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DanielChapitre 2

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Show the statueWorld Empires from a Prophetic Perspective

King Nebuchadnezzar dreamed of a great statue. Daniel interpreted it as a prophecy about four world empires that would arise before God establishes His eternal kingdom.

1

Head of Gold

You, O king, are the king of kings... You are the head of gold. Babylon (605–539 BC) under Nebuchadnezzar.

v.37, 38
2

Chest and Arms of Silver

After you, another kingdom will arise, inferior to yours. Medo-Persia (539–331 BC).

v.39
3

Belly and Thighs of Bronze

A third kingdom, made of bronze, will rule over all the earth. Greece under Alexander the Great (331–168 BC).

v.39
4

Legs of Iron

A fourth kingdom will be as strong as iron. Just as iron crushes everything, it will break and shatter all things. The Roman Empire (168 BC–AD 476).

v.40
5

Feet of Iron and Clay

The feet were partly of iron and partly of clay. The kingdom will be divided—partly strong, partly weak.

v.41, 42, 43
6

The Stone

A stone was cut out without hands and crushed the statue. The stone became a great mountain that filled the whole earth. God's eternal kingdom.

v.34, 35, 44, 45
In the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, the king had dreams. His spirit was troubled, and sleep left him.
So the king gave orders to summon the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell him what he had dreamed. They came and stood before the king,
and the king said to them, "I have had a dream, and my spirit is troubled; I must know what the dream was."
Then the Chaldeans answered the king in Aramaic, "May the king live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation."
The king replied to the Chaldeans, "My decision stands firm: if you do not tell me both the dream and its interpretation, you will be torn limb from limb and your houses reduced to rubble.
But if you declare the dream and its interpretation, you will receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. So tell me the dream and its interpretation."
They answered again, "Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation."
The king said, "I know for certain that you are stalling for time, because you see that my decision stands firm:
if you do not tell me the dream, there is one sentence for you all. You have agreed together to speak lying and misleading words to me, hoping the situation will change. So tell me the dream, and then I will know that you can give me its interpretation.
The Chaldeans answered the king, "There is no one on earth who can tell the king what he demands. No king, however great and mighty, has ever asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean.
What the king asks is too hard. No one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not dwell among mortals."
At this the king flew into a rage and gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.
So the decree went out that the wise men were to be put to death, and men were sent to find Daniel and his companions and kill them.
Then Daniel spoke with prudence and discretion to Arioch, the commander of the king's guard, who had gone out to execute the wise men of Babylon.
He asked Arioch, the king's officer, "Why is the king's decree so harsh?" Then Arioch explained the matter to Daniel.
So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him time, so that he might show the king the interpretation.
Then Daniel went to his house and told the matter to his companions Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,
urging them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions would not be destroyed with the rest of Babylon's wise men.
During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision, and Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
Daniel said: "Blessed be the name of God from age to age, for wisdom and power are his.
He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.
He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.
To you, God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and power. Now you have made known to me what we asked of you; you have made known to us the king's matter."
Then Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, "Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon. Bring me before the king, and I will give him the interpretation."
Arioch hurried Daniel into the king's presence and said, "I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who can make known to the king the interpretation."
The king said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, "Are you able to tell me the dream I saw and its interpretation?"
Daniel answered the king: "No wise man, enchanter, magician, or diviner can reveal to the king the mystery he asks about.
But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the last days. Your dream and the visions that passed through your mind as you lay in bed were these:
As you lay there, O king, your thoughts turned to what would come to pass hereafter, and the Revealer of mysteries made known to you what is to be.
As for me, this mystery has not been revealed to me because I have greater wisdom than anyone else alive, but so that the king may know the interpretation and understand what went through his mind.
You looked, O king, and there before you stood a great statue—an enormous statue, dazzling in its brilliance, and terrifying in appearance.
The head of the statue was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze,
its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.
As you watched, a stone was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them.
Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were all broken to pieces together and became like chaff on a summer threshing floor. The wind carried them away, and no place was found for them anywhere. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
This was the dream; now we will tell the king its interpretation.
You, O king, are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you the kingdom, the power, the might, and the glory;
wherever human beings dwell, he has given into your hand the beasts of the field and the birds of the air, and made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold.
After you another kingdom will arise, inferior to yours; then a third kingdom, one of bronze, which will rule over the whole earth.
Finally there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron—for iron shatters and crushes everything—and as iron breaks all things to pieces, so it will crush and shatter all the others.
As you saw, the feet and toes were partly of potter's clay and partly of iron; this will be a divided kingdom, yet with some of the strength of iron in it, since you saw the iron mixed with soft, wet clay.
And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle.
As you saw the iron mixed with the common clay, so the people will mix with one another in marriage, but they will not hold together, any more than iron mixes with clay.
In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will stand forever.
This is the meaning of the stone you saw cut from the mountain, not by human hands, which broke to pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. The great God has shown the king what will happen hereafter. The dream is true, and its interpretation is trustworthy."
Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and paid homage to Daniel, and he commanded that an offering and incense be presented to him.
The king said to Daniel, "Truly your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings, the revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery."
Then the king promoted Daniel to high office, gave him many rich gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief over all its wise men.
At Daniel's request the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to administer the province of Babylon, while Daniel himself remained at the king's court.
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