What is the meaning of Nebuchadnezzar's dream in Daniel 2?

"He which testifies these things says, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus." (Rev. 22:20). It follows from this, the true hope of the Christian, that the expectation of seeing the world gradually filled with blessing, or even the semblance of it through the profession of the gospel, before the return of Jesus, is altogether unwarranted. He will have the glory of reducing all opposing powers, and of ushering in at His second advent that acceptable year of Jehovah which He proclaimed at His first coming. But the day of vengeance, which in His humiliation was left out (cp. Luke 4:19-20 with Isaiah 61:1-3), will be the immediate effect of His appearing again, followed by His reign of peace and glory. See Isaiah 11:4-9; 17, 18, 24 - 27, 30, 32, 35, 60 - 66; Jeremiah 31, 32; Ezekiel 36 - 47. Daniel is very explicit on this head: "Thou sawest," says the prophet to the king, "till a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them; and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth." The divine interpretation (vv. 44, 45) need leave no doubt as to the meaning: "And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver and the gold; the great God has made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure." Other Scriptures, too, furnish more light, especially Matt. 21:42-44: "Jesus says to them, Did ye never read in the Scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? Therefore say I to you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder."

In this image of Nebuchadnezzar's dream, we have the whole course of Gentile dominion from the kingdom of Babylon till the revival of the Roman empire which will be the last kingdom in the times of the Gentiles. The stone cut out without hands which brings this image to an end is the introduction of the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He is the stone cut out without hands — meaning without human aid — Who, at His appearing and kingdom will bring to an end all these kingdoms and His kingdom will fill the whole earth, that is, where these other kingdoms have been seen.

The first thing to note in this image is the deterioration of the value of the metals used to describe the various kingdoms they represent and incidentally giving us the divine estimation of the decreasing glory in the kingdoms of men. First we have the gold as representing Babylon; the kingdom in its best estate as given to Nebuchadnezzar by God, v. 37. The silver represents the Media-Persian; the brass represents the Grecian; the iron represents Rome past, and the iron and clay of the toes Rome future. Moreover, looking further into this prophecy of Daniel we read in the subsequent visions given to him that one head controlled the Babylonian empire, Dan. 2:37. Two horns controlled the Media-Persian, Dan. 8:3. Four heads ultimately controlled the Grecian empire, Dan. 7:6. Seven heads controlled the Roman empire in its original form, Rev. 13, while ten horns or toes will control it in its future revival, Rev. 13:1, Dan. 2:42. Almost all known characters of government are seen here. First, absolute AUTOCRACY as seen in Nebuchadnezzar. Then MONARCHY in the Media-Persian but not now the absolute autocracy of Babylon. Then in the Grecian empire dividing into four heads we have OLIGARCHY. Then in Rome past we have IMPERIALISM while in the ten toes or horns in Rome future we have boasted DEMOCRACY. Adding to this the further details of these kingdoms as before noted we see how it decreases in power and a glory. First one, then two, then four, then seven, then ten. So God foretold of this degeneration by clearly stamping it on this image. Man may boast of progress in his character of rule but the Scriptures leave no doubt as to the divine estimation of the matter. The last phase of the image will be in the future when the ten kings receive power one hour with the beast. It will be in this state when Christ appears, and as the stone smote the image on the feet, so He will destroy this power and bring to an end for all time Gentile dominion. He will set up His kingdom which will stand for ever and use it to bring to an end the time ways of God, v. 44. Note in this passage how God is called "the God of heaven," v. 44. So He will abide in relation to the kingdoms of the Gentiles till the times of the Gentiles come to an end. Then He will once more assert His claim to the earth as seen in Rev. 11:4. He will not take possession of the earth through any Gentile power but will take it through Israel when they come into their rightful place in the kingdom of the Christ.

As far as earthly government is concerned, the Jews were now given up until the Second Man is brought in. With this long abandonment of the Jews commenced "the times of the Gentiles," that is, the period during which the sceptre of earthly dominion is entrusted to the Gentiles, instead of Israel. These "times of the Gentiles" began with the kingdom of Babylon, the head of gold, in Nebuchadnezzar's prophetic dream. Then came the kingdom of the Medes and Persians, symbolised by the breast and arms of silver; the Greek monarchy set forth in the belly and thighs of brass; and afterwards the stronger and more enduring dominion of Rome, represented by the legs of iron. After this, "the times of the Gentiles" changed their nature; iron and clay mingled together, or, the rule was divided among kingdoms of various origin and character, though all connected with the dismembered Roman empire. Another vision shows us that in this last stage, the Roman dominion will revive in a federal form under the presidency of one specially energised by Satan. It is when it has reached this phase that judgment will descend, a stone cut out without hands falling on the Gentile powers and crushing them to pieces, after which it grows into a mountain that fills the whole earth; or, as interpreted by Daniel, "in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever" (Dan. 2:44). Such is the history, prophetically traced, of the yet uncompleted "times of the Gentiles."

Just before the time when Judah was finally carried into captivity, we find God sending His prophet to Zedekiah, who was plotting with the nations around to throw off the yoke of the king of Babylon, requiring that he and they should bring their necks under his yoke. He says, "I have made the earth, the man, and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power, and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me. And now have I given all these lands into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him … Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live." (Jer. 27:5-12.) It is with this Gentile power, and those which succeed him, until the end of their "times," we have now to do. We turn to the Book of Daniel and read of one of the Hebrew captives enabled of God to recall and interpret his dream to the Gentile king, who had forgotten it. (Dan. 2:31-45.) The dream was of a great image, whose head was of gold; the breast and arms of silver; his belly and thighs of brass; his legs of iron, and his feet part of iron and part of clay. The interpretation shows that this image typified the Gentile power from the days of the first king, Nebuchadnezzar, till its close. When in its last state, a stone "cut out without hands," a kingdom set up by the God of heaven, smites the image on its feet, i.e., at the close of its existence. Accordingly the compound parts of the image then fully formed are broken to pieces and consumed by a crushing act of judgment, inflicted by the stone. They become like chaff in the summer threshing-floors, and the wind carries them away, so that no place is found for them. Thus it is that the stone, which executed this act of judgment, becomes a great mountain, and fills the whole earth. The vision is plain, and needs but few words. The Gentile power exists in different stages, each inferior to the other, the farther it removes from the source of its first power, until an act of judgment most complete and destructive on its last state is executed by a power not entrusted to the hands of men, so that every vestige of the image disappears from the scene; and the power that strikes the blow becomes expanded and exalted, and stands for ever.

Daniel 2 conveys the interesting and important fact that "the God of the heavens" acted by a dream on the first Gentile head of empire, to show the general course of dominion then begun till its extinction: an image gorgeous and terrible, but gradually deteriorating as it descends, and closing with great strength and marked weakness also. Then He sets up another kingdom, His own, after destroying not only the fourth empire in its last divided condition of the ten toes (which did not exist when Christ suffered or the Holy Spirit came down), but the remains of all from the first — the gold, the silver, the brass, as well as the iron and clay. Only when judgment was executed does the "little stone" expand into a great mountain and fill the whole earth. Here the rationalist coalesces with the ritualist in teaching the self-complacent nonsense of an "ideal Israel," the church or Christendom. Yet in the church is neither Jew nor Greek, but Christ is all. It is the body of the glorified Head; and its calling is to suffering grace on earth, awaiting glory with Christ at His coming. Crushing to powder the image of Gentile empires is in no way or time the church's work. The once rejected but now exalted Stone will do it, as He declared in Matthew 21:44 and in other scriptures. But the literal Israel will be then and there delivered, and become His earthly centre in power and glory. Such is the uniform witness of the prophets. We need not begrudge this to the remnant of Jacob then repentant; for we are called to far brighter glory with Christ in heavenly places. But, whether believed now or not, the first dominion on earth will surely come to the daughter of Zion in that day, and as long as the earth endures.

J. S. O. A. 1. The book of Daniel is itself the nearest and weightiest help to explain the difficulties of its several parts. Thus Dan. 2 and 7 reflect light one on another. There is a manifest unity in the colossal image seen in Nebuchadnezzar's dream, which has its answer in "the four great beasts" that "came up from the sea" in Daniel's vision during the first year of Belshazzar's reign. In the visions all were thus seen at once, though in historical fact they were to succeed each other; as the rest of the chapter would plainly enough indicate. It was not a question of what Babylon had been, or of Nebuchadnezzar's succeeding Nabopolassar, but of God's gift of world-empire to these four successive powers. They begin with Nebuchadnezzar, and are terminated by the judgment to be executed on the final form of the fourth or Roman empire by the Stone cut without hands, i.e. God's kingdom wielded by the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven. Nabopolassar was doubtless king of Babylon; but in no way head of the image or imperial system which commenced with his son Nebuchadnezzar, to whom God gave this place expressly. He, not his father, could say though arrogantly, "Is not this great Babylon that I have built?" as he built enormously besides. His foreign conquests were great, yet less momentous than his energetic home policy. But his overthrow of the Jewish kingdom in its last stronghold was the turning-point, and in him the Gentile imperial system began. Dan. 2:37-38 affords light clear enough for beginning with Nebuchadnezzar and excluding his father or any other before him; as no reasonable mind doubts the parallelism of the two chapters. Compare Jer. 27, Ezek. 12, 17.

It is not necessary to dwell on the king's agitation of mind after seeing the vision, nor on his unreasonable demand on the Chaldeans, &c., whereby the impotence of merely human wisdom was made manifest. Nor need we dwell on his tyrannical decree, or Daniel's exercise of heart before God about the affair; but will proceed directly to the vision and its interpretation. The prophet said, "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. This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth" (Dan. 2:31-35). "This is the dream." In this vast image composed of four metals, Gentile monarchy is viewed as a whole, with its various deteriorations. We will dwell more fully on the different powers presently; it will suffice now to name them — Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome. They are all brought to an end by the crushing violence of the stone cut out without hands, which then becomes a great mountain, filling the whole earth.

Jerusalem had been supreme because the throne and the glory of Jehovah was there. Though Assyria, Egypt and Babylon had tried repeatedly to overthrow Jerusalem, they were held in check by the power of God and divine intervention, but when the measure of the wickedness of Jerusalem was full, Nebuchadnezzar was chosen to become the first great monarch of the times of the Gentiles. The dominion was then taken away from Jerusalem and transferred to the Gentiles. Therefore the golden head in this prophetic man-image represents Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian empire. The chest of silver, according to divine interpretation, stands for an inferior monarchy which was to follow the Babylonian empire. This second world empire is the Medo- Persian. The belly and thighs of brass represent the third great monarchy, the Graeco-Macedonian. The fourth great monarchy which was to rise during the times of the Gentiles, represented by the two legs of iron, is the iron empire, Rome. Here, then, is history pre-written. God, who knows the end from the beginning, revealed in this dream the course of the times of the Gentiles, beginning with the Babylonian monarchy and followed by three more: The Medo-Persian, the Graeco-Macedonian and the Roman. Notice the process of deterioration as indicated in the composition of this image: Gold, silver, brass, iron, and finally the iron getting less and clay taking a prominent place. It shows that politically the times of the Gentiles are not improving. Everything which this image represents has been fulfilled, except the last portion, when a stone falls out of heaven and strikes the ten toes and the clay, so that the whole colossal figure goes to pieces, the different constituent metals become like the chaff on the summer threshingfloor and the striking stone becomes a mountain and fills the whole earth. The fourth Empire, the Roman, has not yet fulfilled its history. The final form, and with it the final form of the times of the Gentiles is yet to pass into history. This final form is symbolically seen in the ten toes and the clay, in the feet of the image. The territory which constituted the now extinct Roman empire will in the near future undergo a political revival. It will reappear in a confederated Europe, except certain countries which never belonged to the Roman empire. In that confederacy will be kingdoms to the number of ten; the clay represents democracies, the rule by the people and for the people. The late great war has brought such a political combination into our times. Such is the future and end of the times of the Gentiles, as foretold in the feet of the image. But what does the smiting stone represent, the stone which abolisheth the image and becomes itself a great mountain filling the whole earth? The Stone is Christ. That the stone represents Christ is seen from the Scriptures. "Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation" (Isa. 28:16). Zechariah speaks of this stone with seven eyes upon it and engraven. We read of Him in the New Testament as the foundation stone of the church, the cornerstone, the stone rejected by the builders. Most interesting is His own word in the Gospel of Matthew: "And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder" (Matt. 21:44). Here we have Israel 's sin and judgment and the fate of the Gentiles. Israel stumbled against this stone; for them He was a stumblingstone and rock of offense. In consequence they were broken as a nation. But the Gentile world, rejecting Him, will be broken when the stone falls. They will be ground to powder by the falling stone. Our Lord must have had the dream of Nebuchadnezzar in mind when he spake these words. The falling stone of which He speaks and the striking stone in the dream mean the same Person, Himself The stone doing its work in smiting the image is a prophecy of the second coming of our Lord. The mountain filling after that the earth foreshadows that kingdom which will be established with the return of Christ and His enthronement as King of kings. Verses 46-49. The heathen monarch then acknowledged Daniel's God in a threefold way: The God of Gods (the Father); the Lord of Kings (God the Son); the Revealer of Secrets (God the Holy Spirit). Daniel is lifted from the place of humiliation to a place of exaltation. He did not forget his companions; they share honor and glory with him. It is a beautiful picture of that day when our Lord will receive the throne and when His own will not be left behind in sharing with Him His glory.

That stone falls, and smites the image upon his feet, and the result is that it is all reduced to powder, and the whole thing disappears. Then we find "the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth." I am perfectly well aware that many expositors of the Word of God have endeavoured to make out that this is the Gospel. I do not see how they make it out at all, because I do not think the Gospel is very destructive, as this falling stone most certainly is, and, moreover, I ask you this, Did the Gospel ever smite the image? Never, the image smote Christ. It was the Roman power that slew the Lord Jesus. The Gospel has never set aside the civil power in this world; on the contrary, the Gospel has always suffered,. and will suffer right on to the end. But what we have here is, that there comes a power that sets aside every human empire, and then is introduced an everlasting kingdom. "And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever." God sets up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed. There can be no shadow of a doubt this refers to what Scripture speaks abundantly of elsewhere, "The everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 1:11), in the moment when He comes back to earth, to assume the reins of government, which He alone is worthy to hold.

We have here Nebuchadnezzar's vision of the four Gentile empires under the symbol of a great image, which is brought to an end by the sudden descent of a stone cut without hands out of a mountain; the stone becoming then a great mountain which fills the whole earth. This stone is interpreted for us as the kingdom of God, which is seen thus in victorious opposition to the kingdoms of the world, suddenly and totally destroying them. It is after this only that it grows and fills the earth. The world-kingdoms are not pervaded or "leavened" by the kingdom of God, but run their course first, and are then at once destroyed by it. This fall of the stone is one of those fixed points for which we are looking, and it is future without doubt.