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Daniel chapter 2 is a great revelation to us concerning the Antichrist
and his system by showing us parallels to the Antichrist's kingdom and
the statue in Nebuchadnezzar's dream. Nebuchadnezzar had a dream in which he saw a
great, awesome statue. He was puzzled by the dream and called his
magicians, astrologers, sorcerers and Chaldeans to tell him what his
dream was about and its interpretation.
The wise men of Babylon could
not do such a thing as tell the king what his dream was about without
hearing about it first. The king became so angry he was about to
kill all of the wise men of Babylon when Daniel, God's servant, heard
this news. He approached King Nebuchadnezzar and asked for a brief
time in which time he would ask God for this miracle of knowing what the
king had seen in his dream.
God revealed to Daniel what King Nebuchadnezzar had seen in his dream
and the interpretation of the dream.
In this dream King Nebuchadnezzar had seen a great statue or image
that was magnificent and glorious. It had a head of gold, chest
and arms of silver, its belly and thighs were made of bronze and its
legs were made of iron. Its feet were made of iron and clay.
Below is the full Biblical text concerning this dream and its
interpretation.
Daniel 2:1-49: NKJ
1. Now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign,
Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was so troubled that his sleep
left him.
2. Then the king gave the command to call the magicians, the
astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell the king his
dreams. So they came and stood before the king.
3. And the king said to them, "I have had a dream, and my spirit is
anxious to know the dream.''
4. Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, "O king, live
forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the
interpretation.''
5. But the king answered and said to the Chaldeans, "My decision is
firm: if you do not make known the dream to me, and its interpretation,
you shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made an ash heap.
6. "However, if you tell the dream and its interpretation, you shall
receive from me gifts, rewards, and great honor. Therefore tell me the
dream and its interpretation.''
7. They answered again and said, "Let the king tell his servants the
dream, and we will give its interpretation.''
8. The king answered and said, "I know for certain that you would gain
time, because you see that my decision is firm:
9. "if you do not make known the dream to me, there is only one decree
for you! For you have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me
till the time has changed. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know
that you can give me its interpretation.''
10. The Chaldeans answered the king, and said, "There is not a man on
earth who can tell the king's matter; therefore no king, lord, or ruler
has ever asked such things of any magician, astrologer, or Chaldean.
11. "It is a difficult thing that the king requires, and there is no
other who can tell it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not
with flesh.''
12. For this reason the king was angry and very furious, and gave a
command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.
13. So the decree went out, and they began killing the wise men; and
they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them.
14. Then with counsel and wisdom Daniel answered Arioch, the captain of
the king's guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon;
15. he answered and said to Arioch the king's captain, "Why is the
decree from the king so urgent?'' Then Arioch made the decision known to
Daniel.
16. So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him time, that he might
tell the king the interpretation.
17. Then Daniel went to his house, and made the decision known to
Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions,
18. that they might seek mercies from the God of heaven concerning this
secret, so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest
of the wise men of Babylon.
19. Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. So Daniel
blessed the God of heaven.
20. Daniel answered and said: "Blessed be the name of God forever and
ever, for wisdom and might are His.
21. And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and
raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who
have understanding.
22. He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness,
and light dwells with Him.
23. "I thank You and praise You, O God of my fathers; you have given me
wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of You,
for You have made known to us the king's demand.''
24. Therefore Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to
destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him: "Do not
destroy the wise men of Babylon; take me before the king, and I will
tell the king the interpretation.''
25. Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel before the king, and said thus to
him, "I have found a man of the captives of Judah, who will make known
to the king the interpretation.''
26. The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar,
"Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen, and its
interpretation?''
27. Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, "The secret
which the king has demanded, the wise men, the astrologers, the
magicians, and the soothsayers cannot declare to the king.
28. "But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made
known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your
dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed, were these:
29. "As for you, O king, thoughts came to your mind while on your bed,
about what would come to pass after this; and He who reveals secrets has
made known to you what will be.
30. "But as for me, this secret has not been revealed to me because I
have more wisdom than anyone living, but for our sakes who make known
the interpretation to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of
your heart.
31. "You, O king, were watching; and behold, a great image! This great
image, whose splendor was excellent, stood before you; and its form was
awesome.
32. "This image's head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver,
its belly and thighs of bronze,
33. "its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.
34. "You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck
the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces.
35. "Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were
crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing
floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found.
And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled
the whole earth.
36. "This is the dream. Now we will tell the interpretation of it before
the king.
37. "You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given
you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory;
38. "and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field
and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand, and has
made you ruler over them all you are this head of gold.
39. "But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours; then
another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth.
40. "And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron
breaks in pieces and shatters all things; and like iron that crushes,
that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others.
41. "Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and
partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the
iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay.
42. "And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay,
so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile.
43. "As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the
seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does
not mix with clay.
44. "And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a
kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be
left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these
kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.
45. "Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain
without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the
clay, the silver, and the gold the great God has made known to the king
what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its
interpretation is sure.''
46. Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, prostrate before Daniel,
and commanded that they should present an offering and incense to him.
47. The king answered Daniel, and said, "Truly your God is the God of
gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could
reveal this secret.''
48. Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts; and he
made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief
administrator over all the wise men of Babylon.
49. Also Daniel petitioned the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abed-Nego over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel sat in
the gate of the king.
This statue is so important in understanding who the Antichrist and
his system are. Basically, the statue represents four kingdoms
that will rise on the earth in power.
Nebuchadnezzar saw a statue with a head made of gold, arms and chest
made of silver, belly and thighs made of bronze, two legs made of iron
and feet made of iron and clay.
The head of gold was Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian kingdom.
The chest and arms of silver describe the combined kingdoms of the Mede
and Persian Empires. The symbolism of two arms that are joined at
the chest as part of one unit accurately describes the two nations of
the Medes and Persians who were two separate nations that joined into
one large, combined nation to fight with the world, including the
Greeks. The belly and thighs made of bronze describes the Greek
Empire.
The most important part to understand in the dream of the statue
concerning the Antichrist and his kingdom are the legs of iron and the
feet with ten toes made of iron and clay. Part of the Antichrist's
system is revealed by understanding what the two legs of iron and the
two feet with ten toes represent.
The two legs of iron describes the Roman Empire that had two parts:
The Emperor's rule of military power and the Pope's rule of religion and
power. The feet describe the Antichrist's kingdom. The feet
are made of iron and clay. This speaks to me that it will be made
up of a new Roman Empire (the iron) and it will be mixed with a united
people of the world (the clay).
That the feet are the same, yet different than the legs is
significant. It is still partly made of iron, which tells me that
it is still part of the old Roman Catholic system, what I call the
harlot system. Yet, the Antichrist's system will be different
because the feet are also made of clay. This denotes a shift or a
new type of Roman Empire that is coming upon the scene. Made from
the old Roman Catholic system, yet mixed with a new twist, so to speak.
This new Roman Empire, the Antichrist's system, is now in place as I
type these words. They have been in place since 1979. I
reveal what this organization is in my study on Revelation chapter 17,
on this web site.
Also notice that, although the toes are mentioned, that the feet have
ten toes is alluded to. It is important that you understand the
significance of the feet having ten toes. This is important in
understanding and recognizing the Antichrist's kingdom.
Just like the ten horns of Daniel chapter 7 and Revelation chapter
12, 13, and 17, the ten toes also speak of the Antichrist's kingdom that
will be led by the Antichrist and ten kings. These ten kings will
have never had a kingdom until they reign with the Antichrist.
(See Daniel 7:24, they will come from his kingdom and Revelation 17:12).
Although the Antichrist's kingdom is described as divided, in the
Biblical
text, it will not stop the Antichrist from conquering the whole earth.
One reason the kingdom is divided is that the world will be in chaos
during the End Times and during the Tribulation Period when the
Antichrist rules the whole earth. Chaos and lawlessness will reign
during the times of the Antichrist.
The statue eventually is destroyed by a rock not made with hands,
which is the kingdom of Jesus Christ. Jesus will destroy the
Antichrist and his kingdom at the end of the seven-year reign of the
Antichrist. This time period, in the Bible, is described as the
Tribulation Period.
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