of inner unity, as they soon became divided. This was the second part of the dream. Next we have the stomach and the sides which symbolize the conquests of Alexander the Great as the Greek empire swept into power. She exer cised world-wide influence. Daniel predicts the vision of Alexander’s four generals in Daniel 7:6 and 8: 21, 22 where he speaks of the four heads, named after the death of the nation’s youthful leader. Fourth in the image were the legs and the feet (Dan. 2:40-43). Note how the metals of the image go from gold to silver to brass and now to iron. While there is a decrease in quality, there is an increase in strength. This last is the Eoman em pire of which one historian said, “To resist it was fatal, and to flee from it was impossible.” In the toes there is yet another substance which did not mix well with any other. It is clay. These rep resent the ten confederated nations of one union which will again appear in future prophetic days. This will be a part of another study as we con sider the importance and unity of biblical prophecy. P art T hree As we consider the second coming of Christ, we reflect on the truth that at His return He is going to de stroy all the kingdoms of this world. His sovereign rule will encompass the entire earth (Dan. 2:35). At His first coming He was born of the Vir gin Mary. He established no rule at that time in the land of Palestine, to say nothing of the whole world. A lot of confusion could be avoid ed by remembering a very simple comparison. The first coming of Christ was related to the cross, while the second is related to the crown. This is confirmed in Daniel’s inter pretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream 27
Iraq. Nebuchadnezzar was puzzled by the dream’s meaning. The wise men couldn’t help him. In answer to the united prayers of Daniel and his friends God gave the prophet not only knowledge of the dream, but also its full and complete meaning. This tremendous image of a man which was seen in the dream was made up of four different metals. The head was of gold, the breast and the arms of silver, the belly and the sides of brass, and the legs of iron. The feet were part iron and part clay. A stone struck the image at the feet and crushed it completely. It was broken into pieces so the wind carried it away. That stone, according to verse 35 of Daniel 2 became a great moun tain which ultimately filled the whole world. An Daniel recited the dream, the king approved, for it was exactly what he had seen. God had given Is rael a title deed to the lands of Pales tine. He promised that the land would always be hers. King David was told that one of his sons would rule over the nation forever. But these people were now captives in a foreign land. You see, God was disciplining His people. Israel had sinned grievously against the Lord, although more than sufficient warning had been given them. Way back, during this time of the Babylonian cap t iv i t y , Daniel writes about the Messiah’s coming. What a wonderful thing to realize! In the explanation of the dream we learn that the golden head represent ed Nebuchadnezzar and the Babyloni an empire. This was the first world wide empire to rule over the Jews. The Babylonian people were assured of their invincibility. Their walls were as much as 87 feet thick and 350 feet high. But the country did capitulate just 21 years later. The next empire was to be inferior (vrs. 39). The Medes and the Persians were next on the world scene. The lack of the conqueror was in the area
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker