Our previous column addressed the dream that Nebuchadnezzar had that only Daniel could describe. The next step was for Daniel to interpret that dream, which he flawlessly did as follows.
“You (O king) are this head of gold. But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours; then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others…and as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile.” Daniel 2:38b-42
Daniel made known to King Nebuchadnezzar that the ‘God of heaven’ had given him the rule over all the nations on the then-known earth.
After Nebuchadnezzar died, his son Belshazzar reigned in his stead. In the third year of his reign, Daniel had a vision.
“Then I (Daniel) lifted my eyes and saw, and there, standing beside the river (Ulai), was a ram which had two horns, and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher one came up last. I saw the ram pushing westward, northward, and southward, so that no animal could withstand him…” Daniel 8:3-4
The angel Gabriel interpreted this part of the vision to Daniel.
“The ram which you saw, having the two horns – they are the kings of Media and Persia.” Daniel 8:20
In Daniel’s vision he also saw a male goat.
“And as I was considering, suddenly a male goat came from the west, across the surface of the whole earth…And I saw him confronting the ram; he was moved with rage against him, attacked the ram, and broke his two horns…” Daniel 8:5, 7
Gabriel likewise explained the male goat.
“And the male goat is the kingdom of Greece…” Daniel 8:21
Then after Greece a fierce king would arise.
“And in the latter time of their kingdom…a king shall arise…who understands sinister schemes…he shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule; and he shall exalt himself in his heart…he shall even rise against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without human means.”
Daniel 8:23, 25
History reveals that Greece was overtaken by Rome in 146 BC. Rome was the two legs of Nebuchadnezzar’s image dream, i.e. western and eastern legs. Note that the legs, feet, and toes of this fourth beast are connected together and are all made of iron. However, the feet and toes consist of iron mixed with clay.
Therefore prophecy tells us that the Roman Empire never did totally disappear. Thus history is currently the time between the legs and feet.
Note also that the identification of the four world empires beginning with Babylon was revealed years and even centuries before they became history. Daniel prophesied between 605 BC and 536 BC.
At this point, let’s try to reconcile the fact that iron Rome will be active in the future, up to the time of Christ’s return.
“And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron…and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others…And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed…Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze the clay, the silver, and the gold – the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this.” Daniel 2:40, 44-45a
Christ will return to earth to end the 7 year tribulation and destroy the final representation of the revived Roman Empire, which will consist of a 10 nation confederation of nations.
We need also to examine the fact that the feet and toes in the future Roman Empire will be iron mixed with clay.
At the end of Daniel’s interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, he stated:
“The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.” Daniel 2:45b
Stay tuned.