Daniel 2

DANIEL 2
THE FOUNDATION
OF PROPHECY

A REVIVAL OF TRUE GODLINESS
AMONG US IS THE GREATEST
AND MOST URGENT OF ALL OUR
NEEDS. TO SEEK THIS SHOULD
BE OUR FIRST WORK.--Review
and Herald, March 22, 1887. {ChS
41.4}

1Ch 12:32 Of the children of
Issachar, men who had
understanding of the times,
to know what Israel ought to
do, the heads of them were
two hundred; and all their
brothers were at their
commandment.

THE FOUNDATION
OF PROPHECY
DANIEL 2

OVERVIEW
Using a great image with four
metal sections God foretold the
rise and fall of the four great
consecutive kingdoms which have
especially affected His people -
Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece &
Rome. Romeʼs division into the
nations of Europe is represented
by the feet & toes of iron and clay.
The last superpower will be
Christʼs Everlasting Kingdom.

CONSISTENCY IS THE KEY TO UNLOCKING ANY BIBLE
TRUTH
There are four prophetic outlines given in Daniel-chapters 2,
7, 8 to 9 and 10 to 12. William Miller and James White took
pains to emphasize that the four lines of prophecy cover the
same ground and enforce the same truth. They were right!
The prophecies of Daniel are a unit. Not only are the four
lines of prophecy parallel, but they have one great theme.
Ellen G. White wrote: "Consider the circumstances of the
Jewish nation when the prophecies of Daniel were given:"
TM, p. 113. The armies of Nebuchadnezzar had descended
upon the kingdom of Judah. Kingdom, King, Sanctuary and
People were swept away by the Babylonians. Daniel was
among those forlorn captives who hung up their harps beside
the river of Babylon and refused to sing the songs of Zion.
Along with every true-blooded Hebrew, he longed for the
restoration.

Daniel's four lines of prophecy (chapters 2, 7, 8, 11) all
commenced in Daniel's time. Palestine was then the home of
God's people, and the great nations of prophecy surrounded
"the glorious land." The two great centers of world civilization
were along the rivers in Mesopotamia and along the river Nile in
Egypt. Palestine lay between these two great powers as a sort
of buffer state. For centuries Israel witnessed repeated
struggles between the power of the North and the power of the
South. As each line of prophecy comes down to the Christian
dispensation, it swings away from the geographical setting of
Palestine and assumes a world-wide scope. Instead of the
Jews in Palestine being threatened by powers along the
borders of their national homeland, the prophecies describe the
conflict of the true Church with the great anti-Christ. This side of
the cross, national Israel has ceased to be the object of God's
supreme regard. The Middle East is not the locale of the final
conflict. Yet it is not surprising that the prophecy of the Church's
final conflict is couched in the Palestinian terminology of the Old
Testament.

All the prophecies of the Old Testament are clothed in the
language of Palestine. It is impossible to interpret Old
Testament prophecies without the clear light of the book of
Revelation. The Revelation is a mosaic of the Old Testament.
It cites the prophecies of the Old Testament and shows how
to understand their peculiar expressions. For example,
Babylon now symbolizes the apostate religious world;
Egypt, the atheistic world; and Israel, the believers in the
three angels' messages. (See Revelation 17; 11:8; 7; 14).
Since the Revelation unseals the book of Daniel (Revelation
10; Testimonies to Ministers, pp. 112-115), one must expect
that important features of Daniel 11:40-45 are covered and
clarified in the book of Revelation. Scripture, rather than the
newspaper, must be used to interpret prophecy.

KNOW THE FUTURE BEFORE IT HAPPENS
This prophecy is so incredible that some claim that it must have been
written long after most of the events described had happened by
someone who pretended to live before the events happened. However
several facts show that this idea is incorrect. Daniel was written about
600BC.
1. The historian Josephus (c. AD100), records that Danielʼs book was
shown to Alexander the Great. This means that Danielʼs book must have
been written before 323BC when Alexander died.
“And when the book of Daniel was showed him [Alexander], wherein
Daniel declared that one of the Greeks should destroy the empire of the
Persians, he supposed that himself was the person intended; and he was
then glad...” Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, XI, 333-338, Loeb Classical
Library, page 447.
2. The prophet Ezekiel, who even the critics admit lived about 600BC*,
speaks of Daniel as living at the same time. (Eze 14:14, 20). *Encʼ
Britannica, Vol. 4, 15th edition, 1988, p643

verses 1-11 - God in the flesh
God gave the king of Babylon (an image worshipper) a dream of a metal
image. When he awoke he could not remember the dream but knew that
it was very significant. Upon asking his astrologers etc. to tell him what he
had dreamed and what it meant they said that only the gods could do so,
and that the gods did not dwell in the flesh.
verse 11 - God with us
Heathen gods are far removed from humanity, but not the God of the
Bible. He became one of us, “made flesh and dwelt among us.” John
1:14. “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood,
he also himself likewise took part of the same...” Heb 2:14.
By becoming one of us Christ showed us that through faith in Godʼs
promises we too may have victory over sin. He Who is fully God became
fully man. He connects us with Heaven. He understands our weaknesses
and Godʼs holiness and so became the perfect Mediator. We have all
sinned and deserve to die but Christ died in our place and offers us His
grace and power that we might be made free from sin. This is the
essence of the Gospel.
verses 12-13 - Imposters exposed
The king was furious as the magicians astrologers and sorcerers, who
claimed to know dreams etc., were exposed as liars.

verses 1-11 - God in the flesh
God gave the king of Babylon (an image worshipper) a dream of a metal
image. When he awoke he could not remember the dream but knew that
it was very significant. Upon asking his astrologers etc. to tell him what he
had dreamed and what it meant they said that only the gods could do so,
and that the gods did not dwell in the flesh.
verse 11 - God with us
Heathen gods are far removed from humanity, but not the God of the
Bible. He became one of us, “made flesh and dwelt among us.” John
1:14. “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood,
he also himself likewise took part of the same...” Heb 2:14.
By becoming one of us Christ showed us that through faith in Godʼs
promises we too may have victory over sin. He Who is fully God became
fully man. He connects us with Heaven. He understands our weaknesses
and Godʼs holiness and so became the perfect Mediator. We have all
sinned and deserve to die but Christ died in our place and offers us His
grace and power that we might be made free from sin. This is the
essence of the Gospel.

The Dream Explained. GOLD: BABYLON
verses 14-37 - Revelation and Interpretation
God graciously gave Daniel the same dream and its
interpretation. By explaining the dream God made Himself
known to the Babylonians, and exposed the worshippers of
false gods , the astrologers and magicians etc., as frauds.
verses 36-38 - Gold – Babylon
Daniel told the King of Babylon that he was the head of gold.
Under Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon had captured Israel and
taken some of the upper class into slavery; among them was
Daniel. In two further raids on Jerusalem the city walls and
sanctuary were destroyed. However, the kingdom of Babylon
was to be replaced by another kingdom and then a third and
a fourth kingdom. As “ANOTHER kingdom,” would follow the
golden head, the head clearly represented the “kingdom” of
Babylon. Note: Daniel uses “king (Aramaic - melek)” &
“kingdom (Aramaic - malkuw)” interchangeably. The four
metalic sections parallel the four beasts of Daniel 7 which
are “kingdoms” - "the fourth beast shall be the fourth
kingdom" (Daniel 7:23).

SILVER: MEDO-PERSIA
verse 39 - Silver - Medo-Persia
“Another kingdom inferior to thee.” History
shows that Medo-Persia conquered
Babylon, and had power over Godʼs people.
More importantly the prophetic word
identifies the power that was to overthrow
Babylon in Daniel 5:28: "PERES; Thy
kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes
and Persians." It was larger than Babylon
but morally and culturally “inferior” (lit.
“earthly”) compared to Babylon. The
ancient Greek historian Herodotus records
how the river Euphrates was dried up
allowing the Persian king Cyrus to enter the
city via the river gates and conquer Babylon
(See on Daniel 5). The Ram was a common
symbol of Medo Persia. In Daniel 8 a Ram,
said to represent Medo Persia, is defeated
by a Goat, said to represent Greece. See
Dan 8:2-7, 20-22.

BRASS: GREECE
verse 39 - Brass (Bronze) - Greece
Grecia, led by Alexander the Great,
overthrew the Persian empire at the
battle of Arbella, 331BC. The He-
Goat of Daniel chapter 8 represents
Grecia which attacked and crushed
the Ram representing Medo-
Persia. At his death his empire was
divided into four parts by his four
generals and these were eventually
reduced to two; the Seleucids in the
North, and the Ptolemies in the
South - the prophetic Kings of the
North & South respectively of Daniel
11. See Dan 7:6; 8:3-7; 20-21; Dan
11). Incidentally the Greeks wore
bronze armour.

IRON: ROME
verse 40 - Iron – Rome
The third kingdom was to be replaced by a fourth
and the metal, Iron, is symbolic of Pagan Rome,
the Rome of the Caesars. While not specifically
mentioned in Daniel, it is the next world power after
the Greeks as noted in Luke Chapter 2:1. "And it
came to pass in those days, that there went out a
decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world
should be taxed."
“...the images of gold, or silver, or brass, that might
serve to represent the nations or their kings, were
successively broken by the iron monarchy of
Rome.” The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,
E. Gibbon, chap. 38, Vol. 4.
The iron legs represent the Roman Empire. Rome
conquered the Greeks and by the time of Christ it
could tax the ʻworldʼ (Luke 2:1). Incidentally Rome
had iron weapons.

In Daniel three of the four kingdoms are specifically named:
1. Babylon (Dan 2:36-38)
2. Medo-Persia (Dan 8:20)
3. Greece (Dan 8:21)
4. Rome is not specifically named in Daniel but its identity is clear. Rome
is very prominent in the New Testament. The iron legs reached from the
Greek kingdom to the end of the world. Only Rome fits this specification.
Rome dominated world affairs in Christʼs time, was divided into various
European kingdoms, however, continues today in the form of Papal
Rome. Jesus foretold that Jerusalem would be destroyed by the
“abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel” (Matt 24:2, 15). All
accept that this power was Rome.
The Roman historian Polybius wrote:
“The Romans...possess an empire which is not only immeasurably
greater than any which preceded it, but need not fear rivalry in the future.”
Polybius the Histories, transl. by W. R. Patton, Loeb Classical Library, Vol
1, p7.

verse 41-43 - “The kingdom shall be
divided”
The various nations of Europe in what
was the territory of the Roman Empire
are proof that this part of the prophecy
has been fulfilled. In AD330 Roman
Emperor Constantine moved the capital
from Rome in the West to
Constantinople (now Istanbul) in the
East. Weakened through wealth, luxury,
etc., Western Rome was unable to
withstand barbarian tribes from
northern Europe. By AD476 ten
kingdoms had established themselves
in what was the territory of the Western
Roman Empire. (cf. Dan 7:1-7).

THE FEET OF IRON & CLAY - A SYMBOL OF PAPAL ROME
The iron symbolising ROME continues beyond the division of
pagan Rome to the very end in the form of IRON mixed with
CLAY found in the FEET.
What does this symbolise? The IRON symbolises ROME,
however, there is an interesting addition to the feet in the form
of the CLAY. What does CLAY symbolise in scripture?

Isaiah 64:8 But now, O LORD, thou [art] our father; we [are] the
clay, and thou our potter; and we all [are] the work of thy hand.
Jeremiah18:4-6 And the vessel that he made of clay was
marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another
vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make [it]. Then the
word of the LORD came to me, saying, O house of Israel,
cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as
the clay [is] in the potter's hand, so [are] ye in mine hand, O
house of Israel.
CLAY in scripture symbolises religion. IRON represents the
state power of ROME. The CLAY mixing with it represents the
union of religion, the CHURCH, with the STATE. Remember
the IRON of legs extends into the feet and is still ROME,
symbolising the STATE. The CLAY is something that is added to
the anatomy of the image. Whenever religion, whatever that
might be, combines with the STATE, that religion can then be
seen as fulfilling the symbol IRON & CLAY and is a fitting
representation of the ROMAN PAPACY, a religio-political power,
a union of CHURCH & STATE according to the prophecy.

The iron and clay are much more than just the
divided kingdoms. Whilst looking back through this
prophecy, all the metals have been representative of
kingdoms/nations/states. But what does the Bible
represent clay as?
In Jeremiah 18:6 and Isaiah 64:8 we find that God’s
people, which are His church, (Acts 7:38) are likened
unto clay. But this is miry or dirty clay, which means a
dirty or apostate church. Daniel 2 shows to us that
there is to be a uniting of church and state during the
time frame after the Roman Empire. But God also
shows to us that church and state should not be
united together for the very fact of that, iron does not
mix with clay, it is not God’s system to mix the two
together they are to remain separate.

IRON & CLAY - UNION of CHURCH & STATE: PAPAL ROME

verse 43 - Not cleave to one another
Mingle themselves with the seed of men - Even though the kingdoms were
divided, the monarchies of different countries tried to unite them through marriage
and thus gain the supremacy this way. The only thing it resulted in was family feuds
between countries. Many have tried to rule the world through military conquest,
Charlemagne, Napoleon, and Hitler to name a few. But all efforts have come to
naught for the Bible is in opposition to them all, as it is written “they shall not cleave
one to another”, for clay does not cleave to iron vis-à-vis
“They shall not cleave (stick) one to another...” Throughout fifteen centuries many
powerful men have attempted to reunite Europe but all have failed: Charlemagne;
Napoleon; Kaiser Wilhelm; Adolf Hitler.
A partial unity was formed during the Middle Ages with the great ʻMotherʼ Church of
Christendom. This political Church- State system was called the Holy Roman
Empire. With the rise of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century the nations
of Western Europe began to withdraw their support from the church of Rome. In
1798 the French entered Rome, captured the Pope and abolished the Papal state.
At that time not one nation came to help the Roman Church. However, Romeʼs
deadly wound is healing. As the other prophecies show, the nations are soon to
attempt a final union over which the church of Rome will preside. They shall not,
however, cleave (stick) one to another and the support of the coming confederacy
will dry up just prior to Christʼs return.

THE ECONOMIC COLLAPSE
REVELATION 6:6
A measure of wheat for a penny] The chaenix here mentioned
was a measure of dry things; and although the capacity is not
exactly known, yet it is generally agreed that it contained as
much as one man could consume in a day; and a penny, the
Roman denarius, was the ordinary pay of a labourer. So it
appears that in this scarcity each might be able to obtain a bare
subsistence by his daily labour; but a man could not, in such
cases, provide for a family.

verse 44 - Christʼs Kingdom set up
In the days of these divided nations, in the days of the kings of the
earth uniting with the church, the God of heaven is going to set up
His kingdom which will never be destroyed but will stand forever.
Revelation 17:1 shows the uniting of the kings/leaders of the earth
with the church in the end of time; and we can already see this
happening around us today, we are living in the days of when Christ
is going to come very soon.
This kingdom, that God is going to set up, is the everlasting
kingdom that the saints will posses at the end of time when Jesus
comes (Daniel 7:14, 27) for it is not left to other people but will be
possessed by them throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity. And
just as the stone cut out without hands breaks the image into pieces
and consumes it and fills the whole world, so too does God destroy
the wicked from off the face of the earth, and His kingdom shall
encompass the whole world. For the wicked shall be as chaff to be
taken away by the wind for the burning. (Psalms 1:4, Matthew 3:12)
The divided nations are from 476 A.D. to the second coming of
Christ [the stone cut out without hands, Matthew 21:42, 44;
Ephesians 2:20].

In the days of he divided feet God will set up His
everlasting Kingdom. Before His Kingdom is set up
all earthly kingdoms will be blown away. Papal Rome
(Iron & Clay), Pagan Rome (iron), Greece (brass),
Medo-Persia (silver), and Babylon (gold) are all
described as existing together at the time the stone
hits the feet and destroys everything. Though each
has already passed away they live on in a sense in
the succeeding nation. (cf. Dan 7:12).
verse 45-49 - Without hands
Christʼs kingdom is not to be established by human
hands or works. It will be established by God Himself
when He comes.

The coming of the Lord has been in all ages the hope of His
true followers. The Saviour's parting promise upon Olivet, that
He would come again, lighted up the future for His disciples,
filling their hearts with joy and hope that sorrow could not
quench nor trials dim. Amid suffering and persecution, the
"appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ"
was the "blessed hope." When the Thessalonian Christians
were filled with grief as they buried their loved ones, who had
hoped to live to witness the coming of the Lord, Paul, their
teacher, pointed them to the resurrection, to take place at the
Saviour's advent. Then the dead in Christ should rise, and
together with the living be caught up to meet the Lord in the
air. "And so," he said, "shall we ever be with the Lord.
Wherefore comfort one another with these words." 1
Thessalonians 4:16-18. {GC 302.2}

Daniel 2

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