Day 4 – What’s in Store for World Governments

Read Daniel 2: 24 – 49

Daniel provides the details of an image revealed to Nebuchadnezzar in his dream and God provides the interpretation. The image is a statue of a man made up of different metals that will one day be crushed by a stone that comes crashing down from a mountain. Starting at the head and working down to the legs and feet, the metals decrease in value but increase in strength – gold – silver – bronze – iron. Daniel told the king that the metals and parts of the statue represent kingdoms (governments) that would come upon the earth and rule the people.

History has given scholars the perspective to study the vision and provide deeper insight to those of us who study this passage today. Daniel told the king that the kingdom of Babylon (606 B.C. to 536 B.C.) was represented by the golden head but one day a new kingdom would come along and supplant Babylon as the ruling world government. The chest and arms of silver represent the divided Medo-Persian Empire, which endured for more that 200 years, from 538 – 331 B.C. The belly and thighs of bronze represent the kingdom of Greece under Philip of Macedon and Alexander the Great. Bronze is an inferior metal to gold and silver and it symbolizes the Grecian army which increasingly used bronze for weapons and armor.
Fifty years before our Lord’s ministry began, the iron legions of Rome consolidated their control and became the predominant government in the world. The Roman empire enforced their power over the people through cruelty, intimidation and power. The Kingdom of God, represented by the stone carved without human hands, is coming and will one day crash down upon the governments of man to establish itself as a mountain to forever rule over the affairs of man.

Q1: Where do governments get their power? Why are we to obey the rulers of these “kingdoms”? Hint: Read Romans 13: 1 – 7.

Q2: Does this prophetic passage from Daniel 2 encourage you or frighten you? Why? Why does God include prophecy in scripture?

Q3: From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible consistently points to the understanding that wisdom is found through a relationship with God, not through the discoveries or philosophies of humankind apart from God. How can we grow in true wisdom? Hint: Read Colossians 2: 1 – 10.

Final thought: Our world is increasingly complex and confusing. We are often told that new technology will increase our wisdom. Wisdom is a divinely given ability to have insight as to the best way to live life. Anyone can acquire knowledge but a relationship with Jesus Christ will always be a requirement for true wisdom.