In The Word
Read: Daniel 2:31-49
31 “You, O king, were watching and behold, there was a single great statue; that statue, which was large and of extraordinary radiance, was standing in front of you, and its appearance was awesome. 32 The head of that statue was made of fine gold, its chest and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, and its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. 34 You continued watching until a stone was broken off without hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and crushed them. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed to pieces all at the same time, and they were like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the entire earth.
The Interpretation—Babylon the First Kingdom
36 “This was the dream; and now we will tell its interpretation before the king. 37 You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the strength, and the honor; 38 and wherever the sons of mankind live, or the animals of the field, or the birds of the sky, He has handed themover to you and has made you ruler over them all. You are the head of gold.
Medo-Persia and Greece
39 And after you another kingdom will arise inferior to you, then another third kingdom of bronze, which will rule over all the earth.
Rome
40 Then there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron; just as iron smashes and crushes everything, so, like iron that crushes, it will smash and crush all these things. 41 And in that you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it will be a divided kingdom; but it will have within it some of the toughness of iron, since you saw the iron mixed with common clay. 42 And just as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of pottery, sosome of the kingdom will be strong, and part of it will be fragile.43 In that you saw the iron mixed with common clay, they will combine with one another in their descendants; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not combine with pottery.
The Divine Kingdom
44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever. 45 Just as you saw that a stone was broken off from the mountain without hands, and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the great God has made known to the king what will take place in the future; so the dream is certain and its interpretation is trustworthy.”
Daniel Promoted
46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and paid humble respect to Daniel, and gave orders to present to him an offering and incense. 47 The king responded to Daniel and said, “Your God truly is a God of gods and a Lord of kings and a revealer of secrets, since you have been able to reveal this secret.” 48 Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts, and he made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon, and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. 49 And Daniel made a request of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego over the administration of the province of Babylon, while Daniel was at the king’s court.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
Daniel shared with King Nebuchadnezzar God’s interpretation of the dream, which was a foretelling of not just Babylon’s future, but also of successive world powers even to the end times when Yeshua will powerfully return to set up His Kingdom. When Daniel finished, though Nebuchadnezzar was king, he bowed to Daniel and gave Daniel gifts and rule over all of Babylon. Further, he declared, “Surely your God is a God of gods and a Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries (Daniel 2:47).”
Notice that starting with the head and moving down, each body part is made of less valuable and weaker material. Even though mankind has advanced in knowledge and technology that has made life easier and more comfortable, it has declined in morality and godly values. Though many thousands of years have passed, people think they have become wiser but are actually more foolish in their rebellion against God. This is why the kingdoms of the earth repeatedly fail, and all will eventually fall to the power of Yeshua.
What can be said of your life? Are you growing in the knowledge of God and in godly behavior, becoming stronger in your faith and looking more like Yeshua? Or have you allowed sin and the world’s ways to weaken your life? Choose to eradicate every weak area of your life that will cause you to falter and fail, and instead become solid in Christ. The world will be destroyed, but those in Christ shall live.