In our passage, Daniel asks for and receives an explanation. As the wicked prosper in their sin, it seems as though they can continue in sin without any fear of divine judgment (see Psalm 73:1-11; 2 Peter 2:3-4). 2:29 As for you, O king, while you were in your bed your thoughts turned to future things. But the interpretation is given through me, not because Im any smarter than anyone else in the country, but so that you will know what it means, so that you will understand what you dreamed. It was a dream of a great statue with a head of gold, arms and chest of silver, belly and thighs of bronze, legs of iron, and feet of mingled iron and clay. NET Bible. Get an internationally recognised education and have the time of your life. The Greek view proposes the silver chest and arms are the Median Kingdom, brass belly/thighs are the Persian Empire, and iron/clay legs are the Greek Empire. The day of judgment is still future and has not yet been fulfilled. 19 Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. Dan. What God determined to reveal to Daniel should be enough for us. 39 But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours; then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. Daniels response is testimony to this reality. I arrived with nothing on hand but my ASP Immigration Services Ltd2023, All Rights Reserved. God also allows the wicked to persist and even to prosper, so that those whom He has chosen might be saved (Romans 9:22-24). God will establish His kingdom, and that kingdom, unlike the kingdoms of men, is eternal. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. John the Baptist 2 For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. In an unprecedented turn of events, King Nebuchadnezzar reversed his decision to execute his advisors. It seems there is more of a sense of urgency in seeking the meaning of the second dream. They are far from pleasant but an unavoidable part of the process. So it was for our Lord (1 Peter 1:10-12), and so it will be for us. Just so, Christs suffering and glory is but a part of one coming. Prophecy is necessary because Gods thoughts are not our thoughts, and His ways are not our ways. 45 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 goldthe great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. Other biblical prophecies bear on the prophecies of Daniel, particularly preceding or contemporary prophecies. Blessed be the name of God forever and ever. The Old Testament prophet did not see the gap because he viewed the coming of Christ as God does. He Would Belshazzar toast the gods of gold, silver, wood and stone with the sacred temple vessels? Before the Israelites were delivered out of Egypt and brought into the land of Canaan, they suffered at the hands of the Egyptians. After you, another kingdom will arise, inferior to yours. Daniels interpretation of King Nebuchadnezzars dream reveals the giant statue represents a succession of earthly rulers. 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, shew unto the king; 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. Just like iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything, and as iron breaks in pieces all of these metals, so it will break in pieces and crush the others. I kept looking until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man; a human mind also was given to it. The beast was lifted up and made to stand like a man. As the saints suffer at the hands of the wicked, it may appear all hope is lost. But the stone that hit the statue became a huge mountain, dominating the horizon. The remainder of chapter 2 and chapters 37 are in Aramaic and are in the form of a chiasmus, a poetic structure in which the main point or message of a passage is placed in the centre and framed by further repetitions on either side:[11], Daniel 2 forms a chiasmus within the larger structure of Daniel 27:[12], Chapter 1 and the first few lines of chapter 2 are in Hebrew, but in verse 4 the text says, in Hebrew, "Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic," and the book then continues in Aramaic until the end of chapter 7, where it switches back to Hebrew. News without bias or noise. Holiness Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. What is it that these men are testifying against You? 63 But Jesus kept silent. Priesthood You, O king, are the most powerful king on earth. 2:33 Its legs were of iron; its feet were partly of iron and partly of clay. The fourth beast appears to differ from the other three in that he is more beastly, more powerful, more destructive, and more arrogant. The visions explanation was not thorough enough to satisfy Daniel. Dan. Salvation 36 This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king. He summons his magicians and astrologers to interpret it, but demands that they first tell him what the dream was. The fact that wicked men will prosper and prevail and that the righteous will suffer is hardly pleasant news. Miracles (2) Chapters 7 and 8, while written in different languages, are written during the reign of Belshazzar and somehow linked by the author in Daniel 8:1. The Cross And Separation From The World (1 Peter 4:1-6), 7. They protest that no man can do such a thing, and Nebuchadnezzar orders that they all be executed. (Numbers 23:19). Previously, the king had accused his wise men of stalling for more time. Daniel boiled down his vision to its essence, so we would not fail to understand the message he meant to convey to us. Prophecy becomes necessary from time to time to remind men of those things God has planned for the future which He will surely fulfill. 2:35 Then the iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold were broken in pieces without distinction and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors that the wind carries away. Third, is the removal of the kings mental faculties, for a time, until his conversion (cf. In the first scene, heavenly winds are employed to whip up the sea from which the four beasts emerges. 12 As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but an extension of life was granted to them for an appointed period of time. [23], The king's behaviour implies a distrust of his court dream-interpreters, and sets the scene for his later celebration of Daniel's God. After destroying the iron kingdom, Gods rule over earth will endure forever. It will be like the stone cut from the mountain by the invisible hand that crushed the iron, the bronze, the ceramic, the silver, and the gold. A night vision is given to king Nebuchadnezzar, apparently early in his reign as king of Babylon. 28:28; Rom. (11) A distinction is made between God the Fatherthe Ancient of Days and God the Sonthe Son of Manwith both playing a part in the establishment of the kingdom. The vision comes to Daniel in Belshazzars first year.78 A subsequent and related vision comes to him in this kings third year (see 8:1). You are that head of gold. 7 And it was given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them; and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him. Dan. Then, Daniel The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. Nebuchadnezzar's dream: the composite statue (France, 15th century), https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108226813.004, "From Prophecy to Apocalypticism: The Expectation of the End", "The Danilic Son of Man in the New Testament", "Millennialism, Scripture, and Tradition", "Stages in the Canonization of the Book of Daniel", Prayer of Azariah and Song of the Three Holy Children, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Daniel_2&oldid=1138723312, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, A. When that day comes for them, it is too late to repent. 10 A river of fire was flowing And coming out from before Him; Thousands upon thousands were attending Him, And myriads upon myriads were standing before Him; The court sat, and the books were opened. The expression, son of man, is not new to Daniel nor to the Jews of his day. Previously, the king (2:4b-49) A dream of four kingdoms replaced by a fifth, B. Now we will tell the interpretation of it before the king. The beasts are hardly worthy of prose, but the court of heaven deserves a description of the finest words.