Q3 How will God lay low the proud and the arrogant nations of the world as He has prophesied?
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. Daniel 2:31
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 threshing-floors; 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. Daniel 2:34,35.
NOTE: This is the foundation prophecy of all Bible prophecy. Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that worried him and he had forgotten it. He called on his wise men and demanded them to tell him the dream, plus the interpretation on pain of death. Of course no one can do this and as they quite rightly said, only divine intervention could give the answer. The king was furious and ordered all his wise man to be executed.
However when they came to find Daniel who was one of the king’s staff too, he asked for more time. A brave thing to do! He prayed and God showed Him in vision the dream that the king had seen and also the interpretation of the dream. Daniel went to see the King and told Him that there is a God in heaven who revealeth secrets. Daniel also said that the outcome of the dream was to take place in the last days.
Look at the artist’s impression of that great image. The stone that is about to strike the image on its feet has been cut out without hands. It therefore comes from God and shows that the world situation will not be solved by human minds but that God will intervene - and at the same time bring all global systems and international intentions of today to an end. They will be blown away for ever. There were four metals in the image, a head of gold, chest and arms of silver, belly and thighs of brass, legs of iron, and feet of iron and clay, each representing a different world power beginning with the time of Daniel.
Q4 How did the interpretation of the great image begin?
Thou art this head of gold. Daniel 2: 38
NOTE: These words were spoken to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. The great world power in the time of Daniel the prophet was Babylon BC 605-539. It was foreshadowed in Babel, where the people built a tower to heaven. After the great Flood in the time of Noah, God had told them to spread out and repopulate the earth, but they rebelled against the word of God and built the tower of Babel. ‘Let us make us a name lest we be scattered.’ God intervened and confused their language forcing them to scatter.
Q5 What kind of world power was to follow Babylon?
And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee. Dan 2:39
NOTE: This was the kingdom of the Medes and the Persians represented by the silver. They were noted for laws that could not be changed, the binding by covenants and agreements, making political and religious laws that could not be reversed. They were a world power BC 539-331.
Q6 Which world power followed these kingdoms?
And another third kingdom of brass which shall rule over all the world. Dan 2:39
NOTE: This was Greece. (This kingdom is named in a later parallel vision in Daniel 8) Greece gave our world education and philosophy. The New Testament was written in Greek. The philosophy of Greece stood in complete opposition to the Word of God and systematically formalised pagan beliefs which contradicted the original teachings of God.
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