*Daniel 2:25-49
Daniel reveals to King Nebuchadnezzar that his dream represents a giant statue made of different materials, symbolizing future kingdoms that will culminate in God’s eternal kingdom.
- Daniel’s Audience with the King:
- Daniel is brought before King Nebuchadnezzar to interpret the dream he had.
- Daniel acknowledges the king’s inquiry and expresses gratitude for the opportunity to reveal the dream’s meaning.
- The Dream’s Interpretation:
- Daniel proceeds to explain that the statue Nebuchadnezzar saw represents a succession of kingdoms, each symbolized by different metals: gold, silver, bronze, iron, and mixed iron and clay.
- He reveals that Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylonian empire is represented by the head of gold, signifying its greatness and dominion.
- Interpretive Vision:
- Daniel elaborates that the subsequent kingdoms are inferior in value and strength, denoted by the descending order of metals.
- The final kingdom, depicted by the feet of iron mixed with clay, will be a divided kingdom, partly strong and partly brittle.
- The Divine Stone:
- Daniel describes a stone not made by human hands, which strikes the statue’s feet, causing the entire structure to crumble and disintegrate into dust.
- This stone grows into a mountain that fills the whole earth, symbolizing the establishment of God’s eternal kingdom, which will never be destroyed or succeeded by another kingdom.
- Nebuchadnezzar’s Response:
- Nebuchadnezzar acknowledges the validity of Daniel’s interpretation and marvels at the revelation granted to him by Daniel’s God, the revealer of mysteries.
- He recognizes the supremacy and sovereignty of Daniel’s God, acknowledging Him as the God of gods and the Lord of kings.
- Daniel’s Promotion:
- Nebuchadnezzar lavishes honors and rewards upon Daniel, appointing him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and chief administrator over all the wise men in Babylon.
- He also elevates Daniel’s three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, granting them positions of authority in the province.
2:25 Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation.
2:26 The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof? 2:27 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; 2:28 But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these; 2:29 As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass.
2:30 But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.
2:31 Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible.
2:32 This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, 2:33 His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.
2:34 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.
2:35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
2:36 This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.
2:37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.
2:38 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.
2:39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.
2:40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.
2:41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.
2:42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.
2:43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.
2:44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
2:45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.
2:46 Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him.
2:47 The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret.
2:48 Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon.
2:49 Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.