Week 28 Daniel 2
Nebuchadnezzar had a dream about a metal statue. It had a:
• Gold head
• Silver chest & arms
• Bronze abdomen & thighs
• Iron legs
• Iron & Clay feet
What can I make of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream?
I don’t have to guess about the first two elements. Daniel says that the upper metal sections are two consecutive state powers. Nations.
The gold head represents Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon.
The second one – silver – is Persia.
So far so good. I’ve heard about Babylon & Persia.
But after that I’m on-my-own.
I figure it’s legitimate to pencil-in Greece as bronze (even though Daniel didn’t specifically say so). But things get fuzzier then. Even though Rome was the next big imperial power I think that saying Rome is the iron legs is moving into educated-guess territory.
And the iron & clay feet? That’s uneducated-guess territory. A divided empire. Strong but brittle. United…but not organically. Who?
The thing that’s most interesting in this progress-of-empires scheme is the rock. The non-metallic kingdom.
The (Lord) will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, and this kingdom will not be left to another people. It will crush all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself endure forever .
Unlike the other kingdoms the Rock Kingdom will be set up by the Lord. It will displace all the other kingdoms. And unlike them it will be indestructible & non-transferrable & permanent. Unfortunately for Daniel the Rock Kingdom – the Lord’s Kingdom – was still waiting in the wings.
Note: quote from Daniel 2:44 (CSB)