THE BOOK OF DANIEL (3)

Daniel Interprets the Dream

Daniel 2: 24 – 49         

KingJames Version (KJV)

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.

49 Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.

The Holy Spirit at Work.  The Holy Spirit never announces His presence in Daniel, but He is clearly at work.  The ability of Daniel and the other Hebrew to interpret dreams was through the power of the Holy Spirit. The predictive prophecies, both with local and future applications, indicate the supernatural insights given to Daniel by the Holy Spirit.

 

The Book of Daniel unveils a march of events in God’s relationship, not only with His people, but with the world political system. Basic facts distilled from this book seem to illuminate other difficult passages, presenting these apparent forthcoming events:   

2:27, 28, Bear testimony that God enables us to overcome otherwise impossible circumstances. Believe that God is still in the miracle-working business.

2:28 In the latter days refers to the future, from Nebuchadnezzar throughout the remainder of human history.

2:31-45 The matter of understanding the various kingdoms of the great image has led to many diverse opinions.  The two most common understandings are that it represents either four successive kingdoms (the Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Grecian and Roman) or four successive reigns (Kings) over one kingdom (Babylon: the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar through Nabonidus). The differences lie in the fact that Hebrew word for "kingdom" can also be translated "reign."

Clearly, however, the image represents governments over whom God has ultimate sovereignty. Whatever their identity, before God’s power they are frail; they have "feet of clay."  God alone is the ultimate Sovereign of history, both in Daniel’s day and throughout this age.

Playwright Janet Irene Thomas

Founder/President/CEO

Bible Stories Theatre of

Fine & Performing Arts

info@biblestoriestheatre.org

www.biblestoriestheatre.org