Dan 2:1 And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him.

Nebuchadnezzar's dream: The troubling dream. Some commentators say that this happened while Daniel was in his three-year training course; others say that it was soon after he was finished. The year 602, by Babylonian methods of dating the ascension of a king, could be both the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign and after three years of training for the Hebrew youths. There was something disturbing about this dream, and Nebuchadnezzar knew that it was unusually significant.

Dan 2:2 Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to shew the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king.
Dan 2:3 And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream.
Dan 2:4 Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriack, O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation.
Dan 2:5 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.
Dan 2:6 But if ye shew the dream, and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honour: therefore shew me the dream, and the interpretation thereof.
Dan 2:7 They answered again and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation of it.
Dan 2:8 The king answered and said, I know of certainty that ye would gain the time, because ye see the thing is gone from me.
Dan 2:9 But if ye will not make known unto me the dream, [there is but] one decree for you: for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, till the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can shew me the interpretation thereof.

Nebuchadnezzar demands to know the dream and its interpretation from his wise men. It is hard to say if Nebuchadnezzar really remembered the dream or not; he may have had a sense of it, but been fuzzy on remembering the details. Nebuchadnezzar had no criteria by which to judge the accuracy of their interpretation, but could test their ability to tell what he dreamed. In fact, it was the business of these wise men to be able to contact the divine and get secrets from the spirit realm. The harsh posture of Nebuchadnezzar (as well as the method of execution he describes) is perfectly consistent with an ancient eastern monarch. Archer describes one method of dismemberment: the victim was tied to four trees with a rope at each limb. The trees were bent inwards and tied together at the top; the top rope was cut and the body was snapped into four pieces.

In verse 2, we have the first mention of Chaldeans as a class of soothsayers to the king. This usage of the word is cited by critics as wrong, and a mistake that only a second century BC writer would make. Supposedly, in Daniel's day, the term Chaldean was only used as a racial designation - in fact, it described what the Chaldeans thought was the "master race" that ruled Nebuchadnezzar's superpower empire Babylon. But linguistic research has demonstrated that the Babylonian word for an astrologer-priest, and their word for their supposed master race were homonyms, both having the sound Chaldean (kas-du in Babylonian), but each retaining their own meaning. This is the same as how the English sound tu can mean to, two, or too. Daniel's understanding of this is clear from the text, because he also uses the term Chaldean in its racial sense    (Daniel 3:8; 5:30).

Dan 2:10 The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can show the king's matter: therefore [there is] no king, lord, nor ruler, [that] asked such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean.
Dan 2:11 And [it is] a rare thing that the king requires, and there is none other that can show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.

The wise men explain the impossibility of Nebuchadnezzar's request. And, in so doing, they confess that true revelation comes from God down to man; it is not the achievement of man. The strategy of the wise men was to convince the king that he was being unreasonable, not that they were incompetent. "They were like some modern ministers of our own day who spend their time studying philosophy, psychiatry, psychology, social science, political science, and then continue under the pretense of being God's messengers to men."

Dan 2:12 For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise [men] of Babylon.
Dan 2:13 And the decree went forth that the wise [men] should be slain; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain.

A furious Nebuchadnezzar sentences all his wise men to death. Nebuchadnezzar, though a despot, knew that false religious was worse than useless, it was a curse. As a new king, Nebuchadnezzar may also have been using the situation to test the suitability of his father's old advisors; they seem to be lacking.

Dan 2:14 Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch the captain of the king's guard, which was gone forth to slay the wise [men] of Babylon:
Dan 2:15 He answered and said to Arioch the king's captain, Why [is] the decree [so] hasty from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.
Dan 2:16 Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would show the king the interpretation.

God reveals the dream to Daniel. Daniel reacts to Nebuchadnezzar's decree by asking for a brief extension. Daniel is obviously innocent in all this; yet he calmly and discretely deals with the situation. Daniel's calmness in the crisis showed what kind of man he really was; crises do not make the man, they reveal the man. He asked the king to give him time - it takes time to listen to the Lord and to wait upon Him, and Daniel knew this. Was Satan trying to manufacture Daniel's execution in all this?

Dan 2:17 Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions:
Dan 2:18 That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise [men] of Babylon.

Daniel asks his companions for prayer. Daniel was in the type of situation where God truly works: one of human impossibility with the stress on urgency. The battle was won when Daniel prayed with his friends; "It is a privilege to have praying friends"; "In prayer meetings such as this history has been made." No doubt, their prayers were extremely earnest, and God listens to earnest prayer. Daniel had confidence that God could do an unprecedented miracle; Joseph had interpreted dreams with God's help, but had not reconstructed the dreams.

Dan 2:19 Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.

God reveals Nebuchadnezzar's dream and its interpretation to Daniel.  This was not religion, but revelation; it came in a "night vision" (a dream? A vision at night?).

Dan 2:20 Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his:
Dan 2:21 And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:
Dan 2:22 He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what [is] in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.
Dan 2:23 I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast [now] made known unto us the king's matter.

Daniel's praise to God for this revelation. God is praised for His might, and for His desire to speak to man. Daniel has the certainty of faith to believe that God has given him the answer, even when he has not confirmed it before Nebuchadnezzar yet.

Dan 2:24 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 show unto the king the interpretation.
Dan 2:25 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.
Dan 2:26 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?
Dan 2:27 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, show unto the king;
Dan 2:28 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;
Dan 2:29 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.
Dan 2:30 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.

The dream of Nebuchadnezzar and its interpretation. Daniel is ushered into the king's presence, and gives glory to God for revealing the dream. Arioch tries to glorify himself and Daniel in verse 25 (I have found a man); but Daniel gives all the glory to God in verse 28 (in contrast to the Babylonian gods).

Dan 2:31 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.
Dan 2:32 This image's head [was] of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass,
Dan 2:33 His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.
Dan 2:34 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.
Dan 2:35 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 threshing floors; 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 dream is described by Daniel. Daniel's description is clear; this is a massive image (statue) made of different materials. The image is destroyed by a stone made without hands, and is blown away like worthless chaff, while the stone comes to dominate the whole earth.

Dan 2:36 This [is] the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.
Dan 2:37 Thou, O king, [art] a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.
Dan 2:38 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.
Dan 2:39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.
Dan 2:40 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.
Dan 2:41 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.
Dan 2:42 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.
Dan 2:43 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.
Dan 2:44 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.
Dan 2:45 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.

The interpretation of the dream. Nebuchadnezzar is clearly said to be the head of gold; after him will come three other kingdoms, then the final kingdom set up by God. The empires succeeding Babylon were the Medo-Persian, the Greek and the Roman. They are inferior not in the sense of size or duration (quite the opposite); but in the sense of centralization of absolute power. The metals become less valuable (and "weighty," according to specific gravity), but they do become stronger; in value, we see a devolution, not an evolution. Babylonia stood for 66 years; Medo-Persia for 208 years; Greece for 185 years, and Rome was so strong it stood for more than 500 years.

Notice the distinction between the feet and the legs; the feet seem to describe a confederation of kings, during which Jesus will establish His kingdom on earth. Since there is no fulfillment of this federation of kings (which seems to number ten, because of the number of toes, and passages like Daniel 7:24 and Revelation 17:12) in ancient Roman history; this prophecy must still be future. Therefore, the final superpower of the world is thought to be a "revival" of the Roman Empire, a continuation of the image - this will be the final world empire that the returning Jesus will conquer over.

The church or the gospel have not, in a single decisive event, shattered the reign of human kingdoms - they still rule over the earth; this will be the work of God, not man. This isn't the gradual salvation of the world by the church; "Smashing is not salvation. Crushing is not conversion. Destroying is not delivering nor is pulverizing the same as purification."  Psalm 118:22, Isaiah 8:14 and 28:16, and Zechariah 3:9 also refer to Jesus as a stone; Jesus is the stone, not the church. Some Catholic commentators say that the stone fell from heaven in the fifth or sixth century, at the height of the papacy's power over the nations - this is obviously wrong. The feet are said to be partly iron and partly clay (pottery); there is strength mixed with weakness. Perhaps in the same way that the Soviet Union was a superpower with its military, but had the economy of a third-world nation. The Antichrist's real strength will be as much show as substance.

Analysis: this is a human image, representing man's rule in this earth; that day will end. This is an amazing prophecy! God can tell us the future because He controls all of history. We do well to remember that Rome was nothing but a little village on the banks of the Tiber when Nebuchadnezzar dreamed his dream. Liberal scholars do not believe that the fourth kingdom is Rome, but they say it is Greece, and that the second and third kingdoms are Media and Persia respectively, instead of the Medo-Persian empire as a whole. They interpret this way because they believe that it would have been impossible for Daniel (writing in the Maccabean period, of course) to predict the Roman empire.

Dan 2:46 Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him.
Dan 2:47 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.
Dan 2:48 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.
Dan 2:49 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.

Nebuchadnezzar reacts by praising Daniel, his God, and by promoting Daniel and his friends. It is fitting that Daniel's friends--who had accomplished much of the victory through their prayers--get to share in Daniel's advancement.