LESSON 4: THE END OF WORLD GOVERNMENT

Daniel 2:31-45

In this lesson we learn Daniel’s interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.

Daniel 2 has been called “the alphabet of prophecy.”

Daniel explained to the king that his dream was a vision of the future course of world empires and their final destruction of Christ.

This is the “times of the Gentiles” (Luke 21:24). It is a period that begins with the captivity of Judah under Nebuchadnezzar and is to end with the destruction of the Gentile world by the coming of Christ in glory.

Why this is given to a pagan king?

It is a prophecy that concerns the beginning and ending of Gentile rule.

THE REVELATION OF PROPHECY

Nebuchadnezzar saw in his dream a colossal image of a man - gigantic, terrible, and awesome.

The image’s head was made of gold, its chest and arms were silver, its belly and thighs were made of bronze, its legs were made of iron and its feet were composed of partly iron and partly clay (Daniel 2:21-33).

In Daniel 7, we will see God’s perspective, an it is quite a different view.

When Nebuchadnezzar sees this statue in his dream, he is actually witnessing the transfer of world authority from the hands of God’s people, the Jews, into the hands of Gentile rulers.

THE INTERPRETATION OF PROPHECY

Daniel not only told what his dream was but also the interpretation.

Basically, the prophecy is about world kingdoms. The word “kingdom” is used 10 times in verses 37-44. He described 4 kingdoms, one kingdom after the next. And God is superintending the whole thing.

1. THE HEAD OF GOLD (verse 38)

The head of gold represented Nebuchadnezzar, the kingdom of Babylon and lasted until 536 B.C. 

The Babylonian kingdom is called the golden kingdom because it was literally saturated with gold.

Isaiah 14:4

Jeremiah 51:7

1. THE CHEST AND ARMS OF SILVER (verse 39)

Silver is inferior to gold and it represent the Medo-Persian Empire, which endured for more than 200 years from 538 - 331 BC.

The 2 arms represent the two arms of the empire, the Medes and the Persians. It is a beautiful picture of the divided nature of the second empire.

1. THE BELLY AND THIGHS OF BRONZE (v 39)

The belly and thighs of bronze represent the kingdom of Greece under Philip of Macedon and his famous son, Alexander the Great.

Bronze was symbolic of this kingdom partly because Alexander had to dress his soldiers in the bronze metallic armaments of that particular period.

1. THE LEGS OF IRON (v 40)

While the Bible does not specifically identify Rome as the 4th kingdom, history indicates that it must be so. The Romans conquered the Alexander empire through what became known as the “iron legions of Rome.” The word “iron” is used 14x in the text here.

There was never a rule like the Roman rule. It was the Roman rule that put Jesus on the cross. It was the imperialistic Romans who ruled so ruthlessly in the NT days.

1. THE FEET OF IRON AND CLAY (vv. 41-43)

Scholars are guessing what the “ten toes” of the image’s feet might mean. At least, it means that in the End Times, during the period of the Antichrist, there will be a 10-kingdom confederacy that rules with the Beast during those final days.

Many have seen in this prophecy a picture of the Revived Roman Empire.

But God gave that vision to him, and Daniel interpreted it for him. We could almost say that it was pre-written history.

THE APPLICATION OF PROPHECY

1. The Delicate Foundation of Human Government

The heavy statue resting on a brittle foundation of clay and iron, sitting on top of mud, is a picture of human governments with no solid foundation and can fall at any time.

1. The Deteriorating Form of Human Government

The course of Gentile dominion and civilization is one of deterioration, demolition, and decay.

We see this at least 3 particulars.

First, it is clear from the downward direction in which kingdoms move in the vision. It moves from the head to the feet, striking a blow to evolutionists. With progress in time, the image is degraded not improved.

Second, it i clear from the decreasing value of the metal mentioned. Gold to silver, silver to bronze, bronze to iron, iron to clay. 

Third, clear from the deteriorating power of governments represented. Nebuchadnezzar is the single head of gold, but there are two arms of Medo-Persia. The Graeco-Mecedonian Empire begins with one but soon is divided into four, while Rome begins with two legs of iron but eventually descends into ten toes of iron and clay. The whole movement is downhill. 

1. The Disintegrating Family of Human Government

In the stream of humanity there are two conflicting elements: the iron will of authority and the clay-like voice of the people.

This is one of the things that will prepare the way for the Antichrist’s world rule.

1. The Developing Force of Human Government

Although the value of the metals decreases as you move down the statue, their strength increases. As they degenerate in morality, they increase in force. It is a devastating combination of greater force and weaker government.

That’s the way human governments are. While they are falling apart in terms of sovereign unity, the kingdoms get stronger and stronger.

The stone of Christ’s kingdom is surely rolling into place. Soon it will fill the whole earth as a mountain - and He shall reign forever and forever.