Preaching the Word

Daniel 2:17-49 - Daniel Interprets Nebuchadnezzar's Dream - The Mysteries of God's Word

• Nathan Dietsche • Season 4 • Episode 81

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Nebuchadnezzar's troubling dream sets the stage for one of Scripture's most profound prophetic revelations. When Babylon's king demands the impossible—that his wise men not only interpret his dream but first tell him what he dreamed—death sentences are issued. Enter Daniel, a young Jewish exile who approaches this crisis with remarkable faith and wisdom.

What unfolds is far more than a demonstration of supernatural insight. Through Daniel's faithful intercession with his companions and the divine revelation that follows, we witness God's sovereignty over human history laid bare. The magnificent statue in Nebuchadnezzar's dream—with its head of gold, chest of silver, belly of bronze, legs of iron, and feet of mixed iron and clay—maps out the rise and fall of world empires that would dominate the Middle East and rule over Israel for centuries to come.

The most powerful element of this vision is the stone "cut without human hands" that strikes the statue, reducing it to dust before growing into a mountain that fills the earth. This divine stone represents Christ himself, the cornerstone rejected by earthly kingdoms who will establish God's eternal reign. The prophetic timeline concludes with the promise that "the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed."

Join us as we explore this remarkable chapter that demonstrates how God works through faithful servants even in hostile environments, positions His people strategically within pagan systems, and reveals His ultimate plan to replace all earthly dominions with His eternal kingdom. Through Daniel's example, we learn how to face impossible challenges with prayer, community support, and unwavering trust in the God who reveals mysteries and holds the future in His hands.

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Email: nathan@nathandietsche.com

Speaker 1:

Thank you for joining me for the mystery of God's Word. Today we continue in Daniel, chapter 2, where Nebuchadnezzar has received a dream. We're going to begin at verse 17 and continue through the end of the chapter, where God is revealing Nebuchadnezzar's dream to Daniel, and Daniel will go in and interpret the dream for Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel will go in and interpret the dream for Nebuchadnezzar. To give a short summary of the last 16 verses here in chapter 2, king Nebuchadnezzar had a dream and he demanded that all of the wise men of Babylon tell him what the dream was. And they went back and forth with the wise men saying Please tell us the dream and we'll tell you what it means. And Nebuchadnezzar would not tell the wise men his dream. Now, these wise men included sorcerers, magicians, enchanters and the men trained in Babylonian tradition, which included Daniel. But King Nebuchadnezzar did not trust any of these wise men with this dream. He demanded that they, through their supernatural powers, be able to tell him what the dream was, and no one could. Nebuchadnezzar became furious with all of his wise men, with all of these charlatan, dark arts dealers, and so he's going to kill them all. And when the executioner comes for Daniel, daniel replied with prudence and discretion to the captain of the guard and was able to make an appointment with the king. Daniel then promised the king that he would reveal the dream and interpret the dream. However, daniel had not yet received any vision from God, and that's where we pick up in verse 17. Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to Hananiah, mishael and Azariah, his companions, and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. In our first two verses for today verses 17 and 18, after Daniel had set up that appointment with the king, he continues to walk in faith. Daniel returns to his appointed housing and he tells his companions what has transpired. He tells them we must seek the mercy of God, for King Nebuchadnezzar means to kill us. He tells them to pray to God that God will reveal this mystery of the king's dream. The names that are used here Hananiah, mishael and Azariah are the Hebrew names for the men we more commonly know as Shadrach, meshach and Abednego.

Speaker 1:

When Daniel is talking with his companions here in these verses, he uses the title the God of Heaven, and that title is used four times in this chapter and it emphasizes how it is only the Lord God, the God of the Jewish people, the God of creation, that is all-knowing, the one that can reveal divine mysteries. Earlier in this chapter, the dark art practitioners told the king, when they were faced with his demands to reveal his dream there's not a man on earth that can meet the king's demand Verse 19. Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel answered and said Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons. He removes kings and sets up kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals deep and hidden things. He knows what is in the darkness and the light that dwells with him. To you, o God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might and have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king's matter of you, for you have made known to us the king's matter.

Speaker 1:

Here, in verses 19 through 23, we see a stark contrast to those men who practiced the dark arts and their gods who could not reveal mysteries. The God of Daniel, who is omniscient, reveals this mystery to his faithful servant, and in this we see how the Lord had a plan to make a distinction between the false gods of the pagans and the one true God of Daniel, that through this trial upon the very life of Daniel, god will make his name known to the nations and God will exalt his servant Daniel in the kingdom of Babylon. And Daniel blesses the Lord. So often we think of God blessing us because God is in the position of greatness and power to do so. However, the idea of blessing has very little to do with authority. It has more to do with our attitude. Daniel's heart is filled with thankfulness after receiving an answer to this desperate prayer when his life was threatened. His attitude towards God is to praise him in loving adoration. And Daniel brings a blessing toward God.

Speaker 1:

Throughout Daniel's blessing, he praises God for his goodness and omniscience. He praises God because, through this vision, god confirmed that it is he who removes kings and sets them in place. It is the Lord, god alone, who gives wisdom, knowledge and might. It is the Lord, god of heaven, who can reveal the deep mysteries and the things that are hidden from our eyes. It is Yahweh that knows all things perfectly and he can and did reveal the very future of the earth to Nebuchadnezzar and now to Daniel, verse 24. Therefore, daniel went into Ariok, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon, bring me in before the king and I will show the king the interpretation. Then Ariok brought in Daniel before the king in haste and said thus to him I have found among the exiles from Judah a man who will make known to the king the interpretation.

Speaker 1:

In verses 24 and 25, we see that after receiving this vision from God and God revealing the mystery of the king's dream to Daniel, and then Daniel praising God for this and blessing the Lord, Daniel seeks out Captain of the Guard. And when Daniel finds Ariok, he tells him Don't kill the wise men, because he's now been given this vision to reveal the king's dream and its interpretation. And the moment Ariok heard this, he brought Daniel before the king in haste, while we had learned earlier in verse 16 that Daniel had set up an appointment with the king to interpret the dream. Once the captain of the guard heard Daniel was confident and had received this revelation from God, he immediately brings Daniel before King Nebuchadnezzar. Ariok understood Nebuchadnezzar's patience had run out with the wise men and he brings Daniel in right away.

Speaker 1:

Verse 26. The king declared to Daniel, whose name was Belshazzar Are you able to make known to me the dream that I've seen and its interpretation and its interpretation? Daniel answered the king and said no wise men, enchanters, magicians or astrologers can show the king the mystery that the king has asked. But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay there in bed are these To you, o King? As you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be after this, and he who reveals mystery made known to you what is to be. But as for me, this mystery has been revealed to me not because of any wisdom that I have, more than all of the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king and that you may know the thoughts of your mind.

Speaker 1:

In verses 26 through 30, the king begins by declaring to Daniel Are you able to make known to me this dream and its interpretation? Nebuchadnezzar's question is phrased as a declaration. It had the full force and understanding that if Daniel did not have this dream and its interpretation, he would die. Daniel did not have this dream and its interpretation. He would die. And Daniel's reply to the king begins by making a distinction between the false gods of the pagan, dark art dealers and his god, the one true God of Israel. Daniel says no wise men, enchanters, magicians or astrologers can show to the king this mystery. But Daniel continues there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. And then, after Daniel reveals that it is this one true God who is in heaven that can reveal mysteries, daniel tells the king that it was his God that showed the king what will happen in the future, even at the very end of this earth. As Daniel says this, he begins to describe the very thoughts that King Nebuchadnezzar had as he was laying on his bed after receiving the dream Thoughts about what's going to happen to his kingdom, thoughts about these future kingdoms that are coming. And after describing how the king laid there thinking about these kingdoms, daniel tells the king that he himself doesn't have any amazing wisdom or insight, but rather this mystery was revealed to him by the Lord, god. Finally, daniel tells the king that God has revealed this mystery to him so that the king might understand his own thoughts, he might understand his own mind. I think we could equally say that God revealed this mystery to Daniel to show that it is he, the God of Daniel, that is the one true God.

Speaker 1:

Verse 31 continues you saw, O king, and behold a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you and its appearance was frightening. I want to take just a moment to focus on this first verse. Not a lot of emphasis is often placed on this first verse and how Daniel begins to describe the image of Nebuchadnezzar's dream. However, in the opening description of this image, we learn three important things as to how this dream stuck in the king's head so greatly. First of all, the image was great and mighty. The word for great means abundant and the word for mighty means chief or great. In other words, the size of this statue is larger than life. It's larger than anything the king has ever seen before. It's huge, it's chief among all images. Secondly, the image was exceedingly bright, in addition to being larger than life. This image had a radiance about it that was extraordinary. If it were not a dream, looking at it might likely have been like looking at the sun. And thirdly, its appearance was frightening. The appearance of this image itself was terrifying to look at. Just looking upon it brought dread into the king Picking up in verse 32, the head of this image was of fine gold, its chest and its arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.

Speaker 1:

As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay and broke them into pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold all together were broken into pieces and they became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors, and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. In verses 32 through 35, daniel describes the dream of Nebuchadnezzar. Just to go over some of the highlights of this dream, the head of the image was of fine gold. In other words, it was the best kind of gold. It was well-refined gold.

Speaker 1:

The chest and arms are made of silver. Silver is of less value than gold, but it is stronger in its composition. Then the middle and thighs are made of bronze. Bronze, again, is of less value than silver, but again it is stronger in composition. Finally, the legs are made of iron. Iron, again, is of less value than bronze, but it is the strongest of all the metals described here in the statue. And then feet that are partly of iron and partly of clay. This unique feature of the statue describes two compounds that do not mix together. Potter's clay and iron will not stay together. You might say they are at odds with one another as a building compound, are at odds with one another as a building compound.

Speaker 1:

Then Daniel describes that, as Nebuchadnezzar is looking at this statue, a stone was cut out by no human hand and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay. While we don't have a description of this hand other than it being no human hand, it's clear from Nebuchadnezzar's reaction later in Daniel's description that even Nebuchadnezzar recognized this to be the hand of God. At this point I want to pause to recognize what scripture teaches us about Jesus Christ being the stone that will break the kingdoms of the earth. Jesus Christ is the cornerstone that the builders of this earth have rejected. Psalm 118.22 reads the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. Isaiah 28.16 reads. Therefore, thus says the Lord God Behold, I am the one who has laid a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone of a sure foundation, and whoever believes will not be in haste. Matthew, chapter 21, verse44 reads 1 Peter 2.4 reads and 1 Corinthians 10.4 reads.

Speaker 1:

Coming back to Daniel, verse 35, we see that this stone that was cut out not by a human hand. It strikes this image on its feet of iron and clay, breaking them to pieces. After the feet are broken up, then the other parts of this statue crumble and are broken to pieces. Other parts of this statue crumble and are broken to pieces, and the pieces of this solid metal statue, after being broken by this stone not cut from human hand, it says they turn into chaff. Well, that's quite an image. Chaff is like dried up grass or dried up husks of wheat. This metal turns into something that the wind can simply blow away, and every remnant of this statue blows away so that not a trace of it can be found, and then that stone that struck the feet of iron and clay, it starts to form into a mountain and the mountain fills the whole earth, picking up in verse 36,. This was the dream. Now we will tell the king its interpretation In the following verses verses 37 through 45, daniel mentions four distinct earthly kingdoms that are going to rule over Israel in the future.

Speaker 1:

The fourth of these kingdoms appears as two separate parts, the legs and the feet, and this parallels what we see in Daniel, chapter 7, which describes four beasts. And the last beast is different from all of the others and the last beast is different from all of the others. In both Nebuchadnezzar's dream here in chapter 2, and later in Daniel's dream in chapter 7, god destroys the kingdoms of the world and he sets up a new kingdom on earth Verse 37. Another kingdom inferior to you shall all of them. You are the head of gold. Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things. Iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things, and like iron that crushes, it shall break and crush all of 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 firmness of iron shall be in it. Just as you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, and as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage and they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay.

Speaker 1:

Verses 37 through 43 give us the description of these four kingdoms. In verse 37, daniel clearly states that the head of gold, the first kingdom described in Nebuchadnezzar's dream, is the kingdom of Babylon. The head of gold is symbolic for the richness of the kingdom of Babylon. Under the tyranny of Nebuchadnezzar, babylon became a vast empire, consuming all of the other kingdoms in the Middle East, which is why Nebuchadnezzar is known here by Daniel as the king of kings. Ezekiel also refers to him as such. The kingdom of Babylon, from a human standpoint, was an unbelievable success, conquering the whole Middle East. Babylon included one of the seven wonders of the ancient world with hanging gardens, and Babylon's success was because God raised up Nebuchadnezzar to bring judgment against Israel for their idolatry, their unfaithfulness and their disobedience. Daniel goes on in verse 39 to say another kingdom that's inferior to yours is going to rise. Kingdom that's inferior to yours is going to rise.

Speaker 1:

The second kingdom being described here by Daniel is the Medo-Persia empire. That would indeed conquer Babylon. While the Medo-Persia empire would lack the glory and the wealth of Babylon, it would be stronger than it. Thus the silver properly represents this empire. And then Daniel says Yet a third kingdom of bronze which shall rule over all the earth. This third empire is the empire of the Greeks, particularly under Alexander the Great, as he conquered all of the known world, from Europe to Egypt, all the way to India. And then Daniel says in verse 40, there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things. These legs of iron are a very fitting representation of the Roman Empire, iron being less valuable than bronze, but much stronger. The Roman armies used iron as armor. In fact, the Roman armies were known as the Iron Legions of Rome, and they were also known for breaking every other kingdom with their invincible iron armor.

Speaker 1:

And then we come to the very interesting part, verse 41, the feet and the toes, which are partially of potter's clay and partially of iron. The very interesting thing about potter's clay and iron, as I mentioned before, is they cannot and they will not mix in a solid state. Cannot and they will not mix in a solid state. The clay and iron, even when mixed in a kiln and poured out in a mold, they'll separate, they will not hold together. So the symbolism here isn't simply showing that the feet are weak, but rather that the materials in these feet are at odds with one another. They can't function together. Daniel's interpretation appears to include the feet and toes as part of this fourth kingdom of Rome, but yet they're distinct in that they're of a different composition, being only partly of iron and now potter's clay.

Speaker 1:

As we begin to talk about this, first I want to say I've spent weeks meditating, praying and in counsel with wise men over this passage, and while there are different theological views on the feet and the toes, I would say that there are three that stand out and one which I hold to as most biblical. The first view is that the feet, mixed with the potter's clay, represent the end of the Roman Empire in its decline until it fell, because Christ came into the Roman Empire and Christianity came out of it. The end of the Roman Empire was indeed marked by political division and moral decline, and it did bring about its destruction. However, I do not believe that that view fully accounts for the dream given to Nebuchadnezzar, because the dream given to Nebuchadnezzar depicts Christ as the conqueror that brings an end to all physical kingdoms on earth, and he sets up a new kingdom on earth that lives forever. A second perspective on the feet and the toes is that the Roman Empire has continued even after its fall. Both the strength and the weakness of the Roman Empire's philosophies and principles have remained an influence on Western culture for thousands of years, and one day, eventually, the Antichrist will rise out of what has long been a mixed Roman Empire.

Speaker 1:

The third view of the feet and the toes, which is the one I most align with, is that there's a gap in time between the legs and the feet. The reason for this gap is that this dream given to Nebuchadnezzar represents the empires that rule over the physical nation of Israel or the Jewish people. The legs represented here represent the Roman Empire until its fall, but the feet and toes represent a revived Roman Empire that will spring forth in the last days, once the Jews come back together as a nation after being scattered over the whole earth. Finally, this view holds that the ten toes symbolize ten kings that will bring forth this revived Roman Empire. What is clear from our text here in Daniel is that it speaks of the legs and the feet as being distinct in their composition, but yet makes no distinction of them being different from a fourth kingdom. The Lord, through Daniel, also tells us that the destruction of the statue and all of the earthly kingdoms are final. In other words, we're told there's not a trace of these earthly kingdoms left once the Lord crushes them. Furthermore, after the Lord destroys the earthly kingdoms, we're told he will set up his own kingdom that is eternal and forevermore.

Speaker 1:

I think for me one of the most convincing things is that Scripture confirms Scripture. In this, daniel chapter 7 parallels this passage and these four kingdoms. It gives us more information about this, telling us the fourth kingdom isn't like the others, that the fourth kingdom will persist until the saints of the Most High receive God's kingdom and possess it forever and ever. Additionally, the scripture teaches us in various places that ten kings will arise and those ten kings will give power to another person who will speak great things against the Most High God. Scripture for this is Daniel 7.7, daniel 7.24, revelation 12.3, revelation 13.1, revelation 17.12-13.

Speaker 1:

Therefore, it follows that these feet made of clay and iron, which is emphasized to have ten toes here in Nebuchadnezzar's dream, represent an unstable and mixed Roman empire that's going to arise in the last days, the end days, that this unstable empire is going to be founded by 10 kings that will bring forth a final king, a final king that's different from any other king that's existed before him. And the final king will be the greatest of all tyrants, the greatest of all blasphemers of God, even making himself to be God. This will be the Antichrist. It is this final tyrannical kingdom that will dominate the world and make war with the saints prevailing over them. Daniel 7 21. And it's during this final kingdom of the Antichrist when Christ, the Son of man, will return on the clouds and he will destroy this final kingdom of the Antichrist at his second coming. And it is then that Christ will set up a kingdom with his saints forever and ever, picking up in verse 44 of Daniel. And in the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever. Just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand and that it broke into pieces, the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold, a great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain and its interpretation sure.

Speaker 1:

The last two verses of Daniel's interpretation begin by saying In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom. This phrase can seem like quite a mystery to some people. The scripture here tells us that in the days of those kings is when God is going to set up a kingdom. Why is there a mention of those kings in the plural right here? It can't be talking about the Babylonian Empire or the Medo-Persian Empire or the Greek Empire. Christ didn't come until the Roman Empire. I believe that Daniel's mention of those kings helps us to recognize that the ten toes are indeed representative of ten kings, and I believe God is telling us right here that it will be in the days of those kings, those ten kings, that Christ will set up a physical kingdom that shall never be destroyed nor left to any other people. The kingdom that Jesus Christ brings at his second coming will utterly destroy all of the kingdoms of the earth and bring them to a final end. Jesus Christ, as we mentioned earlier, is the stone that will break the kingdoms of this earth. Jesus Christ is the cornerstone that the builders of this earth have rejected.

Speaker 1:

Daniel finishes his interpretation of this dream to Nebuchadnezzar by emphasizing how it was a great God that made this dream known to him and through this dream, this great God has shown him what will happen in the future. Daniel says this dream is certain and its interpretation is sure. In closing this way, daniel assures the king that the God of heaven foreknows and has ordained the future. God is sovereign even over the things that have not yet happened. They will happen. Daniel is confident that God has both revealed the dream and its interpretation for the king Verse 46.

Speaker 1:

Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and paid homage to Daniel and commanded that an offering and incense be offered up to him. Daniel and commanded that an offering and incense be offered up to him. The king answered and said to Daniel Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery. Nebuchadnezzar, the pagan king, is overwhelmed and has a great sense of awe at Daniel and what he perceives to be Daniel's ability to know and interpret his dream. The king bows before Daniel and shows respect for how Daniel alone has been given these supernatural abilities, greater than any other man in his kingdom. Then the king begins to worship Daniel, bringing in an offering, an incense, as if Daniel needed to be worshipped like a god.

Speaker 1:

Here we see Nebuchadnezzar worshipping the natural order. He sees Daniel as the object to be worshipped. Even as he proclaims Daniel's God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings, nebuchadnezzar simply sees Daniel's God as one of many gods and he fails to see that Daniel is simply a man that's been used by the one true God. Afterward, king Nebuchadnezzar made Daniel the chief governor over all of the wise men and then gave Daniel authority to rule over all of the province of Babylon. And when Daniel had received such high honors from the king, daniel requested that the king promote Shadrach, meshach and Abednego his three companions, so that they might rule over the province of Babylon. Daniel remembered his three companions that labored with him in prayer over the king's dream and he wisely delegates this responsibility of overseeing the province of Babylon to his companions so that he could remain in the court of the king overseeing the other wise men. Thank you for joining me this week as we dove into Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the great image. God bless you this week.