay would not adhere, neither would these nations be able to adhere.

Ten Nations Arise From the Ruins of ROME

Nation Number	Known Then As	Known Now As
1	Alemanni	Germany
2	Franks	French
3	Bergundians	Switzerland
4	Suevi	Portugal
5	Anglo-Saxons	England
6	Visigoths	Spain
7	Lombards	Italy
8	Heruli	Is No More
9	Vandals	Is No More
10	Ostrogoths	Is No More

Verse 43 talks about the mingling of seeds. There were numerous marriages between royalty of different nations, but they failed to unite the divided nations. A world divided to this day, from 476 AD to 1999 AD, no one nation has ever ruled the world again. Some have tried and failed. For example: Charlemagne tried and failed. In the 7th century he launched 53 expeditions against 14 nations. Spain had Charles the 5th try in the 16th century and failed. France had Louis the 14th try in the 18th century and failed. Treaty of Ulrecht in 1713. Napoleon tried in the 19th century and met his waterloo in 1815. Kaiser Wilhelm, Adolph Hitler and Mussolini all failed in the 20th century. Because God's prophecy can't fail. Verse 43 is the time we live in. The time of the end. The great stone that will strike the feet, is the Rock, Jesus Christ and His second coming.

The study of Daniel 2 is important for a couple of reasons. First, the prophecy occurred early in the reign of the first kingdom. God accurately forecasted the worlds future, with three successive kingdoms and no more world kingdom. We now live in the time of the toes, awaiting Christ's Second Coming. The Second reason this prophecy was important is because it lays a foundation for the prophecy naming the beast that will arise from one of these kingdoms that will be disclosed in Daniel chapter 7.