Daniel 2:24-49

2:24-30 | True to character, Daniel made certain that Nebuchadnezzar knew the interpretation (the king’s demand) came not from him but from God in heaven.

2:28-35 | God communicated this panoramic prophecy to a pagan king because the prophecy concerned the beginning and end of Gentile rule. It should be no surprise that a divine message was communicated through a wicked man. If God can use a donkey to rebuke a money-loving prophet (Num. 22:28-31) and order a rooster to rebuke a backsliding disciple (Matt. 26:75), He can speak through a heathen king with a dream.

2:31-35 | Nebuchadnezzar’s dream featured a huge statue made of various substances that changed in value from the head on down to the feet. The colossal image represents the imposing greatness and splendor of the Gentile world powers, including Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon. Humanity sees its own achievement in just this way: as great and awesome. Daniel 7 shows God’s perspective is quite different.

2:32-39 | The statue’s head of gold represents Nebuchadnezzar and the king of Babylon (606-536 BC). The chest and arms of silver symbolize the Medo-Persian Empire, which endured for more than 200 years (538-331 BC). The two arms of the image stand for the divided nature of this empire. The belly and thighs of bronze signify the kingdom of Greece under Philip of Macedon and his famous son, Alexander the Great.

2:32 | Bronze was the symbol of Greece, partly because Alexander the Great dressed his soldiers in bronze armaments.

2:34-35 | Writers of Scripture often use stone imagery to refer to Christ (Matt. 16:18; 21:42-44; Acts 4:11; Rom. 9:33; 1 Cor. 3:11; 10:4; Eph. 2:19-21; 1 Pet. 2:6).

2:37-38 | These are the “times of the Gentiles” (Luke 21:24), a period that began with the captivity of Judah under Nebuchadnezzar and will end at the second coming of Christ.

2:40 | While Scripture does not specifically identify Roe as the fourth empire, history indicates that it must be so. The Romans conquered Alexander’s empire through what became known as the “iron legions of Rom.” The word iron is used 14 times here. This imperialistic Roman nation put Jesus on the cross and ruled ruthlessly in the NT era.

2:44-45 | One image, comprised of many kingdoms – all opposed to and hating God – will be destroyed by one stone, thrown by the eternal God, thus establishing the fifth and final kingdom, which will stand forever. Without hands is another way of saying that Christ is of divine origin, not human origin.