Hello everyone, Welcome back to the Wednesday Bible study by @seyiodus and Happy Love Day to you all. We will be studying the Book of Daniel chapter 2 from verses 24-48 which is about the interpretation of king Nebuchadnezzar dream by Daniel. Last Bible study, we studied the first part of chapter 2. To read it visit [here](Bible Study 📖 By @Seyiodus #4. Daniel 2:1-23 (Wednesday 7th Of February, 2018))

Daniel 2:24-48

24 Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him; Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will shew unto the king the interpretation.

25 Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation.

26 The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof?

27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king;

28 But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these;

29 As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass.

30 But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.

31 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.

32 This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass,

33 His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.

34 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.

35 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 threshingfloors; 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.

36 This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.

37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.

38 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.

39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.

40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.

41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.

42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.

43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.

44 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.

45 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 hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.

46 Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him.

47 The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret.

48 Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon.

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A God In Heaven Who Reveal Secrets

Daniel took no personal credit for interpreting the dream. We too must be careful never to take the credit for what God does through us or how he chooses to use us (Deuteronomy 8:11-20). Everything is to be done for His glory, So, because Daniel was humble and honest about God, Nebuchadnezzar was able to recognize that God was the power behind Daniel's gift of wisdom and revelation.

Daniel Interprets The Dream

Daniel interpreted the dream according to what the metals are. Nebuchadnezzar was the head of gold in the statue in his dream, representing the Neo-Babylonian Empire (605-539 B.C.) After he died, the empire soon began to crumble.
Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom would be followed by an "inferior" or lesser kingdom, represented by the silver chest and arms. This would be the the Medo-Persian Empire established by Cyrus (539 B.C.)
A third kingdom, symbolized by the bronze belly and thighs, represented the Greek Empire established by Alexander the great (330 B.C.).

The iron kingdom represents the Roman Empire, which began about 67 B.C. and conquered the world to a greater degree than any empire before it. The value of the metals decreased from the image's head to its toes. This decrease represents the facts that the power of each ruler will become less and less-from the absolute authority of Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar to the more democratic checks and balances of the Roman assemblies. However, the metals of lesser values-like bronze and iron-also symbolized greater toughness and endurance, as each successive Empire (through the Roman Empire) lasted longer than the one before.

The feet of iron and clay probably represent the nation states that have existed in the area of the Roman Empire since it fell. Some of them have been strong ans lasted a long time; others have been more fragile, breaking up again and again.
In the dream, a rock cut out of the mountain-"not by human hands" but supernaturally-struck the image on the feet. Not only were the feet destroyed, but the gold, silver, bronze, iron and clay all turned to powder and blew away.
That is significant for the following reasons:
(1) When Babylon gave way to the Medo-Persians alliance, that coalition remained part of the same image. The same was true of the Greek and Roman Empires and is still true of the modern nations that fill their pace. All are part of the same world system. In fact, the world is still influenced by Babylonian astrology, Medo-Persians ethics, Greek art and philosophy and both Roman law and the Roman idea that peace can be secured by military might. According to Nebuchadnezzar's dream, the world system-with its ungodly ideas and values-will be completely destroyed so that Christ's kingdom may be fully established.
(2) The rock became a kingdom that filled the whole earth . This fifth kingdom is God's eternal kingdom established by Jesus, the Messiah. His authority will be over "the whole earth" and it will extend into the new heaven and new earth

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,”[a] for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. - Revelation 21:1

We can be sure that the present world order will not last forever and that God's kingdom will endure for eternity

10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.[a]
11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.[b] That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. - 2 Peter 3:10-13

Thanks for reading and hope to see you comment your thought down on this post.
Stay blessed.
Shalom

[NIV Study Edition Bible]

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