In Daniel 2 we find a tall image that king Nebuchadnezzar dreamed about. Although, the dream was meant to show how the king’s kingdom will eventually fail, it was also an image of all of us, and our journey with God. But we need to remember that “God in heaven that revealeth secrets” especially meant it for “what shall be in the latter days” (verse 28). So, although many believe this prophesy was about the fall of Babylon, it was also meant as prophesy about the end times.
The Dream
“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.”
The Interpretation for king Nebuchadnezzar
The image is broken down in how the power of Babylon will dwindle, from king Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel starts out telling the king that everything in his kingdom was given to him by God, and that he was made to be “this head of gold” (verse 38). After him (verse 39) “shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee (silver), and another third kingdom of brass….” But another ... 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“(verses 40-41). This last kingdom is described as weak and divided (“partly strong, and partly broken“) for it is made up of a mixture of iron and clay (verse 42). Verse 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.” Jesus, Himself said that “…every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth (Luke 11:17, KJV).
Now I will give my interpretation of this dream:
I’ll start with the toes that is made from clay and iron. We are made from clay, as we see in Genesis 2:7 (KJV) stating, “…the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” We were made in the perfect image of God, but because we live in a sinful world we are “bound in affliction and iron” because we rebel against the laws that God placed there for us, to protect us against this world. The iron is therefore the shackles of sin. Yes, we are all divided in our thoughts and deeds, in our choice of either walking with God, or against (feet/legs). We will find that the closer we are in our walk with God the more removed we are from the worldly views. We will be persecuted for thinking differently from what they (the world) want us to think, but remember the legs are made from iron, and iron is strong.
Brass we see in this piece as inferior than gold and even silver. Yet, it was used in the temple, making the pillars, altar and vessels (Exodus 38 + 2 Kings 25). Brass is beautiful to look at and just as shiny as gold, but brass turn green because of oxidization. Meaning that we are all expose to this worlds doings and that nastiness sticks to us. This layer of sin is what God sees when He looks at us, because it covers the beauty of who we are. However, there is hope for us, because Jesus died for our sins, and through His blood we are made whole. It is written that, it is through Jesus death and resurrection, ‘in whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins’ (Colossians 1:14, KJV). Some people believe that you can use vinegar to clean brass from that green layer that forms over it. In Luke 23:36 (KJV) we find that Jesus was mocked by the soldiers while on the cross and offered vinegar to drink. Jesus needed no ‘saving’ or cleaning, for He was without sin.
When we accept the fact that Jesus died for us and that He rose from the grave, therefore allow Him into our hearts, he starts to change us from the inside out. Through His Holy Word, He will teach us to walk on His path. David says in his psalms, ‘the words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times’ (Psalms 12:6, KJV). But to reach this level of purity we need to go through a purification process (fires). This is the various trials we experience in life, and we need to know that we are not in those fires alone. Just like Daniel’s friends weren’t alone when they were thrown into a fiery furnace, for not bowing down to Nebuchadnezzar, we aren’t either.
If we prevail in our walk with God, we will become the head of gold. The crowning glory of His throne room. We will speak with one mouth, just like David exclaimed, “…therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea above fine gold” (Psalms 119:127, KJV). And Jesus will look upon us with joy. “And the chief Shepherd (Jesus) shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away” (1 Peter 5:4, KJV).
For those who will prevail in these latter days, we will be made “kings,” for “the God of heaven [has] set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed” …”and it shall stand for ever” (verse 44). But before this can happen we will experience suffering which this world never experienced before. I want to remind you that there was a stone that was “cut out of the mountain without hands” destroying all these pieces of iron, brass, clay, silver and gold (verse 45). In my other blogs I wrote about this happening, explaining that we are on a threshing floor. Daniel too use this image, stating the sorting process, “like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors” (verse 35).
Verse 45- “and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.” God cannot lies, hence the prophesy will come true. It is for us to decide if we want to do this walk with him, or not. Do we want to wear this crown of glory, or are we going to give it up for the temporal.
My prayer for us today is that we will discover the love and grace of God, and that in everything He does He shows mercy. Forgive us therefore, Lord, for our many sins and lead us on Your path of righteousness. #GodCanDoThis
Notes:
My main piece comes from Daniel 2, which you can find in:
Lightbearer's Quest 