Daniel 2- Vision

Daniel was one of the many members of the royal family in Jerusalem when Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, raided the city before returning years later to destroy it. Daniel, probably in his teens, was taken captive to Babylon to be trained to serve the king. This happened about 600b.c., which was about 800 years after the Exodus. (I will keep dates simplified to round numbers unless necessary.)

More important than when, is why? Why were any Israelites in captivity in any foreign nation? For one reason alone, God gave them up.

“In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god.” (Daniel 1:1-2)

Generation after generation, king after king, God had prophet after prophet to the people of Israel to try to persuade them to work along the lines of Moses’ plan. Through miracles, messages, and judgments God demonstrated His willingness either to help or to discipline the backsliding, rebellious nation. God wanted Israel to be the world empire of peace, but now through Daniel in Babylon, He was about to signal a change in plan. Israel was still to repent, reform, and evangelize the world, but not from the vantage point of empire. They were to be one nation among many ruled over by other empires. Blessings rejected are blessings removed.

What we are about to see in the prophecies of Daniel is a fourfold repetition of 2500 years of history. The empires we read about in history books and the condition of the world today were all foretold by the prophet in Babylon.

Daniel lays down a single timeline in harmony with the previous ones, but he does so by going over it four times. This is something like a painter who first puts down washes of color for the background, then adds a layer of landcape, then another layer of detailed trees and animals and people. The completed scene emerges in stages. Similarly, we will look at chapter 2, then chapter 7, then chapters 8 and 9, then chapters 11 and 12. This is Daniel’s contribution to the fourfold timeline.

“As for you O king, your thoughts came into your mind upon your bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that reveals secrets makes known to you 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 you might know the thoughts of your heart. You O king, saw and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before you and the form of it was terrible. [1] This image’s head was of fine gold, [2] his breast and his arms of silver, [3] his belly and his thighs of brass, [4u] his legs of iron, [4d] his feet part of iron and part of clay. [g] You saw until that a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and broke 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. This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation of it before the king...” (v29-36)

In an attempt to let prophecy explain itself as much as possible, I used markers to help make the organization obvious. You will see these, and other, markers throughout Daniel and Revelation. This hopefully will make things easier to keep track of. Now let’s read the interpretation, then I will explain the markers.