1D2 Daniel 2:1-3 Nebuchadnezzar was troubled; he couldn't sleep; he wanted desperately to know what it meant.

In the ancient world people felt that dreams were sent by the gods to reveal an important message. The dreams could be good or bad or indifferent. But all dreams were considered of great importance. The king was troubled by his dream and was certain it bore him a vital message.

2D2 Daniel 2:4-12 They confessed to the king that no one could tell the king his dream. That was a matter for the gods, they said, and the gods didn't live in the flesh.

The trouble with this argument was that they claimed to be the spokesmen of the gods. This, then, was a direct admission to the king that they were frauds.

3D2 Daniel 2:13, 14 Daniel and his three friends– Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego–had been promoted to the council of advisors and, as such, were considered as being among the "wise men." For this reason they were marked for execution along with all the rest of these men–even though these young Jews had nothing to do with their fraudulent behavior.

4D2 Daniel 2:15-18 Daniel gathered information from the executioners as to why the decree had been made. Then he went to the king himself and received a temporary stay of execution (for himself and all the wise men) to give him more time. He promised that he would bring the interpretation to the king. Then he and his three friends prayed for divine intervention.

5D2 Daniel 2:19-23 During the night God gave Daniel the same dream He had given to Nebuchadnezzar, and also its interpretation.

• Daniel had no way of knowing whether or not the dream he had seen was the same as that which the king had experienced two nights before. It was only by faith that he could know it. And his faith was strong. Daniel and his friends thanked God and praised Him for giving the needed information. Oh, that we might have that kind of faith–to ask for something that God has promised and believe that we've received the answer to our prayer even before we have an opportunity to actually see the answer with our eyes!

6D2 Daniel 2:26-28 He answered in somewhat similar fashion as the other counselors had the day before. But Daniel didn't stop when he confessed that no man was able to do what the king asked. Daniel went on to tell the king that the God of Heaven could reveal the great mysteries to him. This gave the king encouragement and he let Daniel continue.

      •  It’s interesting to notice that the God of heaven had no
         "dwelling in the flesh," just like the wise men said of their
         gods. But this God had the power to do what the others
         couldn’t: He was able to reveal the secrets of the dream to
         Nebuchadnezzar.

7D2 Daniel 2:29-35 There are six parts to the dream:

    •  Head of Gold
    •  Breast and arms of silver
    •  Belly and thighs of bronze
    •  Legs of iron
    •  Feet of iron and clay
    •  A great rock that destroys the image and then fills the
            whole earth.

8 D2 Daniel 2:37, 38 Nebuchadnezzar—who represented Babylon—was the head of Gold.

9 D2 Daniel 2:39, 40 They represented the three empires that would follow Babylon. Thus they would stand for the following kingdoms:
    •  Breast and arms of silver = Media-Persia: 539 B.C.-331
            B.C.
    •  Belly and thighs of Bronze = Greece: 331 B.C.-about 200   
            B.C.
    •  Legs of iron = Rome (both pagan and papal Rome): about
            200 B.C. to the present.

•  Rock = Christ. The act of crushing the image predicts the second coming of Christ. His Kingdom will last forever. (Luke 1:31-33)

10D2 Daniel 2:41-43 The feet and toes were made of iron mixed with clay. These elements will not mix, so the iron is greatly weakened by the mixture. God is predicting the fact that there would never again be such a powerful entity as the great Roman empire. The feet and toes, then, would represent the modern countries that make up the territory over which Rome once ruled—the countries of modern Europe. These countries have never really united together into one vast kingdom such as the Roman empire.

Today, they have all gathered together under common treaties and share a common currency. But each still maintains its own boundaries, armies, and languages. Given a major disagreement, they could separate and be just as they were before.

11D2 Daniel 2:44, 45 There is only one Power that can destroy all the kingdoms of Earth like the rock is pictured as doing: God Himself. So the rock would represent God, or to be more exact, the second coming of Jesus. He will destroy all the kingdoms of the earth and, after the thousand years predicted in Revelation 20, set up a kingdom on this world that will unite the entire planet under one government— God’s government.

12D2 Daniel 2:45 The dream was given so that the king would know what was going to happen in the future. And yet, we too benefit from the dream and its interpretation. Every part of the dream has been fulfilled just like God said it would. So this dream gives us one of the greatest verifications we could find, that the Bible is the word of God. And because we have been able to see the accuracy of this prophecy and its fulfillment, we too can trust that all of the Bible is true.

Will I accept the Bible as the word of God, read it, and discover what God is saying to me?