Daniel 2: Babylon to the Messianic Kingdom

Related Topics

Visions of Daniel and John through time

This chapter of Daniel gives us an amazing view of the future of the main Gentile kingdoms who were over Israel at different points in history, starting with Babylon. It ties in with aspects of other visions and prophecies in Daniel 7, Daniel 11 and Daniel 9, as well as other books of the Bible. At the same time Daniel 2 stands on its own, focusing less on Israel’s future and instead more generally comparing the future of the kingdoms of this world to the kingdom of God from that point in time until the end times.

At a certain point in history, God would establish His kingdom in the world. And while this idea scared the leaders of the world that wanted to hold onto their power, God’s ways are not man’s ways and neither is God’s kingdom like those of mankind. As with so many aspects of God’s design to save mankind from themselves, they come from a different paradigm of thinking. And so God’s kingdom would be born out of the death of sin, nailed to a tree, and exist on a personal, spiritual level with each of the members of the kingdom of God where they were at, and in whatever earthly kingdom they were a part.

This first prophecy is revealed through a dream God interpreted through Daniel for the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar around 600 years before Christ that covers what we can now see as historical kingdoms from Babylon to the Roman Empire.

Approach to Study

A word on how I believe this, and all the other visions of Daniel and John should be approached. I think each prophecy needs to be viewed fresh as though it’s the first time studying it. All the mental connections that have been made through study and teachings of men need to be put to the side for a moment and we need to examine each prophecy as if it stands on its own, not an easy thing to do for me as it is also difficult for many who have been studying prophecy for some time to do. We may not be able to make connections or fully interpret it yet, but I think that shouldn’t come until the next step.

Sometimes our past accepted connections between visions can be built on shaky assumptions and I feel it’s important to only make connections that can be logically connected, building from a foundation of understanding each vision on its own. I think that while understanding can be hidden in plain sight many times, God gave us everything we need to know to understand prophecy within the text combined with a logical mind and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. It’s really the only way any kind of common understanding can be arrived at if we remove as much of our assumptions as possible and rely on faith, or trust, that God said what He meant and meant what He said.

Even then there are things, the 4 kingdoms is a great example of this, that may seem connected to other visions or prophecies, but contextual hints within the visions and prophecies themselves tell us at what time in the prophetic narrative they take place, and sometimes that excludes the seemingly obvious connection logically.

Once we know exactly what is being revealed just in the one vision, some of which is directly interpreted for us in the exposition itself, we can search the scripture for understanding symbolic interpretations of things. This is key, trust the mose base connections being made within the vision or prophecy itself. It’s very easy to imagine there is a symbolic connection defining a component a certain way that is not expressed in the text. This can be the beginning of going off course in understanding. If there is a plain sense meaning present, accept that meaning without trying to make others.

Then, as we understand each vision or prophecy on its own, is when we start to make tentative connections between the visions. This is based on things like where each fall on the prophetic timeline, usually determined partially from the vision itself, but also all the contextual clues throughout scripture of similar depictions of the same events. The sixth seal and day of the Lord are good examples of timing queues that are found throughout scripture and all speak of the same point in time on the prophetic narrative. 

I’ve excerpted Daniel 2 below without verses as it was originally. If you would like to read it with verse numbers and inline Hebrew definitions, read it at Blue Letter Bible.

Daniel 2
[The Unknown Dream & The “Wise Men”]
And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him. Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to shew the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream. Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriack, O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation. The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill. But if ye shew the dream, and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honour: therefore shew me the dream, and the interpretation thereof. They answered again and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation of it. The king answered and said, I know of certainty that ye would gain the time, because ye see the thing is gone from me. But if ye will not make known unto me the dream, there is but one decree for you: for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, till the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can shew me the interpretation thereof. The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can shew the king’s matter: therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean. And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh. For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.

[Daniel Shown The Dream]
And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain. Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch the captain of the king’s guard, which was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon: He answered and said to Arioch the king’s captain, Why is the decree so hasty from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel. Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would shew the king the interpretation. Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions: That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his: And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding: He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him. I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast now made known unto us the king’s matter. Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him; Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will shew unto the king the interpretation. 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. 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?

[God’s Glory Presented in Humility]
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; 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; 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. 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.

[The King’s Dream]
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. This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. 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. 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.

[The Dream’s Interpretation]
This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. 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.

[Babylon]
Thou art this head of gold.

[Medo-Persia]
And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee,

[Greece]
and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.

[Roman Empire]
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.

[Roman Empire: Partly Strong, Partly Weak]
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. 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. 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.

[Kingdom of God]
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. 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.

Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him. 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. 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. 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.

Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, captives from the Babylonian invasion and destruction of Jerusalem, were found to be 10 times wiser than all the magicians and astrologers of the king and so they were among the wise men that Nebuchadnezzar was going to kill for not being able to interpret his dream. They humbly asked God to be shown and Daniel was given a vision of the dream and he blessed God. What Daniel is given in this vision is a view of their future. What we are given is an amazing look at the past, with the benefit of some other scripture and the historical record.

The order of kingdoms represented in the image is sequential through time, such that each metal representing a kingdom follows the previous. We are given the interpretation of the beginning of that image as Nebuachadnezzar of Babylon. This defines both the kingdom and the king of it representing the metal. A kingdom cannot exist without a king, so many times in prophecy there is a distinction without a difference. We derive the following unnamed kingdoms from both scripture and the historical record.

But what is interesting to note is that each progressive kingdom in the image was central in controlling the kingdom of Israel. This is one tie-in to John’s vision in Revelation 17, where we see a more extended view of this where there are 6 heads of the Dragon that end with the Roman Empire with 5 kingdoms before it, each also involved as political heads with control over Israel in history.

Babylon (Nebuchadnezzar) Head of Fine Gold

God takes credit for Nebuchadnezzar’s power, kingdom, strength, and glory, naming him as the head of fine gold. In this we have both the context of kingdoms and a starting point, Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom of Babylon. An interesting tie in to John’s visions in Revelation of the 7 headed beast, in Daniel 3, we see Nebuchadnezzar make an image of gold and anyone who didn’t bow down to worship it would be cast into the furnace. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused and were cast into the furnace and were not burned. This is also a hint at the future hour of temptation and how we should act when demanded that we bow down and worship the beast at pain of death.

Medo-Persia (Achaemenid - Darius/Cyrus) Breast/Arms Silver

The vision doesn’t give names for future kingdoms, just symbology or order. From history we know that Cyrus the Great, founder of the Achaemenid (Persian) Empire, conquered Babylon on October 12, 539 BC, although he didn’t arrive himself until October 28/29. This is depicted in Daniel 5 when Belshazzar throws a feast and uses the temple instruments to drink their wine as they praised the gods of wood and stone. He sees writing on the wall and Daniel interprets it that Belshazzar’s kingdom was numbered and finished and that he was weighed in the balances and found wanting and that his kingdom was given to the Medes and Persians and that very night he was killed and Darius the Mede took the kingdom. Jeremiah 25:12-14

Through conquering the Babylonian Empire, Medo-Persia became the second kingdom over the land of Israel. It was this Cyrus who would end the prophesied 70 years of captivity in Babylon, Jeremiah 25:1-11, and allow Israel to return. In one of the rare times prophecy names names, Cyrus is called out by the prophet Isaiah around 150 years before his time. Isaiah 44:28-45:7

And so while Daniel 2 does not provide much in defining this empire except that it follows Nebuchadnezzar’s empire and is inferior to it, we know from Daniel 5 and the historical record what kingdom represents the breast and arms of silver.

Inferiority

We are told that the Medo-Persian kingdom is inferior to the Babylonian kingdom, but not really told in what way. While I’m not sure what it means, I found it interesting how the metals in the image, in terms of mineral hardness on the Mohs or Vickers scales, go from iron to brass to silver to gold, iron being the hardest and gold the softest. Yet Nebuchadnezzar’s told that the silver kingdom that follows his head of gold is inferior to his. In terms of general perceived value, the metals also go opposite of their hardness. And of course we know iron is used to associate with breaking in pieces and being strong, as Yeshua rules with a rod of iron as well.

Aside from the value of the metals, I’ve wondered what about the kingdoms would make the stronger more inferior and I can’t say I know enough of history to come to a conclusion other than the idea that the more malleable the metal, the more superior and the more hard the more inferior. While Nebuchadnezzar had the pride of a king, he also was humbled before God and recognized His superiority in Daniel 4. The further along through time it seems this wasn’t the case. 

At the same time, there was no inferiority statement for any of the other progressions, so perhaps this was just a statement pointing to the idea that an inferior kingdom would take over rule from Babylon. And as we saw, they were only able to take Babylon as easy as they did by exploiting a flaw in protecting the water system. So the inferior kingdom couldn’t take the city by might, but by craftiness.

Greece (Macedonian - Alexander the Great/4 Generals) Belly/Thighs Brass

We aren’t given much on this third kingdom to follow the Medo-Persian kingdom, but with the benefit of hindsight, we know this to be Greece. In 336 BC, Alexander the Great became king of the Macedonian Empire and through a series of campaigns he conquered the Middle East until his death in Babylon in June of 323 BC.

Daniel 8 does make this connection Biblically for us with the vision of the ram and goat and their horns. It is explicitly defined for us there that the ram and it’s two horns of different sizes are the kings of Media and Persia while the rough goat and it’s great horn is the first king of Greece. This fits with the historical narrative and confirms that in Nebachudnezzar’s vision, Greece is indeed represented by the belly and thighs of brass. Daniel 11 also goes into great detail on the later end of the Grecian kingdom and presents a kind of foreshadow between the little horn of Daniel 8 with the little horn of the future false christ. I believe this is why Yeshua points us to Daniel when speaking of the abomination of desolation, giving us a definition from history so we understand. Matthew 24:15

Rome (Many Leaders) Iron Legs and Feet/Toes of Iron/Clay

The fourth kingdom is defined as strong as iron as it breaks in pieces and subdues all things. Similarly this kingdom would break in pieces and bruise. Again, it’s not a whole lot to go on, but from history we know the next empire that arose to dominate the Middle East. From 280 BC to 30 BC, a series of 13 wars between Greece and Rome were fought leading to Roman rule of Europe and the Middle East. At the time the Romans came to power Babylon had fallen, although Emperor Trajan did visit Babylon.

“Trajan learned of this at Babylon; for he had gone there (on his way southward) both because of its fame - though he saw nothing but mounds and stones and ruins to justify this - and because of Alexander, to whose spirit he offered sacrifice in the room where he had died.” | Dio Cassius - Roman History Epitome of Book LXVIII Loeb edition translated by Earnest Cary

In 63 BC, Roman general Pompey captured Jerusalem. In spring of 30 AD just before Passover, Yeshua prophesied Jerusalem’s destruction and until 70 AD it would remain under Roman control. Rome would continue for the next couple hundred years, splitting into the Eastern and Western legs, just as the legs of the statue.

Luke 19:41-44
And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things [which belong] unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.

A Fifth Kingdom?

There are some, including myself at one point, who see that the change in consistency of the metal from iron to iron mixed with clay indicates a kind of different kingdom. This “fifth kingdom” listed in the statue would be the feet and toes that are part iron and part potters clay. This view tends to lead to a view that this image is somehow connected to our future, typically in seeing a revived Roman Empire that is weaker than the one of history. However, a careful reading of the interpretation clarifies this for the reader and, as we will see, the prophecy itself puts a complete end to the statue in our history.

Daniel 2:40-43
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. 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. 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. 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.

There is only one kingdom defined as the fourth kingdom, it has a strong as iron phase when it starts out, but eventually becomes weak. As the prophecy lays out, they are partly strong and partly broken and the KJV translation is “[they shall]H1934 [mingle themselves]H6151 [with the seed]H2234 [of men]H606, but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.” This passage (Daniel 2:43-44) has led to several different ideas about what it means.

Nephilim?

One more fantastical view ties the idea of “they” mingling with the seed of men as connected to the Nephilim of the days of Noah, as depicted in Genesis 6:1-7, and a return to that. Matthew 24:37, Luke 17:26 While the bizarre sounding events of Revelation with demon locusts and such would seem to lend credence to this view, I think there is a much more logical view connected to the context of the vision in question.

History?

As we will get to in a moment, the overarching context of this vision Daniel is interpreting for Nebuchadnezzar is a series of kingdoms. There are 4 kingdoms of men that all build up an image like an idol representing the power of men to control the people of the kingdoms through time. While it’s not mentioned, these kingdoms are also all tied to Israel. Recall Daniel was there to interpret the dream because God used Nebuahcadnezzar to judge Israel. Cyrus would allow Israel to go back to the land, Greece and the Seleucid Empire would persecute and cause the first abomination of desolation, and Rome controlled Israel politically at the time of Christ and was the instrument of her destruction and diaspora for 2,000 years.

When Constantine died in 337 AD, Constantius was given the Eastern part of the Roman Empire and Constantine II was given the Western part. Through futher divisions and wars the power of the once unified Roman Empire weakened until around 480 AD when the division was abolished and the Eastern power fell with Constantinople in 1453 AD.

This weakened fourth kingdom of iron and clay is partly strong like the iron Roman Empire, and partly broken like the clay mixed in with the strength of iron. Both the iron and the clay are part of the image, and more specifically the fourth kingdom represented in the image, the Roman Empire.

Therefore “they,” related to the kingdom, mingle themselves with the seed of men. But this “mingling” does not strengthen because it represents the iron and clay mixture that does not cleave together. Since the only connection to these metals is that they are each a kingdom, and they are started with Nebuchadnezzar as the head of gold, I don’t feel it’s much of a leap to say that the “they,” in regards to the kingdoms is referring to the leaders of the kingdoms, or royalty.

Now the word “mingle” is only used in this vision in scripture and in conjunction with “seed,” which is also only used here and means to comingle with the offspring of men. Ezra 9:2, Psalm 106:35 I like Chris White’s study on this in his book Daniel (A Commentary). He goes into some detail on this in chapter 2 that I won’t get into here, but there were several attempts of royal intermarriage meant to save the collapsing Western Roman Empire.

Israel the Clay?

Now I’ve mentioned Israel’s connection to this vision in that these kingdoms of men all ruled over her. This is the extent that I take this connection, but there is a view that Israel is actually represented as the clay in the statue.

For consistency, given the gold, silver, and brass kingdoms were all controlling Israel the same way as the iron, if the clay represented Israel, one would expect the previous metals to be mixed with clay as well, but this is not the case.

Furthermore, it seems to me that the idea of the iron and clay mixture is that it makes the Roman Empire that the iron represents weaker. While Rome was often annoyed dealing with the rebellions of Israel, as were the previous kingdoms, it was not Israel that weakened Rome. Rome just about completely wiped the nation of Israel out of her land for over 1,800 years and remained a political kingdom until at least 480 AD if not 1453 AD.

It seems to me that through all the metal kingdoms they were identified explicitly as Gentile kingdoms of this world that ruled over the people of the world, including Israel. Since both the iron and clay are representative of the fourth kingdom, then we must conclude that both the iron and clay were representative of the same Gentile kingdom in a weakened state at the end of their existence following the legs of iron in the kingdoms strength.

And this leads to the final kingdom to which the image as a whole is compared. While the images metals represents the kingdoms of this world, the stone cut without hands represents the king of a different kind of kingdom.

The Kingdom of God

There is something different about the kingdom that consumes the kingdoms of the image that came before it. The final kingdom is introduced as a stone cut without hands that becomes a great mountain that fills the whole Earth.

Stone Cut Without Hands

A study of just the word altar in scripture was very interesting as I was studying the moedim. In the context of the appointed times it had to do with the seven times of the year appointed by God for Israel, during 3 main times of the year, centered around the harvest and communion with God. But it also means an appointed place, the tabernacle of the congregation, where they were to meet the Lord at His Earthly residence.

If you look at the times scripture uses the word altar, it’s many times tied to man building an altar upon which to make a sacrifice at the place where the Lord met with them or when they desired to meet with the Lord. This ultimately became more stationary in Jerusalem. It’s interesting that the altar to be made for the Lord was not supposed to be hewn stone, it had to be stone naturally broken apart, or not cut with human hands.

Exodus 20:25
"And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it."

Yeshua is the stone cut without hands, unpolluted and the perfect sacrifice at the time God came as a man to tabernacle with men. He was the stone that brought the kingdom of God to the world and made a way for us to be members of that kingdom. And of course it is also connected to the stone the builders rejected. The idea of what this stone does in Daniel 2 seems to parallel this.

Matthew 21:42-44
Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

There seems to be a distinction depending upon one’s interaction with the stone. In one case, they fall on the stone and rest broken on it and in the other the stone falls on them and wrests existence from them. One brings brokenness and the other pulverization, much like the stone that strikes the image. To me, the falling on the stone is akin to the Christian dying to self and being reborn in Christ. It is a the broken and contrite heart that fall on the stone and receive His rest.

Psalm 34:15-19
"The eyes of the LORD [are] upon the righteous, and his ears [are open] unto their cry. The face of the LORD [is] against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. [The righteous] cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. The LORD [is] nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Many [are] the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all."

Psalm 51:15-17
"O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give [it]: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God [are] a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise."

Matthew 11:28-30
"Come unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke [is] easy, and my burden is light."

But those who remain proud and stand in defiance, the stone will fall on them and grind them to powder. This is exactly what we see transpire with the image representing the kingdoms of this world from Babylon to Rome.

The stone is representative of the King of this new kingdom, Yeshua is the King of the kingdom of heaven given to Him by the Father. The context of the vision is the elimination of the kingdoms of the world and consumption of their control into the kingdom of God, which was only made possible by the mission of His first coming in establishing that kingdom.

John 19:30
"When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost."

James 1:15
"Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death."

2 Corinthians 5:20-21
"Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech [you] by us: we pray [you] in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him [to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."

Colossians 2:14-15
Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; [And] having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

I see this as an already but not yet prophecy. We cannot enter into the kingdom of God except through the sacrifice of Yeshua on the cross where He became sin for us and we were given His righteousness. This only continues if we remain in obedience, loving God and each other, because this kingdom is not just a badge that is worn, it is a way of existing in selfless love and not selfish destruction.

And so this new kingdom, as pertaining to mankind having an option to join it over the kingdoms of this world, was established upon the opporunity given to men at the cross. The stone cut without hands, like those on the altar of sacrifice, struck the kingdoms of men on April 3, 30 AD and on April 7 when the stone was resurrected, men began to understand God’s plan for their salvation.

The Stone Becomes A Great Mountain

Something becomes very clear when you do a word study on the “kingdom of God” and “kingdom of heaven.” While the stone represents the start of the kingdom, it is a different kind of kingdom. It is a spiritual kingdom that exists in the world, but is not of the world. John 15:18-19

Matthew 12:28
But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.

Luke 17:20-21
And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

Colossians 1:25-29
"Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; [Even] the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what [is] the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily."

Given that the Roman Empire did not completely fall for centuries after these events, it would seem that the stone striking the statue was a catalyst for its ultimate destruction, but not the immediate result of it.  In light of this historically understood weakening of the Roman Empire, I think the reasoning becomes clearer from the vision’s interpretation.

Daniel 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.

It seems pretty clear from the depiction of the image and the stone, that they converge at the weakness of the fourth kingdom before the statue as a whole is destroyed. Therefore, the statement that God’s kingdom will be set up in the days of these kings would be connected to this end of the fourth empire.

As we know from history, many kingdoms were passed down to either children, relatives, or trusted people to the king upon his death. Once again we are given a clue that this kingdom of God is much different. The fact that this idea of the kingdom being left to other people would indicate the king of this kingdom had died, the kingdom is not left to other people, likewise indicating there was no need to leave it to other people. To me, this is a hidden declaration of the resurrection of the king. In truth, that resurrection is what gave the members of the kingdom of God on earth their faith in this invisible heavenly kingdom. It wasn’t just the death of sin on the cross that birthed the kingdom, but also the eternal life of its King. And so this eternal kingdom will always have an eternal King and members of this kingdom will exist within it eternally.

So while the stone struck the image, the kingdom the stone represents also consumes the representation of the kingdoms of this earth. This is the spiritual nature of the kingdom in that its members exist in the world within kingdoms of men, yet they are called out to live as in the kingdom of God. In this way, Christianity has grown the kingdom on earth through the spreading of the Gospel of the kingdom of God on earth.

Faithful Christians, the kingdom, exist within all man’s kingdoms around the world and though they die naturally or through persecution for their faith, the true scope of the size of the kingdom of God won’t be fully realized by men until Yeshua returns in glory to resurrect His kingdom and call them up to Him. You see the King of the kingdom of God has conquered death and so even in death the eternal kingdom grows and fills the earth.

But the physical and temporal nature of the image is that it represents the progression from Babylon to Rome. In this paradigm of the same vision, we know that these earthly kingdoms that existed would all become part of the historical record, no longer ruling over men on the earth. Sure they have influenced where we are today, but their power over men is gone and nowhere to be found.

Already But Not Yet

But what is the ultimate end of the mountain filling the whole earth? Bible prophecy is very clear that there is a time yet future in which the King of this new etneral kingdom will return to earth and put an end to all men’s kingdoms to establish His in the earth. Only at this time will the complete fulfillment of His kingdom consuming all kingdoms, not just the historical kingdoms that are long gone, be complete.

While the kingdom of God came with Christ, it is not yet completely fulfilled and that is for a time yet future. Until then, we grow in faith an relationship with God by His Spirit and His Word until that day of redemption.

Luke 22:14-20
And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer: For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide [it] among yourselves: For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come. And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake [it], and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup [is] the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.

Luke 21:25-33
And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

Cultural Assimilation

While the statue is destroyed historically and the kingdom of God grows until His return, I think we can still see the extension of this iron and clay mixing idea in the kingdoms of the world after Rome being partly strong and partly weak as well. From the Hebrew meaning of the words in question, this seems to be the correct view and would more accurately be written, “it will come to pass that the seed of men will join and mix together.”

How does this make them partly strong and partly weak? If you think about the progression through history, there were less people on the earth in the ancient past. From the time of Noah cultures developed out of families. As time went on they would inevitably grow, but early on even with nations like Babylon, the Medes, Persia, etc. there were cultural connections closer than those of other cultures. Politically there were kings and emperors leading whole people who followed them as gods. In this way, like Nebuchadnezzar, he was the head of fine gold, the single ruler of all people. They were strong and single-minded empires.

History is replete with the rise and fall of kingdoms, but throughout time as nations are conquered and cultures assimilated, it’s natural that the bond of family is weakened the larger the kingdoms get and the more they mingle with other cultures, this was why God wanted His people to be set apart from the world and not mingle with them. Politically, the influences of Greece and Rome and the ideas of republics and democracies was a natural evolution and from that time to today has grown to where strong governments are governing many people as wars have continued to be fought for dominance through history.

Without the kind of kings or dynastic empires of old, it’s become politics of the people and democracy in much of the West and some trying to hold onto the power old school. While governments have strong control, they have weakened in their dominations over time, leading to a more solidified map of the world that changes less and less nationally. However as we near the end, global governance grows, the cooperation of the various nations driven by political financial agendas, climate, etc. slowly solidify power to the ultimate end of being able to take control of that power and once again have a powerful and global king with power and authority to control the world.

There is another fourth kingdom from Daniel 7 that relates to this period. There are some debates as to whether the final kingdom is evolved from the Western and/or Eastern legs of the Roman Empire since it is comprised partially of iron. This view typically associates the number 10 with this kingdom only because feet usually have 10 toes, although toes aren’t actually mentioned in the scripture. This then is tied to the 10 horns because they are both 10. There are also views of it representing Mediterranean or Islamic nations.

I tend to view this in light of political changes over time and this kingdom of which the antichrist will rule over will seem strong in it’s might and actions, but underlying it is a cultural disunity that will also make it weak. How exactly that plays out I’m not entirely sure, but given what I’ve found in studying the combined visions of Daniel and John, I get the feeling that modern Israel will make an alliance with 10 nations, possibly it’s neighbors as is coming together with the Abraham Accords, and God will put it in their hearts to agree and give their power to the beast. Yet in the end they will hate Israel and when God has fulfilled His will, they will destroy Jerusalem. Revelation 17:12-17

Globally, we know the kings of the earth will give thier power to the beast and the stone that destroys these feet and toes is stated to consume all these kingdoms. Therefore the feet and toes are less about the false christ’ s kingdom and more about the ultimate end of all kingdoms while at the same time the timing of that will be during the antichrist’s kingdom. Since he rules over the earth and they give him their power and participate in drinking the wine of the dragon’s wrath from the cup held by the harlot riding the beast in Revelation 17:1-4, then either/both could be accurate.

Ultimately, I really see Daniel 2 stand alone in a plain reading, as a prophecy of the nations of men that were given power over the nation of Israel for much of the first 69 weeks of Daniel’s 70 weeks prophecy. God contrasts these earthly, temporal kingdoms with His spiritual, eternal kingdom that will ultimately consume them all. And so the other visions of Daniel tend to touch on the same time periods covered in Daniel 2, but ultimately attempts to take numerical commonalities like 4 kingdoms in Daniel 7, and 8 in addition to the 10 toes/horns in Daniel 7, Revelation 12, 13, 17-18 will lead down the wrong path and distort the interpretation of the prophetic narrative. I think Daniel 2 interprets itself fully, as I’ve gone over here, and doesn’t go into the kind of detail about the end as Daniel 7 does. Attempts to tie