Daniel 2:1-49

 Daniel 2:1-49 (ESV) "In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his spirit was troubled, and his sleep left him. Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. And the king said to them, 'I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.' Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic, 'O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.' The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, 'The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins. But if you show the dream and its interpretation.' They answered a second time and said, 'Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show its interpretation.' The king answered and said, 'I know with certainty that you are trying to gain time, because you see that the word from me is firm- if you do not make the dream known to me, there is but one sentence for you. You have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the times change. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation.' The Chaldeans answered the king and said, 'There is not a man on earth who can meet the king's demand, for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean. The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.' Because of this the king was angry and very furious, and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed. So the decree went out, and the wise men were about to be killed; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them. Then Daniel replied with prudence and discretion to Arioch, the captain of the king's guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. He declared to Arioch, the king's captain, 'Why is the decree of the king so urgent?' Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel. And Daniel went in and requested the king to approach him a time, that he might show interpretation to the king. Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel answered and said: 'Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness and the light dwells with him. To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king's matter.' Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him: 'Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show the king the interpretation.' Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste and said thus to him: 'I have found among the exiles from Judah a man who will make known to the king the interpretation.' The king declared to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, 'Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?' Daniel answered the king and said, 'No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made know to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these: To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be after this, and he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be. But as for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your mind.' 'You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. The head of this image was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. 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.' 'This was the dream. Now we tell the king its interpretation. 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, and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all-you are the head of gold. Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall break and crush all these. 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 soft clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix wiht one another in marriage, but the will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever, 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 after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.' Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and paid homage to Daniel, and commanded that an offering and incense be offered up to him. The king answered and said to Daniel, 'Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery.' Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. Daniel made a request of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon. But Daniel remained at the king's court."

Clues to interpretation...

Vs.28 "What will be in latter days..."

Vs 29 "What is to be..."

Vs 42 "God has made known to the King what shall be after this."

So the interpretation is about

    1. Future events

    2. Future kingdoms

The dream addresses 5 kingdoms, described as parts of a image...

    1. Head of gold

    2. Chest of silver

    3. Belly and thighs of bronze

    4. legs of iron (feet mixed with clay)

Universal interpretation....almost

    1. Gold head is Babylon

Daniel 2:38 (ESV)  "and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all-you are the head of gold." Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom would stand for 60 years. The empire fell to Cyrus the Great in 539 B.C.

    2. Silver chest is the Medo-Persian Empire

 (Bible characters in this empire...Cyrus/Darius/Xerxes/Artaxerxes) It was prophesied by Daniel/2 Chronicles/Ezra/Isaiah. This empire lasted about 200 years.

    3. Bronze belly is the Greco-Macedonian Empire (Greeks). 

Alexander the Great was able to conquered from (present day) Yugoslavia to India. He died in 323 B.C (at the age of 32). The kingdom was divided among 4 generals slowly, gradually fell to Rome-lasted 250-300 years.

    4. Legs of Iron (feet mixed with clay) is the Roman Empire. 

This empire was very powerful. However it had many weakness and fell apart by internal decay. Daniel 2:42-43 (ESV) "And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage, but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay." The empire's weakness included moral decay/political corruption/unemployment in the middle class (due to excessive slavery)/high taxes to support military (a vast empire)/eventual invasions by Germanic tribes/ the rise of Christianity which opposed many Roman practices and traditions.

This leads to the 5th kingdom...The Kingdom of God 

The big question... Daniel 2:44 (ESV) "And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever."  Who are those Kings?

Theologians differ...    

    1. 10 toes are the 10 Emperors of the Roman Empire (Past/fulfilled)

or 2. 10 European nations that come from the Roman Empire (future/not yet fulfilled)

OR... 1. Was God's Kingdom established during Roman era- in reference to Christ's 1st coming (the birth of Christ/eventual success of the Kingdom)

OR... 2. Smashing of Kingdoms is still in the future; fulfilled at the 2nd coming of Christ

So God's Kingdom came gradually or suddenly.

Gradual...

Daniel 2:35b (ESV) "But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth."

Matthew 13:31-33 "He put another parable before them, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.' He told them another parable. 'The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.'

In 313 AD edict of Milan legalized Christianity in Rome. 380 AD edict of Thessalonica Christianity became the state religion of Rome

Sudden....

Matthew 24:27 (ESV) "For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man."

1 Thessalonians 5:1-3 (ESV) "Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, 'There is peace and security, ' then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape."

It is both the growth of the kingdom over time and the 2nd coming of the Lord.  

The "toes" are not explained. It could be fulfilled or not yet 

Revelation 17:12-14 (ESV) "And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beasts. These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beasts. They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful."

So the debate continues...but there is no debate on the primary message.

Daniel 2:44 (ESV) "And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever,"

God's Kingdom....

1. Shall never be destroyed.

2. Shall not be left to "another people".

3. Shall put all earthly kingdoms to an end.

4. It shall stand forever.

Application

    1. When things looked hopeless (for God's people) God gave us a vision of a future hope!

Jeremiah 27:5 (ESV) "It is I who by my great power and my outstretched arm have made the earth, with the men and animals that are on the earth, and I give it to whomever it seems right to me."

We Christians are recipients of that HOPE!

    2. Many powers have ruled...but all human kingdoms fall!

Matthew 16:18 (ESV) "Simon Peter replied, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the /living God.'"

Babylon/Persian/Greece/Rome/Nazi Germany & Japan/ Russia/ China/USA will fall before God.

No human kingdom will stand before God. God has an orchestrated plan.

    3. Word events (bad news) should not bring Christians to despair! 

Isaiah 46:8-10 (ESV) "Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors, remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purposes,"

Isaiah 46:11b (ESV) "I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it."

    4. God is in no hurry to establish His final kingdom. 

These events occurred 2600 years ago (600 years before Christ). All these kingdoms oppressed the Jews. 400 years of silence before Messiah. We are in a hurry, but God is not.

    5. You want to be apart of THAT Kingdome  (God's Kingdom/Eternal Kingdom)

    6. You CAN be apart of that Kingdom!

John 1:11-13 (ESV) "He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God."

John 3:5-7 (ESV) "Jesus answered, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, You must be born again.'"

Closing Scripture: Hebrews 12:28 (ESV) "Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe,"