(Dan 12:4) “But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.”
(Luke 12:56) “Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how [is it] you do not discern this time?
The second chapter of Daniel is about God’s plan to exalt those who obey Him and keep His commandments.
(1Pet 5:6) Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
Nebuchadnezzar, king of the greatest empire in the world in his time, prostrated, gave an offering and incense to a captive of Judah.
Forgotten Dream
(Dan 2:1-6) Now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was so troubled that his sleep left him. Then the king gave the command to call the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. And the king said to them, “I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to know the dream.” Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.” The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “My decision is firm: if you do not make known the dream to me, and its interpretation, you shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made an ash heap. However, if you tell the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts, rewards, and great honor. Therefore tell me the dream and its interpretation.”
The king had a dream and forgot it. It is not unusual to forget dreams. However, for Nebuchadnezzar it was different that day because his spirit was troubled and woke up and his sleep left, but the dream that troubled his spirit is unknown to him. He not only want to know what the dream is, but also its interpretation.
Unknown Dream
(Dan 2:7-11) They answered again and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will give its interpretation.” The king answered and said, “I know for certain that you would gain time, because you see that my decision is firm: if you do not make known the dream to me, there is only one decree for you! For you have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the time has changed. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can give me its interpretation.” The Chaldeans answered the king, and said, “There is not a man on earth who can tell the king’s matter; therefore no king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such things of any magician, astrologer, or Chaldean. “It is a difficult thing that the king requests, and there is no other who can tell it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”
It is the expectation for the king that these magicians, astrologers or Chaldeans must say the dream because they seem to have something supernatural. However, the king rightly found that they speak lying and corrupt words till the time has changed. If you carefully read what the Chaldeans said, they acknowledged that no one can tell it to the king and what they tell doesn’t come from above, otherwise, they would have known this.
Wrath of the king
(Dan 2:12-16) For this reason the king was angry and very furious, and gave the command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. So the decree went out, and they began killing the wise men; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them. Then with counsel and wisdom Daniel answered Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon; he answered and said to Arioch the king’s captain, “Why is the decree from the king so urgent?” Then Arioch made the decision known to Daniel. So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him time, that he might tell the king the interpretation.
As we read earlier, the magicians, astrologers and Chaldeans are speaking with their own imagination and not the truth. So, the king was furious and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. Then, Daniel asked the king for time, so that he might tell the king the interpretation. Daniel had faith that God of Heaven will reveal the dream and it;s interpretation.
Revealer of Secrets
(Dan 2:17-19) Then Daniel went to his house, and made the decision known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, that they might seek mercies from the God of heaven concerning this secret, so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
Daniel and his companions sought the mercy of God in heaven that they might live if the secret is revealed to them and not perish with the other wise men of Babylon. But God not only saved Daniel and his companions but all the other wise men of Babylon where also saved because of Daniel.
(Dan 2:20-23) Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, For wisdom and might are His. And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, And light dwells with Him. I thank You and praise You, O God of my fathers; 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 demand.”
Daniel blessed the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His. H continued to praise God of His attributes which are also found in other verses.
- He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; – (Acts 1:7) And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.
- He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding. – (Prov 2:6) For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding;
- He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, And light dwells with Him. – (Job 12:22) He uncovers deep things out of darkness, And brings the shadow of death to light.
(Dan 2:24-27) Therefore Daniel went 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; take me before the king, and I will tell the king the interpretation.” Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel before the king, and said thus to him, “I have found a man of the captives of Judah, who will make known to the king the interpretation.” The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen, and its interpretation?” Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, “The secret which the king has demanded, the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, and the soothsayers cannot declare to the king.
When Daniel had known the dream which was revealed by God, he then spoke to the guard to in order to save the wise men of Babylon. He then made known to the king, that the wise men, astrologers, magicians and soothsayers cannot declare to the king his dream, so that the king can glorify God.
The Dream & it’s Interpretation
(Dan 2:28-36a) “But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed, were these: As for you, O king, thoughts came to your mind while on your bed, about what would come to pass after this; and He who reveals secrets has made known to you what will be. But as for me, this secret has not been revealed to me because I have more wisdom than anyone living, but for our sakes who make known the interpretation to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your heart. You, O king, were watching; and behold, a great image! This great image, whose splendor was excellent, stood before you; and its form was awesome. This image’s head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which 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 were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. This is the dream.
The dream has a great image whose splendor was excellent.
- Head was of fine gold,
- Chest and arms of silver,
- Belly and thighs of bronze,
- Legs of iron
- Feet partly of iron and partly of clay
The below tabulation will explain the dream, it’s interpretation and it’s fulfillment.
| Daniel 2:31-36 (Vision) | Daniel 2:37-45 (Interpretation) | Fulfillment |
|---|---|---|
| (Dan 2:32a) “This image’s head [was] of fine gold | (Dan 2:37-38) You, O king, [are] a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory; and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given [them] into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all — you [are] this head of gold. | Babylonian Empire – Nebuchadnezzar II (605 – 562 BC) |
| (Dan 2:32b) its chest and arms of silver, | (Dan 2:39a) But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours; | Achaemenid dynasty – Darius the Great (522 – 486 BC) |
| (Dan 2:32c) its belly and thighs of bronze, | (Dan 2:39b) then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. | Macedonian Dynasty – Alexander the Great (330 – 323 BC) |
| (Dan 2:33) its legs of iron | (Dan 2:40) And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, [that kingdom] will break in pieces and crush all the others. | Roman Republic (509 – 27 BC) |
| (Dan 2:33b) its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. | (Dan 2:41-43) Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. And [as] the toes of the feet [were] partly of iron and partly of clay, [so] the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay. | Roman Empire (27 BC – 476/1453 AD) |
| (Dan 2:34-35) “You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which 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 were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. | (Dan 2:44-45) And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold — the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure. | Kingdom of God (Since 33 AD) |
During the time of Jesus, Rome exactly had 10 senatorial provinces where Roman Senate appoints the governor (proconsul) who are the 10 toes who don’t have a kingdom of their own. This is similar to what we studied in Revelation 12. The clay don’t mix with iron or they mingle with seed of men but don’t adhere with each other is the political marriages yet they don’t adhere to each other. A good well known example is Constantine fighting against his own father-in-law. Jesus Christ came to earth to set His Everlasting Kingdom on earth.
(Matt 12:28) “But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.
(Luke 17:20-21) Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”
The Kingdom of Heaven has already come and it is within us. It has been ever since that way since 33 AD to all believers.
(John 18:36) Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.”
(Rev 11:15) Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!”
Christ also adds that His Kingdom is not of this world. But during the sounding of the seventh angel, the kingdoms of the world will become the kingdoms of our God and Christ.
Daniel’s Promotion
(Dan 2:46-49) Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, prostrate before Daniel, and commanded that they should present an offering and incense to him. The king answered Daniel, and said, “Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret.” Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts; and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon. Also Daniel petitioned the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.
God made the greatest king of his time, Nebuchadnezzar to prostrate before Daniel and to give promotion to be a ruler over the whole province of Babylon. But Daniel humbled himself by sitting at the gate of the king.
Wow that was the interpretation of the Holy spirit, May God bless you