All Mine Series

Daniel then interpreted the dream for Nebuchadnezzar:

“… you are the head of gold. After you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over the whole earth. And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron; just as iron crushes and smashes everything, it shall crush and shatter all these. As you saw the feet and toes partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom; but some of the strength of iron shall be in it, as you saw the iron mixed with clay. As the toes of the feet were part iron and part clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. As you saw the iron mixed with clay, so will they mix with another in marriage, but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay ... And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall this kingdom be left to another people. It shall crush all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever … The great God has informed the king what shall be hereafter” (Daniel 2:39-45).

I believe that this is just as much a message for us today as it was for King Nebuchadnezzar, and this is how we interpret King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream today. The “head of gold” represents the Babylon Empire … the “head” of nations or a confederation of nations … and King Nebuchadnezzar is the “golden” head of the Babylonian Empire. The “chest and two arms” made of silver represent the Mido-Persian empire that would rise up, defeat Babylon, and replace it as the next ruling empire. The stomach and thighs are made of bronze and represent the Greek empire of Alexander the Great and the Seleucid rulers after him. They were crushed and replaced by the “iron” legions of Rome, signified by the statue’s legs of iron. The final kingdom or empire, signified by the feet made of clay and iron, has yet to arise but when it does, it will signify the end of times described in John’s revelation or vision on the Island of Patmos.

In Nebuchadnezzar’s vision, he saw a “stone, cut out, not by human hand” that struck the feet of the statue and smashed it into dust that was carried away by the wind (Daniel 2:35-36). Well … let’s see. God “smashed” the budding Ninevite Empire by destroying their ability to communicate with each other. God then used the Assyrians to “smash” the Ninevites … He used the Babylonians, Persians, and Scythians to “smash” the Babylonians, and so on.

The final empire will truly be a “global” empire. We often refer to Rome or England as world powers but they weren’t truly “world” or global empires. True, the Greeks and the Romans conquered, subdued, and control huge areas, but they didn’t control China or Russia. They didn’t control most of Africa. They didn’t control North or South America … and, in fact, didn’t even know they existed. At one time England could boast that the “Sun never set on the British flag” … and it is true that they and other countries like Spain and France had conquered and controlled a great deal of the known world at that time … but they still didn’t control or dominate the entire world and all its people … which is what makes the final empire so frightening because they will … and, if what’s happening today is any indication … it will be done without firing a shot or going to war. If Nebuchadnezzar’s vision is accurate … and seems to be so far … then the final empire will be made up of a mixture of iron and clay … a confederation of stronger and weaker nations, representing the 10 toes of the statue. Does that mean that the confederation will be made of up 10 countries? Perhaps. I think the toes symbolize the fact that the confederation will be made up of very distinct nations who are joined together to form a foot … one giant foot that can go anywhere that it wants and stomp and kick and destroy anything or anyone that gets in its way, amen?