Daniel 2:31
Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible.
The king in a troubling dream he could not remember saw a great image standing before him, dazzling with excellent brightness yet fearsome and terrible in form. The image portrays the kingdoms of the world in their succession, four world-ruling empires of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome before human rule ends. Its metals decreasing from gold to silver to brass to iron mixed with clay show those kingdoms decreasing in value and sinking morally as they forgot God and ascribed glory to themselves. The vision declares that God rules over all kingdoms, removing and setting up kings, allowing each its time of testing and then bringing its pride and power to an end. Its fulfillment in the rise and fall of nations with wonderful exactness anchors faith in the inspiration of Scripture and in the certainty that Christ's everlasting kingdom will replace all earthly powers and never pass away. Instead of learning that Babylon would not stand forever, the king magnified himself as the head of gold and set up an image all of gold to be worshiped as eternal and supreme.
Troubled Forgotten Dream
The verse belongs to a remarkable dream that deeply troubled Nebuchadnezzar, and after waking he could not remember it or recall its details. The king demanded that the Babylonian wise men tell him both the dream and its interpretation, and sought its meaning from them, but they had no light to reveal it. God gave the revelation of the dream and its interpretation to Daniel and his companions when the king's wise men could not reveal the dream, and the revelation spared their lives.
The dream was made known together with its interpretation many years before Belshazzar's feast. It was still recalled as interpreted more than half a century earlier as evidence of Daniel's wisdom and ability to explain difficult matters. The removal of the dream from the king kept the wise men from imposing a false interpretation through their claimed understanding of mysteries. Their inability to tell it represents people who lack knowledge from God and therefore cannot understand prophecy.
The historical events of the dream mattered to Nebuchadnezzar, but its lessons were given by God for people living in later times. It also gave God occasion to expose the Babylonian wise men's inability and show the superior wisdom of those who worship Him. Its interpretation revealed heavenly glory to the Hebrew captives who depended on God rather than being captivated by Babylon's splendor.
Bright Terrible Image
The verse introduces a great image standing before the king, shining with excellent brightness and dazzling light, yet fearsome and terrible in form. It was made of different metals with iron mixed with clay, and it is the image that is struck by a stone and destroyed.
God Himself employs pictures and symbols to teach His prophets lessons for the people. Prophetic history was presented in the great image in symbol, appealing to understanding through sight so it could be better understood than in any other way, and to be represented plainly upon tables that he who reads might understand. Important matters concerning salvation in it were not left in mystery to perplex and mislead the honest seeker, but were revealed plain so that he may run that reads. The word is plain to all who study it with a prayerful, humble, teachable heart, and every truly honest soul seeking truth as for hidden treasure will come to the light of its truth. The second commandment prohibits image worship, but it does not prohibit this divinely appointed use of pictures.
Daniel received understanding of such figures and symbols through God's gift of prophetic power. No human could interpret the dream until God revealed it.
The dream presents events reaching to the end of time and the close of earth's history. Through it God revealed what would happen afterward and what will happen in the latter days. Its figures portray historical events leading to the close of earth's history, and those events fulfill prophecy in order and mark the course of prophetic history.
Its interpretation revealed remarkable events in prophetic history.
Kingdoms Foretold and Ended
The great image seen in visions of the night represents the kingdoms of the world and the kingdom of man, foretelling what would happen in the future. Its divisions of different metals represent four world-moulding empires that would arise before human rule ends: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. The head of gold is Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar himself, the breast and arms of silver is the Medo-Persian kingdom, the sides of brass is the third kingdom, and the feet and toes of iron mingled with clay include Rome.
The sequence begins with Babylonia at the height of its glory under Nebuchadnezzar, then a universal empire that profoundly shaped the world and served as a center and starting point of civilization. Yet Daniel declared in Babylon when it seemed so strong and far-reaching that no foe could take its scepter that despite its magnificence it would pass away. Babylonia, the first and greatest world-moulding empire, passed away under Nabonadius and Belshazzar in 538 B.C., in the same generation that the revelation was given.
A second kingdom would succeed Babylon, then a third, then a fourth more fierce, determined and powerful than any before. That fourth kingdom is as strong as iron to subdue and break in pieces all nations and ruling over nations, yet finally crumbling into pieces. Earthly kingdoms are temporary and will pass away and be replaced, while Christ's kingdom alone is eternal and will never pass away. It will replace all earthly powers and never be destroyed, and will fill the earth.
God's Sovereignty and Testing
The great image stands as a revelation that God rules over all kingdoms and over the affairs of the world, directing the course of kingdoms and proving Himself more powerful than earthly rulers. He removes and establishes kings, bringing down one mighty ruler and setting up another, while human power and glory remain temporary and He alone is supreme. Through the Hebrew captives He made Himself known to idolatrous Babylon, giving that nation knowledge of the kingdom He was to establish and by His power maintain against all the power and craft of Satan. Light was flashed from God's throne to Nebuchadnezzar to show that the God of heaven is Ruler over all monarchs and kings of earth, that His name was to go forth as God over all gods, and that the rulers of earthly kingdoms have a Ruler in the heavens. Each nation was allowed a place and a period of test to show whether it would fulfill God's purposes and exalt the one true God, with obedience or disobedience accompanying its rise and fall. Each failed, and its glory and power passed away to another.
The metals grow progressively less pure and valuable from head to feet, from gold to silver to brass to iron mingled with clay, showing that the kingdoms deteriorated in value. The baser metals that followed Babylon signified nations decreasing in value as they separated farther from God, with value lessening from one kingdom to the next. That decreasing value marks moral deterioration, the result of making void the law of God. In prosperity rulers forgot God, trampled His law underfoot, and ascribed prosperity, honor and glory to human achievement, bringing increasing immorality, wickedness, blasphemy and corruption. So Babylon passed away because in prosperity she forgot God, Medo-Persia was visited by wrath because the law was trampled underfoot, the kingdoms that followed sank lower and lower, and the vast empire of Rome crumbled into pieces.
The image also fitly represents deterioration of religion, since men grow weak morally and spiritually in proportion as they forget God. They leave the old landmarks of obedience for forms, ceremonies and outward display instead of purity, piety, meekness, lowliness and obedience. This is seen when the church of Rome keeps people in ignorance of God's will and when those claiming to be Protestants depend on outward display, with even religious leaders lacking a good conscience toward God, proving sin is ruining nations. Reverence for God would give rulers wisdom and strength, but separation from Him leaves them unable to understand His warnings and dependent on God's faithful servants for insight. Its history shows God bringing down human pride and glory through the rise and fall of states and their rulers.
Exact Fulfillment Confirms Scripture
The great image stands at the head of a prophecy that has been fulfilled in the record of history with wonderful exactness and in the most literal manner in the rise and fall of kingdoms, forming a connected chain of prophecy. That exact and literal fulfillment is evidence for the inspiration of Scripture and gives an anchor of faith against rationalism and skepticism. Showing this fulfillment together with the signs of the times gives tangibility to faith in the second coming of Christ and makes a deep impression on those interested in prophecy who had no definite idea of its fulfillment.
The prophecy is part of the sure word of prophecy given to guide all who want to know their Maker's will and to reveal things that must shortly come to pass. It was made known to Daniel by angels and by Christ Himself. Its events are in process of fulfillment and will soon come to pass. Important matters concerning salvation in it were not left in mystery to perplex and mislead the honest seeker after truth, but were revealed plain so that he may run that reads. The word is plain to all who study it with a prayerful, humble, teachable heart, and every truly honest soul seeking truth as for hid treasure will come to the light of its truth.
Despite the popular claim that Daniel's prophecies are mysteries that cannot be understood, the prophecy can be understood and studied so clearly that even children can understand and explain it. Studying the prophecy helped lead to the belief that the Lord's coming was near. Its fulfillment shows that the coming of the Lord is at hand, a solemn and important truth to be brought before the people.
Misuse and Faithful Response
God in providence gave light to Nebuchadnezzar through Daniel concerning Babylon and the kingdoms that would follow, bringing an idolatrous king into reasoning relation with Daniel in order to exalt Jehovah as more powerful than any earthly kingdom. Daniel was brought into that relation because while faithfully doing his work as statesman in Babylon he refused to do anything against God, and he interpreted the dream in the light of the Scriptures. He taught that no king or subject is to read the Scriptures and God's providences by dreams, fancies, human understanding and ambitions, but is to read dreams by the living oracles. Nebuchadnezzar did the opposite, reading the interpretation in the light of his own idolatrous mind and human understanding instead of reading his dream in the light of the living Oracles.
The great image was given as a symbol to reveal God's purpose for the nations and important future events, to show Nebuchadnezzar the part he was to play in world history and how his kingdom related to the kingdom of heaven. Its meaning was to communicate divine truth that Babylon would not be an eternal empire and would not stand forever, despite the king's ambition to make it supreme and everlasting. He was meant to trace the image's course to the end of earthly kingdoms and consider the establishment of God's everlasting kingdom, but pride led him instead to seek a greater, more powerful empire. Told that Babylon was the head of gold, he focused on being the head of gold and magnified himself, turning the warning against himself by pursuing proud ambition instead of learning that his kingdom would not last. His counselors flattered him and encouraged him to regard Babylon's place in the image, with each later kingdom represented by a baser metal, as reason to magnify himself and demand worship.
Taking the great image that represented the excellence and glory of Babylon and more particularly himself as authority, he set up a golden image to convert all nations to its worship. His later image imitated the dream image and was similar in general features, but differed in material in that it was made entirely of gold. By that change of material he symbolized his claim that Babylon would be eternal, indestructible, all-powerful and supreme over every other kingdom, in contrast to the dream image's different materials showing decreasing value from kingdom to kingdom. Its imposing size and splendor represented Babylon's glory and power. The golden statue on the plain of Dura thus represented the one seen in the dream, but as an imposing idol intended to take God's place and be worshiped it became an object of idolatrous worship and a test of allegiance to God. In this way a symbol meant to communicate divine truth could be misinterpreted and used to glorify human power, promote men's plans, and hinder people from learning what God wanted the world to know.
That self-exaltation ended with the fall of Babylon in an hour of feasting and revelling. To the Hebrew captives who depended on God rather than being captivated by Babylon's splendor, the interpretation of the dream revealed heavenly glory. God's instruction through it also benefited the great men of Babylon. Daniel and his companions remained faithful to God rather than mixing their faith with Babylonian religion, and God upheld and honored them.