Two-Edged Sword Ministries
A bit about "Daniel", the Prophet
Daniel was a Jewish prophet that was taken captive with the fall of Judea in 605bc.
King Nebecudnezzar; was the king of Babylon, which was a mighty empire to the north of Israel. God had previously prophesied against Israel saying that as a result of their constant disobedience; he would bring the armies of the north against Israel.
In 605bc; the northern kingdom of Israel was defeated and nearly 20 years later; King Nebecudnezzar soldiers returned to the southern kingdom of Judea and laid the land to waste taking all the temple treasures and Jewish nobles back to Babylon as slaves.
Daniel; due to his station; was assigned to serve in the kings council amongst soothsayers; witchcraft and astrologers.
It was here, in captivity, that Daniel rose to prominence as a person God would use to demonstrate His power to the world.
King Nebecudnezzar; was the king of Babylon, which was a mighty empire to the north of Israel. God had previously prophesied against Israel saying that as a result of their constant disobedience; he would bring the armies of the north against Israel.
In 605bc; the northern kingdom of Israel was defeated and nearly 20 years later; King Nebecudnezzar soldiers returned to the southern kingdom of Judea and laid the land to waste taking all the temple treasures and Jewish nobles back to Babylon as slaves.
Daniel; due to his station; was assigned to serve in the kings council amongst soothsayers; witchcraft and astrologers.
It was here, in captivity, that Daniel rose to prominence as a person God would use to demonstrate His power to the world.
Daniel 2 was written in +/- 603bc whilst Daniel was performing his training contract in King Nebecadnezzar's Royal advisory courts. Daniel 2:1; identifies this taking place in the 2nd year of King Nebecadnezzar's reign. This is one of 3 visions that depicts the last kingdom that would persecute Israel which will come about just before Jesus returns for his Believers. Each of Daniels' visions reveal greater insight concerning the end of the current age. Daniel 2 describes the rise and fall of 4 world empires. The background to the vision of 4 world empires is found in Daniel 2:verses 1 to 30. We restate the background information with reference to the above scriptures.
King Nebecudnezzar had a dream and was deeply troubled by what he saw. He called upon all the wise men in Babylon and wanted them to tell him not just the dreams interpretation, but also what he had in fact dreamt. He feared that if he told the men the dream, they could tell him anything; and would not know if what they were telling him was true. When the astrologers, Sorcerers and magicians could not do so; the king ordered that all the wise men in his court, to be executed. When the chief guard of the king came to kill Daniel and his friends, Daniel inquired why the king had issued such a harsh decree. The guard explained to Daniel the situation. Daniel immediately asked to see the king and requested more time to attend to the kings' request. Daniel then went back to his friends and asked them to pray concerning the kings' vision. They did and Daniel received a vision from God that very evening. Daniel then asked to see the king and explained to the king, that it was not him, but God who gave him the ability to know the dream and its meaning.
Now Daniel reveals the following information to King Nebecudnezzar :
"Your Majesty, in your vision you saw in front of you a huge and powerful statue of a man, shining brilliantly, frightening and awesome. The head of the statue was made of fine gold, its chest and arms were of silver, its belly and thighs were of bronze, its legs were of iron, and its feet were a combination of iron and clay. But as you watched, a rock was cut from a mountain by supernatural means. It struck the feet of iron and clay, smashing them to bits. The whole statue collapsed into a heap of iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold. The pieces were crushed as small as chaff on a threshing floor, and the wind blew them all away without a trace. But the rock that knocked the statue down became a great mountain that covered the whole earth.[ Daniel 2: 30-35 NLT]
Daniel tells us that each of the 5 characteristics of the statue represent the world kingdoms of the earth until such time as God sets up a kingdom that lasts forever.
1) The head was made of Gold.
2) The chest and arms were made of silver.
3) The belly and thighs was made of bronze.
4) The legs were made of iron.
5) The feet were a combination of iron and clay.
We are now very carefully going to examine each of these five kingdoms.
We already know that according to this vision, Babylon was the first kingdom to rule the entire inhabited world. Although the 2 kingdoms of Egypt and Assyria also ruled for a period of time, this vision relates to 4 more empires that would exert direct pressure and rule over Israel.
King Nebecudnezzar's father, Nabopolasser, took to the throne in 626 bc; which then became known as the Neo-Babylonian dynasty. King Nebecudnezzar then conquered the Assyrian empire as well as the Hebrew kingdom of Judah. By 605 bc, King Nebecudnezzar was in control of the entire inhabited world.
It is also well known that Babylon was the richest kingdom in Gold. It was known as the golden kingdom.
It is important to note that the keys to Babylon being the first world empire is given to Daniel. There is no interpretation necessary; as He said you King Nebukudnezzar are the king of the first kingdom.
It is important to note that the keys to Babylon being the first world empire is given to Daniel. There is no interpretation necessary; as He said you King Nebukudnezzar are the king of the first kingdom.
As prophesied, in 539 bc, the rule of Babylon came to an end. King Cyrus of Persia first conquered the Medes and became a powerful empire. They then entered Babylon and met with little resistance from the Babylonian soldiers. This empire succeeded the kingdom of Babylon. Under King Cyrus, the Medes and Persians united under one monarchy. This kingdom then in turn expanded westwards, southwards and northwards with little opposition.
It is also well known at the kingdoms of Media-Persia used there medium of exchange as being silver. Many have marvelled at this division with regard to the descriptions on the statue. The two arms are seen as representing the united monarchy of the Medes and the Persians.
It is also well known at the kingdoms of Media-Persia used there medium of exchange as being silver. Many have marvelled at this division with regard to the descriptions on the statue. The two arms are seen as representing the united monarchy of the Medes and the Persians.
The next kingdom is clearly associated with Greece, as Greece had used brass in its weaponry, in both its shields and Spears. In the year 330bc, King Alexander the Great of Greece attacked the kingdom of Media – Persia and in a very short period of between 8 and 13 years, had destroyed all opposition.
This empire was by far the largest of all Empires spanning from Greece and Macedonia to parts of India. At the height of his power and at the age of 33, King Alexander the Great died and this empire was divided amongst 4 of his Generals, prophetically detailed by the visions of Daniel 8, which we examine later. Each general took a specific part of the kingdom to rule over.
(Incidentally according to the visions of Daniel 8, it is from these 4 nations of the old Grecian Empire, from which the antichrist emerges from)
This empire was by far the largest of all Empires spanning from Greece and Macedonia to parts of India. At the height of his power and at the age of 33, King Alexander the Great died and this empire was divided amongst 4 of his Generals, prophetically detailed by the visions of Daniel 8, which we examine later. Each general took a specific part of the kingdom to rule over.
(Incidentally according to the visions of Daniel 8, it is from these 4 nations of the old Grecian Empire, from which the antichrist emerges from)
The 4th world kingdom and by the greatest of all the preceding empires was the Roman Empire. The Roman Empires key to expansion was its military might. It is not surprising that this kingdom was described as iron, as iron is a sign of military strength. It grew from a small settlement in the Tabor river in Italy into an empire that ruled the world. The Romans strength lied in there military conquests.
Whilst the Grecian empire was ruling the world, the Roman Empire was slowly gathering momentum in stature. Lots of internal wars took place that kept the Romans focused on domestic affairs. Eventually; when King Alexander of Greece died and the Grecian Empire was split into 4 kingdoms, this started the breeding ground for this mighty empire to emerge.
Over time the Roman Empire conquered the 4 kingdoms that were previously part of the Grecian Empire. To this day, there has not been an empire as mighty as Rome was when it covered the whole inhabited world for a lengthy period of time. We see that this statue of the man is associated with the Gentile kingdoms that would exert control over Israel.
Each component of the statue is according to this vision, associated with a gentile [ Non-Jewish ] empire.
We have studied the prophecy relating to world kingdoms. We readily see from scripture that the first one was identified. Following this, there were 3 other world kingdoms that conquered one another to rule the inhabited world as it was then. So what does Daniel provide is the final world kingdom before God destroys all the kingdoms?
Whilst the Grecian empire was ruling the world, the Roman Empire was slowly gathering momentum in stature. Lots of internal wars took place that kept the Romans focused on domestic affairs. Eventually; when King Alexander of Greece died and the Grecian Empire was split into 4 kingdoms, this started the breeding ground for this mighty empire to emerge.
Over time the Roman Empire conquered the 4 kingdoms that were previously part of the Grecian Empire. To this day, there has not been an empire as mighty as Rome was when it covered the whole inhabited world for a lengthy period of time. We see that this statue of the man is associated with the Gentile kingdoms that would exert control over Israel.
Each component of the statue is according to this vision, associated with a gentile [ Non-Jewish ] empire.
We have studied the prophecy relating to world kingdoms. We readily see from scripture that the first one was identified. Following this, there were 3 other world kingdoms that conquered one another to rule the inhabited world as it was then. So what does Daniel provide is the final world kingdom before God destroys all the kingdoms?
Two-Edged Sword Ministries - South Africa
Copyright © May 2003 [ T.E.S. Ministries ]
All rights reserved.
First revision, November 2006 [2.0]
Second Revision: March, 2009 [3.0]
All rights reserved.
First revision, November 2006 [2.0]
Second Revision: March, 2009 [3.0]
Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189, United States of America. all rights reserved. [6]