Daniel, chapter two is such an important and interesting chapter in that great book. In chapter two, Nebuchadnezzar (king of Babylon) had a dream. Although he could not remember his dream, he called all his magicians, astrologers, and sorcerers together and commanded them to interpret this forgotten dream. If they failed, death was their punishment. No one could interpret this dream and told Nebuchadnezzar that it was impossible to interpret a dream that he had forgotten. The king commanded that all the wise men be killed, including Daniel. Let’s read Daniel 2:16-18, “Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would shew the king the interpretation. Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions: That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.”

Notice Daniel’s confidence in his words to the king. He PROMISED to interpret the king’s dream if given a little time. He went to his companions (you may know them better by their Babylonian names: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) and they began to pray, asking the Lord to reveal the dream and its meaning to them. We then read in verse 19, “Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.”

Daniel went to the king and announced to him, “The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king; But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these.” (Verses 27-28). Daniel took no credit for knowing and interpreting the king’s dream, rather he gave the Lord ALL the glory. In verses 31-45, Daniel gives the interpretation of the king’s dream. He begins by saying, “As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee WHAT SHALL COME TO PASS. But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.” So, we can see that the dream was prophetic in nature, revealing future events. Daniel revealed a vision of a great image of a man. This image was made of different materials. “This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.” (Verses 32-33) This speaks prophetically of what we know as the “times of the Gentiles.” (Read Luke 21:24) This image represents the four Gentile powers that would exercise dominion over the Jewish people.

There is much that could be said of these kingdoms, their risings and falls, but let’s give our attention to verse 44, “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.” This kingdom is separate from the other four. This kingdom occurs “in the days of these kings.” This kingdom is eternal. This kingdom is not ruled by ‘other people’, and this kingdom shall completely destroy all the other four kingdoms. We read of this same kingdom in Daniel 7:18, “But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.” This is the “kingdom of Heaven.” The Lord Jesus said in John 18:36, “My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.” Of this kingdom, we read in 1 Corinthians 15:24, “Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.” (254.8)