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Agents of Babylon The Colossus

Daniel 2:31-49 The second chapter of Daniel is centered on King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of a huge statue made of various substances that decrease in value from the head to the chest to the legs and down to the feet. There’s a twist of irony in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream: it was the foretelling of his own kingdom’s destruction. Preserved in the prophetic Word of God, this dream is also a message to every earthly king: no human kingdom is permanent; every kingdom will fall before the coming of the Kingdom of God. I. The Revelation (Daniel 2:31-33) “You, O king, were watching; and behold, a great image! This great image, whose splendor was excellent, stood before you; and its form was awesome” (Daniel 2:31-32). The great statue was made up of five parts: the head of gold, the breast and arms of silver, the belly and thighs of copper or brass, the legs of iron, and the feet that were part iron and part clay (verse 33). According to verses 38-40, these five sections symbolize five empires of the world, four of which were yet to come into power at the time of the dream. These kingdoms had the authority to rule the whole world, and as we look back at history, we discover that they did just that. II. The Interpretation (Daniel 2:34-45) The dream outlined the sequence and nature of the coming world kingdoms. The word kingdom is used nine times between verses 37 and 44. A. Babylon: The Head of Gold (Daniel 2:37-38) “The God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory; and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand . . . you are this head of gold” (Daniel 2:37-38). It’s fitting that Babylon would be called the golden kingdom, for it was saturated with gold.

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B. Medo-Persia: The Chest and Arms of Silver (Daniel 2:39) “After you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours” (Daniel 2:39). The chest and arms of silver represented the Medo-Persian Empire, which endured for more than two hundred years, from 539 to 331 B.C. C. Greece: The Belly and Thighs of Bronze (Daniel 2:39) “Another, a third kingdom of bronze . . . shall rule over all the earth” (Daniel 2:39). The belly and thighs of bronze represented the kingdom of Greece under Philip II of Macedon and his famous son Alexander the Great. D. Rome: The Legs of Iron (Daniel 2:40) “The fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes” (Daniel 2:40). It was the Roman Empire that put our Lord on the cross, and it was the imperialistic Romans who ruled so ruthlessly in New Testament days. But they, too, would be defeated by another kingdom. E. The Ten Kingdom Confederacy: The Feet of Iron and Clay (Daniel 2:41-44) “As the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile” (Daniel 2:42). Daniel foretells a time when the Roman Empire will consist of ten kingdoms or leaders. This is made much clearer in the seventh chapter, where Daniel expands on the ten-king coalition. As we look back at Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and view the Gentile kingdoms as he saw them, we can’t help but observe the decreasing stability in the governments of the world. F. The Final Kingdom of Christ: The Stone Cut From the Mountain That Fills the Whole Earth (Daniel 2:44-45) “In the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed” (Daniel 2:44). Nebuchadnezzar’s dream depicts the coming of Christ and his Kingdom in two graphic images: the stone and the mountain. 1. The Stone: The Coming King (Daniel 2:34-35) “A stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces” (Daniel 2:34). Seven times in the sacred Scriptures our Lord is called a stone . . . Christ is the Stone (Acts 4:10-11).

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2. The Mountain: The Coming Kingdom (Daniel 2:35) “The stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth” (Daniel 2:35). Daniel’s prophecy highlights five overarching features that characterize the Kingdom of Christ. a. It’s a Supernatural Kingdom (Daniel 2:34, 45) “A stone was cut out without hands. . . . the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands” (Daniel 2:34, 45). b. It’s a Sudden Kingdom The Kingdom of Christ will come suddenly, not gradually . . . Every passage that addresses the second coming of Christ speaks of it as arriving without warning (Zechariah 14:4-5; Matthew 24:29-30; Revelation 1:7). c. It’s a Severe Kingdom (Daniel 2:35) “The iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors” (Daniel 2:35). d. It’s a Sovereign Kingdom (Daniel 2:35) “The stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth” (Daniel 2:35). e. It’s a Successful Kingdom (Daniel 2:44) “The God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed. . . . It shall stand forever” (Daniel 2:44). III. The Appreciation (Daniel 2:45-49) A. Nebuchadnezzar Praises Daniel (Daniel 2:46) King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, prostrate before Daniel, and commanded that they should present an offering and incense to him (Daniel 2:46). B. Nebuchadnezzar Praises Daniel’s God (Daniel 2:47) The king answered Daniel, and said, “Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret” (Daniel 2:47).

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C. Nebuchadnezzar Promotes Daniel (Daniel 2:48) The king promoted Daniel, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon (Daniel 2:48). D. Nebuchadnezzar Promotes Daniel’s Friends (Daniel 2:49) Daniel petitioned the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel sat in the gate of the king (Daniel 2:49).