Once again we see the wisdom and tact of Daniel as he went immediately to Arioch and told him not to destroy the “wise men” because God had revealed to him both the dream and its interpretation. Daniel never heard the Sermon on the Mount, but he knew how to treat his enemies and was willing to rescue the pagan advisers. Since Arioch was in charge of executions, he could stop the process and save the lives of all the king’s counselors in the city of Babylon. Daniel gave Arioch the privilege of taking him into the presence of the king and sharing some of the credit. The statement, “I have found a man” (v. 25) isn’t exactly the truth, because it was Daniel who found Arioch; but Daniel wasn’t the kind of person who worried about who got the credit so long as God got the glory.
In reply to the king’s question, Daniel immediately gave all the glory to the God of heaven, and in this he reminds us of Joseph when he interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams (Gen. 41:16). Nebuchadnezzar must have been shocked when Daniel even told him that he knew the king had been worrying about the future of his kingdom before he had this dream. The dream was God’s answer to his concerns, for God revealed the future sequence of the Gentiles’ kingdoms and how Gentile history would climax with the appearance of an eternal kingdom.
The phrase “latter days” (“last days,” “last times”) is found frequently in Scripture, beginning with Genesis 49: and ending with 2 Peter 3:3. Our Lord ushered in the “last days” with His death, resurrection, and ascension to heaven (Heb. 1:2; 1 Peter 1:20), so we are living now in that period of time when God is “wrapping things up.” God has plans for the “latter days” of Israel (Gen. 49:1; Deut. 31:29; Dan. 2:28), which will climax with Messiah returning to earth and being received by His people (Hos. 3:5; Mic. 4:1; Joel 2:28–29). The “last days” for the church include perilous times (2 Tim. 3:1), the apostasy of many, and the rise of scoffers and deniers of the truth (2 Peter 3:1ff.); and this period will end when Christ takes His church to heaven (1 Thess. 4:13–18).
The image Nebuchadnezzar beheld in his dream depicted what Jesus called “the times of the Gentiles” (Luke 21:24), a period of time that began in 605 BC when Jerusalem was taken by Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian army. This period will end when Christ returns to establish His kingdom (Luke 21:25–28). During the “times of the Gentiles,” there will be four successive kingdoms, climaxed by a fifth kingdom that will destroy the other four and fill the earth. The fifth kingdom is the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
The dream (vv. 31–35). First Daniel told the king what he had seen in his dream, and then he explained its meaning. He saw a large statue of a man, “an enormous dazzling statue, awesome in appearance” (v. 31 niv), composed of five different materials: gold, silver, bronze, iron, and clay. Suddenly a stone appeared and smashed the feet of the statue so that the image was completely shattered and became like chaff that was blown away. Then the stone became a huge mountain that filled the earth. On hearing this accurate description, the king knew that Daniel was telling the truth and that what he said could be trusted. Only the God of heaven who sent the dream could have helped His servant know and interpret the dream.
The meaning of the dream (vv. 36–45). The large image represented four Gentile kingdoms: • The head of gold—Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian kingdom (vv. 37–38). It lasted from 636 BC to 539 BC. Jeremiah called Babylon “a gold cup in the Lord’s hand” (Jer. 51:7). • The breast and arms of silver—The Medo-Persian kingdom (539–330 BC). Darius the Mede conquered Babylon (Dan. 5:30–31). • The belly and thighs of bronze—The Grecian kingdom (330–63 BC). Alexander the Great established what was probably the largest empire in ancient times. He died in 323 BC. • The legs of iron and feet of iron and clay—The Roman Empire (63 BC–ca. AD 475). Iron represents strength but clay represents weakness. Rome was strong in law, organization, and military might; but the empire included so many different peoples that this created weakness. “The people will be a mixture and will not remain united” (Dan. 2: niv). • The destruction of the image—The coming of Jesus Christ, the Stone, to judge His enemies and establish His universal kingdom.
As simple as this explanation appears, it carries with it some important and profound messages. First, it reveals that God is in control of history. He knows the future because He plans the future. This doesn’t mean that God is to blame for the evil things that leaders and nations do, but that He can overrule even their wickedness to accomplish His divine purposes. The God of heaven gave Nebuchadnezzar his throne and enabled him to defeat his enemies and expand his empire (vv. 37–38; Jer. 27). But the God who gave him his authority could also take it away, and He did (Jer. 51—52). The king didn’t know how long his empire would last, but he knew it would end someday. In fact, Babylon was conquered by what Daniel called an “inferior kingdom” (Dan. 2:39).
Second, the dream reveals that human enterprises decline as time goes on. The massive and awesome image not only changed in value from head to foot— from gold to clay—but it also changed in strength, finally ending in feet made of iron mixed with clay. Actually, the statue was top-heavy, for the atomic weight of gold is ten times that of clay, and silver is five times heavier than clay. From age to age, nations and kingdoms appear strong and durable, but they’re always in danger of falling over and crashing. The image Nebuchadnezzar saw dazzled him with the brilliance of the gold, iron, and bronze, but it was standing on feet composed of iron and clay.
As we survey history, on one level we see progress and improvement; but when we go deeper, we see decay and decline. Thoreau said that America had “improved means to unimproved ends,” and that can be said of any developing nation. We can speak easily to people in almost any part of the world, but do we have anything important to say? We can travel rapidly from one place to another, but we make little progress in solving the problems of war, violence, famine, and liberty. While we’re grateful for the things that make modern life comfortable and enjoyable—good houses, cars and planes, powerful medicines, electronic devices—we have to admit that each of these brings with it new problems that have to be solved. It’s easier to make a living but harder to make a life.
A third truth is that it will be difficult for things to hold together at the end of the age. The feet of the image were composed of a mixture of iron and clay. Iron is strong and durable but clay is weak and prone to crumble. The iron in the image gives the appearance of strength and endurance, but the clay announces just the opposite. In fact, the clay robs the iron of its ability to hold things together, for wherever the iron touches the clay, at those points there is weakness. Society today is held together by treaties that can be broken, promises that can be ignored, traditions that can be forgotten, organizations that can be disbanded, and money-making enterprises that can fail—all of it iron mixed with clay!
Man at his best is clay, for God made him out of the dust of the earth. Though man and woman are both made in the image of God, sin has robbed us of the dominion He gave us (Gen. 1:26). We are both creators and destroyers, and we seem bent on destroying one another and the world God has graciously given us. The heart of every problem is the problem in the human heart—rebellion against God.
The image gives us a fourth truth: Jesus Christ will return, destroy His enemies, and establish His kingdom. The stone is a frequent image of God in Scripture and especially of Messiah, Jesus Christ the Son of God (Ps. 118:22; Isa. 8:14; 28:16; Matt. 21:44; Acts 4:11; 1 Cor. 10:4; 1 Peter 2:4–8). The phrase “without hands” is used in Scripture to mean “not by human power” and refers to something only God can do (Col. 2:11; Heb. 9:11, 24). It appears that the Roman Empire will in some ways continue until the end of the age and culminate in the rule of ten kings (Dan. 2:44; 7:24–27; Rev. 17:3, 12–18). The world will be delivered from evil, not by a process, but by a crisis, the promised return of Jesus Christ. Whatever remains of the four Gentile kingdoms, passed from one kingdom to the next, will be destroyed and turned into chaff. Then Christ will establish His kingdom, which will fill all the earth.
When we consider these truths, our response ought to be one of joyful confidence, knowing that the Lord has everything under control and will one day reign on this earth. While God’s people should do everything they can to alleviate suffering and make this a safer and happier world, our hope is not in laws, political alliances, or moral crusades. Our hope is in the Lord. People’s hearts need to be changed by the grace of God, and that means God’s people must be witnesses to the ends of the earth. The only kingdom that will stand forever is Christ’s kingdom (Dan. 2:44), and the only people who will be citizens of that kingdom are those who have trusted Him and been born again by the Spirit of God (John 3:1–18).
What would all of this have meant to King Nebuchadnezzar as he sat on his throne listening to a young Jewish lad explain God’s mysteries? For one thing, the message of the image should have humbled him. It was not Nebuchadnezzar who conquered nations and kingdoms; it was God who enabled him to do it and who gave him his empire. “You, O king, are a king of kings,” said Daniel. “For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory” (Dan. 2: nkjv). Alas, the great king forgot this lesson and one day said, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?” (4: nkjv). God had to humble the king and make him live like an animal until he learned that God does according to His will (v. 35) and alone deserves glory.
In giving the dream and enabling Daniel to know the dream and explain it, God displayed His wisdom and power. God has the wisdom to plan the ages and the power to execute His plan. King Nebuchadnezzar ruled from 605 BC to 562 BC, but Jesus Christ will reign forever and ever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end.