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"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" Hosea 4:6 |
Introduction to a Study of Daniel 2 - The Kingdom of Babylon
The prophet Daniel described four world kingdoms reaching down to the second coming of Christ. Daniel 2 gives this panaramic view of world history. By following through this Bible study, you may see a prophetic explanation of each part of the image; head of gold, breast and arms of silver, belly and thighs of brass, and legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part clay. A quick view of prophecy in Daniel and Revelation is revealed in the image below, with explanations to follow.
The chart above is an abbreviated version of prophecy in the important chapters of Daniel and Revelation. (Not every part of this chart will be explained here). The world, according to the Bible, is about to end with the second coming of Christ. The world, even if it doesn't realize it, is moving toward the most stupendous event in human history-Jesus Second Coming! The Lord has given us glimpses of prophecy to lead us and have us be unafraid. We have a more sure word of prophecy, and if we heed it we will understand past events and events about to come upon the world.
Seventh-day Adventists take a historicist view of prophecy. We look at current events, and see what fulfillment there is in Scripture. The Reformers also believed in interpreting everything through the prism of Scripture. Almost all the prophecies in the Bible have already come to pass. It is up to the diligent Bible student to study for himself or herself to find out what is Truth! It is our prayer that this page and its links will help you in that study.
Daniel was only a teenager when taken into captivity. He was the "prime minister" in Babylon and succeeding kingdoms for over 40 years. God spoke through him to give the people of that day messages as well as giving messages to us today. To continue with this study, go to the menu at the top of the page and click on Prophecy, Introduction, and then Babylon.
Daniel was blessed by God because he was able to interpret visions and dreams. He was a vegetarian, and conformed himself to God's will in all areas of his life. His interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream in Daniel 2 gives us a blueprint for world events down to, and including, the Second Coming of Christ. We will examine this chapter in some detail.
Daniel 2:1 And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him.
2 Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to shew the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king.
3 And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream.
4 Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriack, O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation.
The most powerful man in the known world demanded to know what he had dreamed because he couldn't remember the dream at all. And, even the Chaldean wise men (so called) said in Dan 2:11 And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.So, when the wise men couldn't satisfy him, he decreed that all the sorcerers and wise men should be killed. Since Daniel and his friends were in this group, Daniel asked the king for some time to comply with the king's demand. Daniel and his friends had a prayer meeting, and then Daniel met with the king. Daniel told the king that God had revealed the dream to him (Dan 2:28 But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets). Daniel's interpretation follows:
31 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.
This is a lot of material to absorb, and we will take it one step at a time. Actually, there are five world kingdoms that are described. The great stone in vs 45 that is cut out of the mountain without hands is the fifth kingdom. It refers to God's kingdom (without hands). In other words, this refers to the second coming of Christ. Since this event ends everything on earth as we know it, we can conclude that Daniel 2 is a panoramic view of the entire history of the world from Daniel's time to the end of the world. There are many other places where the Bible gives us prophecy, but this chapter can be used as a background for all the other explanations of prophecy. Each of the remaining four kingdoms have a page of their own here. As you study the remaining pages, please remember to do several things.
Remembering that there are several sections to this study, let us continue by clicking on the word Prophecy in the menu above, then click on Introduction, and click on the word Medo Persia.
32 This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass,
33 His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.
34 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.
35 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 threshingfloors; 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.
36 This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.
37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.
38 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.
39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.
40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.
41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.
42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.
43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.
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.
45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.
Babylon in Bible Prophecy
If we let the Bible explain itself, we will see that the first beast represents the kingdom of Babylon.
Dan 2:37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. 38 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.
Under Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon was the center of wealth and glory. Gold flowed into it from all parts of the empire. The treasures of Solomon were confiscated and brought to Babylon. Gold and bronze made Babylon the wealthiest city of its time. Herodotus, the ancient historian, after visiting Babylon a century after Nebuchadnezzar's day, found temples, altars, and shrines plated with gold. Jeremiah says, "Babylon hath been a gold cup in the Lord's hand." (Jeremiah 51:7). Babylon was probably the first city built after the flood. Gen 10:10.
Babylon's glory was short lived. After only 70 years, control of it passed to the Persians.
Several things should be remembered here. The word Babylon simply means confusion. Recall the story in Genesis 11 where the people's language was confused and they had to stop trying to build the tower of Babel. The tower of Babel was man's first organized attempt to save himself. The tower was built after the flood in order to be able to stand above the flooding waters in case of another flood. It was an attempt to rebel against God and not suffer the consequences. The Lord confused their language and just made it impossible for them to build. When someone would say give me a hammer, they were given a screw driver. They just couldn't build any more.
There is a modern day Babylon as well, recorded in Revelation 17. If one remembers the origin of the word, it is easy to see what the word means today. There is confusion among many churches. There are over 200 Protestant denominations, all claiming to be the "correct" or "true" church. The Bible speaks about a remnant in the book of Revelation, and there is a page devoted to that on this web site. But, first things first. Please continue this study with the next kingdom in the story of Daniel 2.
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