The Visions
of 'The Great Image'
and 'The Four
Beasts.'
The Five World-wide Kingdoms;
The
Fourth Kingdom of Rome and the 'Little Horn' Kingdom of Papal Rome;
And
the Kingdom of Heaven.
Part
I - The Great Image
By
Gerry Watts
Daniel and the Empire of Babylon
In 607/606 BC, Nebuchadnezzar, king
of Babylon, conquered the Empire of Assyria, and became the ruler of the world.
This is when the Babylonian Empire truly began its world-wide domination. Within two years, in 604 BC,
Nebuchadnezzar attacked Jerusalem and began to take some of the princes of Judah
captive to Babylon. Daniel, and three others who are named, were among these
Jewish captives (Daniel was probably in his late teens or early twenties). This
important event began the 70 year captivity of the kingdom of Judah, which we
shall consider later in these studies.
Daniel was then trained for three years
to become one of the wise men of Babylon serving in the king's court. He
remained in this position throughout the 70 years of Babylon's rule, right on
through to the reigns of Cyrus and Darius, the kings of Persia and Media. These details can be found
in Daniel Chapter 1.
Evidently during the time of Daniel's
training, in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom, the king had a
dream. He was so disturbed by the dream that he threw out a challenge to all
his astrologers, sacred scribes and magi to tell him not only the
interpretation of the dream, but the dream itself! If they didn't succeed,
then they were to be dismembered and their property confiscated. Of course,
this was an impossible task for them to fulfill, unless they truly had divine
help - which they didn't. So eventually, in his anger, Nebuchadnezzar calls for the execution of all
the wise men of Babylon because he rightly saw them all as charlatans. But
Daniel is able to bide them some time and then, after a time of prayer with
his friends, God gives him the whole dream and its interpretation in a night
vision.
In this, we see the truth unfolding that,
"To these four young men God gave
knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And
Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds"
(Daniel
1:17).
Daniel was clearly called to be a
prophet of God, a true seer and interpreter of dreams. His calling was quite
unique, and in some respects, Daniel was similar to Joseph. They both were taken
prisoner and led captive to a foreign land; they both faced death because of
their faith, and were divinely rescued; they both were prophets who could
interpret dreams; and God placed them in positions of great authority in the
world empire of their day (see Genesis 37-50 for the story of Joseph).
We also have the testimony of Jesus Himself to heed
the words of 'Daniel the prophet' (Matthew 24:15). So no matter what criticism
is thrown at the book of Daniel, it is most definitely a prophetic book, as well
as an historical book, and it is an important, if not essential, part of the
revelation of God's prophetic plan.
The Dream of the Great Image
Let us begin to look at the
account of this dream in Daniel Chapter 2.
" The king asked Daniel (also called Belteshazzar),
"Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it?"
Daniel replied, "No wise man, enchanter, magician or
diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, but there is
a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar
what will happen in days to come (literally 'in the latter days').
Your dream and the visions that passed through your mind as you lay on your
bed are these:
"As you were lying there, O king, your mind
turned to things to come, and the revealer of mysteries (literally
'secrets') showed you what is going to happen. As for me, this mystery
has been revealed to me, not because I have greater wisdom than other living
men, but so that you, O king, may know the interpretation and that you may
understand what went through your mind.
"You looked, O king, and
there before you stood a large statue (or great image)—an
enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. The head of the
statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver,
its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron,
its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. While
you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands ("...a
stone severs itself, that is, not by hands" - CV). It struck the
statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. Then the iron, the
clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were broken to pieces at the same
time and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind
swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the
statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth."
(Daniel 2:26-35 NIV)
So there's the dream, but before we look
at the interpretation, let me point out a few things. Note that there are 5
divisions of this great Image, and from head to toe the metals deteriorate or
become less in value, eventually becoming clay:
1) Head of Gold
2) Chest and arms of Silver (arms
probably crossed across the chest)
3) Belly and thighs of Bronze (or
Copper)
4) Legs of Iron
5) Feet and toes of Iron and Clay (mixed
together)
This is suggesting, in general terms,
that the kingdoms of men are going downhill in the same way as the metals
become less valuable, eventually becoming as clay, a fitting symbol of
humanity at its end, just when the Son of Man will return from the heavens to
take over the kingdoms of this world.
Then there is the Rock or Stone that
literally severs itself without the help of human hands. This Living Stone
then smashes into the feet of the image and then the whole image
crumbles and becomes like chaff in the wind. It is then replaced by the Rock
becoming, as the CV puts it, "...a vast mountain range..." which
fills the whole earth.
Also, Daniel had told the king that
these things were about 'what shall be in the latter days.' It concerns the
destiny of the kingdoms of men until the time when the Kingdom of God shall
come, and the times of the Messiah shall arrive. Some believe that Jesus later referred to this
whole era of time symbolised in the Statue as 'the times of the nations' (often rendered the
Times of the Gentiles). (See Luke 21:24).
I would say that this phrase 'the
Times of the Nations' is ultimately speaking of the domination of the worldly
kingdoms of men over the people of God, who are the true spiritual Israel of
God. This began firstly when His people were represented in the earthly Jerusalem
and ancient Israel of the Old Covenant, and now secondly, as they are represented in the New Jerusalem and the 'Church' under the New Covenant.
Be that as it may, Jesus was clearly using
this phrase in a more specific sense to describe the eras (or times) of the
nations (or gentiles), which were to begin later in the 1st century AD after the
destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. These 'Times' will continue until the
Return of Christ at the end of this age. During these eras, Jerusalem shall be
trodden down by the various kingdoms and nations of men, (including an
unbelieving Israel, who are no longer the true people of God outside of Jesus
the Messiah), until this age ends.
"They
will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem
will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are
fulfilled."
(Luke 21:24 NIV)
'The Times of the Nations' are intimately
linked to 'the Complement of the Nations' (usually rendered 'the fullness of the
gentiles') mentioned by Paul.
I do not want you to be ignorant of this
mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a
hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.
(Romans 11:25 NIV)
That is to say, in the past, there were
the 'Times of the Hebrews' (or the eras of Israel), when the remnant of
grace were primarily (but not solely) from the nation of Israel. This period was
characterised by the era of the Old Covenant. Yet now, since the
ministries
of Jesus and Peter and Paul, and the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD, there are the 'Times of
the Nations' during which time God is calling out a people for Himself
primarily from amongst all the nations to be the 'complement of the nations.'
This is characterised by the New Covenant.
The Four Kingdoms of Men
Now we come to the interpretation of the dream.
"This was the dream, and now we
will interpret it to the king. You, O king, are the king of kings. The God
of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory; in your
hands he has placed mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds of the
air. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. You are that
head of gold."
(Daniel 2:36-38 NIV)
God
had given King Nebuchadnezzar, as the greatest ruler (and representative) of
the kingdom of Babylon, worldwide authority. Now clearly Nebuchadnezzar didn't
literally exercise that authority worldwide because there were parts of the
world, for example China and the Far East, that were not literally under the
sway of Babylon, but as far as the central parts of the then-known world were
concerned, his kingdom ruled the majority of civilisation. This is especially
true as it relates to God's land, Israel, and its capital city, Jerusalem.
This worldwide authority was also passed on to the three kingdoms that
followed Babylon,
particularly as they expanded their actual boundaries of rule beyond that of
Babylon.
As
the head of gold, God is showing us that Nebuchadnezzar's absolute authority
as sole
ruler and king is the divine model for ideal rule. The problem is that humans
are corrupt and cannot therefore continue to rule righteously, even if they
start out that way with all good intentions. Yet one day the Son of God, who
is the Living Stone, will fulfill this role perfectly as the Son of Mankind,
the ultimate King of Kings.
After you,
another kingdom will rise, inferior to yours (the silver - CV). Next,
a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth.
(verse 39
NIV)
As
can be verified from any good history book or encyclopedia, and it is also made clearer later in
Daniel, the second kingdom, represented by the silver, was Media/Persia,
which took over from Babylon in 537/536 BC. This invasion of Babylon by the
Medes and Persians, which occurred later during the reign of Belshazzar, is
recorded in Daniel Chapter 5.
After this power change, Daniel continued to
hold a superior position in the new kingdom of Darius the Mede and Cyrus the
Persian (see Daniel Chapter 6).
I think that one of the reasons why this kingdom is said to be inferior to
Babylon is because there was more than one ruler
(Darius and Cyrus) and they did not have absolute authority to do as they
pleased, like Nebuchadnezzar had had before them (cf. Daniel 6:15-16).
It
is worth mentioning here that before the death of Nebuchadnezzar and the later
fall of Babylon, this king had had to learn a hard lesson in humility. Sadly,
he evidently misunderstood the dream of the great Image because some years
later he erected a gold image (no doubt representing himself) and forced his
subjects to worship it! (See Daniel Chapter 3). As a consequence of this,
through another dream, it was prophesied that he would go insane for a period
of seven years, becoming like an animal in the wilds. This is called
lycanthropy, a mental illness in which the sufferer believes him/herself to be
a wild animal of some sort. Anyhow, after this humiliating experience,
Nebuchadnezzar became a believer in Yahweh as the One True God and Creator of
all. You can read his own account of these events in Daniel Chapter 4.
Going
back to the original dream, the third kingdom, represented by the
bronze/copper, was Greece, which,
under Alexander the Great, conquered the Persian Empire in 331 BC. This is
also made evident later in Daniel.
Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron—for iron breaks
and smashes everything—and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will
crush and break all the others.
(Verse 40 NIV)
The
fourth kingdom is not actually named in Daniel, but it is evident that the
Roman Empire cannot be ignored in this regard. Rome
is clearly the fourth kingdom of iron that totally swallowed up all the
previous empires and had the greatest sway and influence over the world. This
is the only kingdom where the metal, the iron, describes its character; that
of violent, brute force that smashes and dominates everything. And take note
that this fourth kingdom is viewed as being the last of these kingdoms
(though as we shall see, it will continue to the end in a divided form of at
least 10 other kingdoms).
After
Alexander the Great died in 323 BC, the Greek Empire was divided between his
four generals. Two of these kingdoms, the Seleucids and the Ptolemies, became
the most dominant of the four, particularly in relation to Judah and Jerusalem. These things are
also prophesied in quite some detail later in Daniel. In the 2nd and 1st
centuries BC, the power of Rome became stronger until, in about 30 BC, under
Octavian, it became a world power after fully subduing Egypt.
Rome appears later in the pages of the New Testament at the
First Coming of Christ, so these four kingdoms take us to the time of the end
that was the First Coming of Messiah. All of these kingdoms are successive,
that is, they follow one another in chronological order, yet before the fifth
kingdom of the Living Stone arrives, the fourth kingdom has had to go through
some changes.
The Fourth Kingdom and its Final Phase
Rome was never wholly taken over by another empire, but instead it has
continued to rule in the form of many European kingdoms (symbolised as ten
toes), and especially
through the channel of the Holy Roman Catholic Empire, Christendom, and its
many branches. In recent centuries, the Protestant British Empire at its
height ruled a quarter of the earth, a mighty force that has shaped the modern
world. The power and Latin influence of Rome is still strong today,
particularly throughout the Western nations and through the domination of the
Indo-European English language. Even the European Union itself is intimately
bound to a treaty called the Treaty of Rome. We shall be briefly tracing
some of these similarities later.
So
the legs of Iron (that is, Rome) takes us to the First Advent
of Christ, which could rightly be called 'the last days' and 'the time of the
end' - but this fourth kingdom didn't stop there! The teaching of Jesus and
Paul in the NT reveals that the last days are being extended due to a
secret era of grace that was kept hidden in the OT. Therefore, this fourth
kingdom continues until the
Second Advent of Christ. We shall take a look at this in a
little more detail later.
Just as you saw that the feet and toes were
partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided
kingdom;
yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron
mixed with clay (muddy clay - CV). As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this
kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle (...at the end, the kingdom
shall be mighty, yet part of it shall be frail - CV). And just as you saw the
iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not
remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay.
(verses 41-43 NIV)
We
need to realise here that the feet and the toes at the bottom of the Image are seen as belonging to the fourth kingdom of
Iron, that is, Rome, yet the feet are singled out as being in a different form of iron
mixed with clay. This is not the fifth kingdom itself (the mountain range
is the fifth kingdom set up by the Living Stone) yet it is clearly a different form of the fourth (Roman)
kingdom describing how it will be at its end.
The
mention of 'muddy' or 'miry' clay in verses 41 and 43 may indicate that this is
potter's clay that has been shaped but it is still soft and pliable. This brings
to mind a number of scriptures, such as Jeremiah 18:1-6 and Isaiah 45:9, which
refer to man as being clay in the Potter's hands. Anyhow, whether the clay is
soft or hardened it is nevertheless referring to the weakness or frailty
of the kingdom at
its end. Five times in this text our attention is drawn to the fact that the
final form of this kingdom will be a mixture of iron and clay. Therefore it will
be a composite kingdom that will also be a divided kingdom because
iron does not mix with clay.
Although
the legs, feet and toes are all viewed as the fourth kingdom, it
clearly takes a different form at the
end. So as far as God is concerned, the Roman Empire still continues,
though it has gone through many changes. This is the reason why it isn't named
in Daniel as just being the Roman Empire. It is simply called the fourth
kingdom. In the book of Revelation in the NT, the name of this 'Beast'
empire is given in code - as 666. The number 666 = Roman in Hebrew and
Greek gematria! More on this later in these studies.
We must bear in mind that all four
of these kingdoms played an important role in God's plan for His people, and also the
land of
Israel. In the same way as this Roman Empire was ruling when Christ came the
first time, so shall it be ruling when He returns, yet in a different form of
'iron and clay,' that is, the feet and toes of the Image.
That
is to say, this final kingdom will essentially be divided into a succession
of European
Empires, with the Western nations at its head; an outgrowth of the ancient
Roman Empire. Nevertheless, according to Revelation 13, this 'Beast' Empire
will be a composite Beast that will incorporate ALL the previous Eastern
AND Western kingdoms. We shall deal with that later when we look at the next vision of the
Four Beasts.
We
should not think of this as the feet and the toes being stretched until Christ
comes, but as a prophecy of the ultimate division of the Roman Empire into
various kingdoms and empires - and this condition then lasting until the end
of this age. In fact, further details were revealed in the vision of the
Beasts (both in Daniel and Revelation) that spoke of another kingdom (a little
Horn) arising
after the Roman Empire had been divided into smaller kingdoms, and this
kingdom would also dominate the world for a specified period of time. As we
shall see, this was fulfilled in Papal Rome. The book
of Revelation fills in the rest of the details that are lacking in Daniel.
What is the Iron and the Clay?
In
the text above, we are basically told that this final kingdom will have the strength
of iron in it as well as the weakness of clay; and
that it will be a mixture, that is, it will not be truly unified
as an Empire, even though it will appear so for a time. It is verse 43 that reveals
what 'the strength' and 'the
weakness'
are in this kingdom. Most
versions (e.g. KJV and Young's Literal Translation) base their renderings on the following,
more literal, translation,
'…they will
be mixing (or mingling themselves) with the seed of
mankind. Yet they will not stick together, this one with that one, just as
iron is not mixing with clay'
(Daniel 2:43)
The
equivalent in the NIV and others is this:
'…so the people will be a mixture and will not
remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay.' (NIV)
But this
'paraphrase' doesn't really tell us anything we don't already know - that the kingdom will be
a mixture. It will appear united but the unity will
not last. But this doesn't actually explain what the iron (the strength) and the
clay (the weakness) actually represent, which is what Daniel is revealing
here!
The more literal rendering tells us that 'they'
will become mixed with the seed of men. But who are 'they?'
We
need to carefully note that in the previous verse we are introduced to the 'ten
toes.' Verse 44 goes on to tell us that these toes are kings or kingdoms. (We
shall see later that these ten toes are the equivalent of the 'ten horns' on the
Beast in Daniel's later vision). So it would make sense to say that the iron
strength of rulership, that is, 'they,' the ten kings, will become mixed with
the general people of the world, that is, 'the seed of men,' the clay.
To put it
another way, these divided kingdoms will have some power and strength in them (the iron) but
they will also be weakened by the fact that they are composed of various
nations mixed together,
partially ruled by the people (i.e. democratic rule) as opposed to being an
aristocracy.
Simply put, the Roman Empire would eventually weaken and would be
divided into many kingdoms (at least 10), some of them stronger than others.
Now if anyone had said in the 1st century AD that Rome, the eternal power,
would fall and be divided into many smaller, primarily barbarian, kingdoms,
they would've laughed at you, if not killed you for blasphemy against Rome and
the Emperor! Yet it eventually happened, just as God said it would through His
prophets.
There
is another possible translation of the above verse, though very tentative, put forward by A. E.
Knoch, which reads,
'…thus mixing
with wealth is the armed force of the mortal. Yet with wealth it is not clinging, this one with that one, even as
iron mixes not with clay.'
(2:43 CV)
I am not
convinced, though, that this translation is right in this instance. After
reconsidering it, I fail to see how 'wealth' could honestly be the weakness,
because wealth usually brings power, especially in relation to military might
(the armed force of men). Yet if it were to read, '...wealth will be
mixing with the seed of men...' then this also makes a lot of sense. Wealth is
the power, and the seed of men is the weakness.
Wealth
has always been the dominating force behind politics, government, business - in fact virtually
every avenue of life. Even today, many wars, particularly involving the West and the East,
are being fought over natural resources such as oil and other important
commodities. This is a major driving force for the richer western nations that have
a higher standard of living and therefore need a great deal more of these
natural resources. It's all about money, power and control.
A New Graeco-Roman Empire
Even
today, we
can still see the influence of the ancient Graeco-Roman Empire all around the world, particularly in the Western
nations, through language, literature, the Greek and Latin branches of
Christendom, in architecture, not to mention the influence of Greek and Roman
mythology, which in turn was passed down from the previous Empires.
Western
legislation is also based on the laws of ancient Rome. Rome was originally a
democratic republic governed by the Senate, but slowly it became imperialistic
under the rule of the Caesars. These traits can be seen in virtually every
other empire that has arisen since the fall of ancient Rome, even down to more
modern times - in the British Empire, and now a new American Empire! More
will be said about these things later.
Some
commentators and teachers have said that the 'ten kings' are ten Roman rulers or
ten others that have arisen successively, one after the other. But the details
in Daniel clearly reveal that the ten kingdoms were to be simultaneous, that is, they
were to arise at the same time, ruling together at the same time in the
aftermath of a divided Rome, as a result of a weakening of the fourth kingdom. The final
verses of this text confirm this view.
"In the
time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never
be destroyed (...that shall not, for the ages, come to harm - CV), nor
will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and
bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever (...it shall be
confirmed for the ages - CV). This is the meaning of the vision of the
rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands—a rock that broke the
iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces.
"The great God has shown the king
what will take place in the future. The dream is true and the interpretation
is trustworthy."
(Daniel 2:44-45 NIV)
Now we are clearly told here that the ten
toes of iron and clay are ten kings, and that "in the time of those
kings" the kingdom of God will be established on the earth with
power - and this fifth kingdom will not be harmed or given to another people for
the ages to come. This supernatural kingdom will bring all the kingdoms of men
to an end. And how will this occur? By crushing the feet and the toes in one
blow with the
Living Stone from heaven, which in turn will cause the whole Image
to collapse and become as dust. This can only be prophesying the Return of
Christ in power and glory, the ultimate Day of the Lord, after which,
"The kingdom of the world became
the kingdom of our Lord's and His Christ's. And He shall be reigning for the
ages of the ages."
(Revelation 11:15 - CV)
This same event is being metaphorically
portrayed in the vision of the Beasts as the arrival of the Son of Man and of
the Ancient of Days, at which time, the judgment will take place and the beast
kingdoms will be destroyed in the fire of God's justice.
The Fifth Kingdom and the Messiah
Jesus refers to Himself as this Stone in
the following text:
Jesus
looked directly at them and asked, "Then what is the meaning of that
which is written:
" 'The stone the builders rejected
has become the capstone?
Everyone who falls on that stone will be
broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed."
(Luke
20:17-18 NIV)
Peter also refers to Jesus as the Messianic
Living Stone.
As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected
by men but chosen by God and precious to him ...
For in Scripture it says:
"See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame." Now to
you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not
believe,
"The stone the builders rejected
has become the capstone," and,
"A stone that causes men to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall."
(1 Peter 2:4-8 NIV)
In
the near future, the Messianic kingdom of the heavens shall destroy all these earthly
kingdoms (as all of these kingdoms have been absorbed within the final
fourth kingdom of the iron and clay), terminating all of these kingdoms of the
earth in one blow and ending 'the times of
the nations' for good. Then the kingdom of God will fill the whole earth as
a huge mountain range in the New Creation.
How anyone can honestly believe that all these things have been fulfilled
in the First Coming of Christ, or during the events of the First Century, or anytime since then,
is beyond me. One look at this sorry world will show beyond a shadow of a doubt
that the Kingdom of God has not yet been fully manifested in this way, and Christ is not
yet visibly ruling the kingdoms of this world for all to see. The portion of the 'Lord's
Prayer' that says "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in
heaven" has not fully happened as yet. Therefore, the Great Image has not yet been
fully destroyed - but that Day is soon coming.
It is true to say that the spiritual kingdom of God was established at Pentecost
in 33 AD, and it continues to survive and thrive, as Jesus is ruling the
universe from the spirit world through His Ecclesia, as well as over the nations
in general, nevertheless, the greater, and fuller, manifestation of the
kingdom is still, as yet, in the future.
Anyhow, to conclude this portion of our
study, after giving this incredible revelation to king Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel
and all the wise men of Babylon are saved from death, and Daniel is then
promoted to Chief ruler of all the wise men, serving in the royal court. He also
helps his friends get appointed as administrators in Babylon, and the four of
them become the wisest and most knowledgeable men in the kingdom (Daniel 1:18-21;
2:48-49). This prefigures those of the Body of Christ who shall reign in the
coming kingdom of God. Through it all, the God of Daniel is glorified as the
Great God, the Great Revealer
of Secrets...but there were more visions to come!
So let us now consider the vision
of the Four Beasts, where these things were revealed in more detail, and let
us see how these prophecies have been fulfilled.
Copyright © G Watts 2006; Revised 2008
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