Study Deep Truth

 

The Dream

Todays lesson is about a Babylonian king named Nebuchadnezzar, he ruled Babylon from 605 B.C. - 562 B.C., in the Chaldean Dynasty. Nebuchadnezzar plays a significant roll in the prophecy of the earth. He has an unusual dream that is recorded in Daniel chapter 2. This dream the king had, really bothered him, but he couldn't remember it. So he calls for his wise men the tell him his dream and what it meant. But his wise men could not produce the kings answer. So the king became furiously angry and ordered all of the wise men in Babylon, even the ones that were not there that morning, to be put to death. The king had no idea that his dream was a dream of prophecy. So lets let the book of Daniel tell us the whole story. Please read Daniel, cahpeter2, then proceed with the study below.

Q. What happened to Nebuchadnezzar in the second year of his reign? Daniel 2:1

A. “Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was so troubled that his sleep left him.” The king had a dream that was so troubling that he couldn't get back to sleep.

Q. What happens in Daniel 2:2-13 (Give a small summary.)

A. [Look it up] The king orders his “magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans” to tell him what his dream was and what it meant. But the “magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans” could not produce the kings answer, so the king became furious and ordered all the wise men of Babylon to be put to death. The death decree also included the wise men that didn't have direct contact with the king that day.

Q. Someone, who didn't understand why the decree that was pronounced, stepped forward to find out what the decree was; who was it? Daniel 2:14:15

A. Daniel asked, Arioch, the kings captain, about the decree and why it was so urgent. The Arioch decided to tell Daniel that the king had pronounced a death decree on all the wise men and why.

Q. What did Daniel do next? Daniel 2:16

A. Daniel pleads with the king for some time to pray so the answer to the kings questions, about his dream, may be answered. Daniel's request was granted. So Daniel gets his three friends to help him and they go to God for the answers (vs. 17, 18).

Q. Did God answer Daniel and his three friends prayers? Daniel 2:19-23

A. Yes, God does show Daniel the dream and the interpretation as well. Then Daniel praises God for revealing the kings matter to him. In his praise to God, Daniel made sure to mention that God was the revealer of secrets.

Q. What did Daniel tell the king that his dream was about? Daniel 2:29, 30

A. Daniel tells the king that his dream was about the future. Daniel also makes sure to tell the king that it was God of heaven that revealed the kings secret and the glory belongs to God.

The Dream Revealed

Q. What was the first detail, about the dream, that Daniel told the king? Daniel 2:31

A. Daniel told the king that he saw a great image thats splendor was excellent and its form was awesome.

Q. How did Daniel describe the image to the king? Daniel 2:32-36

A. Daniel told the king that was made from different metals. The head was made of gold, the breast and arms were made of silver, the thighs of brass, the legs of iron and the feet were made of clay and iron. The Daniel told the king that a great stone, not made by hands, struck the image on its feet and smashed it to pieces.

Daniel Interprets the Dream

Q. When Daniel said “we will tell the interpretation”, who is Daniel talking about? Daniel 2:36

A. “This is the dream. Now we will tell the interpretation of it before the king.” The answer to this question can be found in verse 28. It was God that gave Nebuchadnezzar the dream and it was God that gave Daniel the interpretation. So when Daniel said “we” he was meaning that, he and God, would give the interpretation.

Q. What did Daniel tell the king about the head of gold? Daniel 2:38

A. He told Nebuchadnezzar, “you are this head of gold.” The empire of Babylon ruled the earth from 605 B.C. -- 539 B.C.

Q. What did Daniel tell the king about the silver breast and arms? Daniel 2:39

A. “But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours.” Daniel had just told the king that his dream was telling that Babylon would not last, that another kingdom would rise after Babylon. The king could not have been pleased to hear this news. Are you getting the idea that the different metals in our multi-metal man represent kingdoms?

Q. What was the kingdom, the silver kingdom, that succeeded Babylon? Daniel 5:28, 30-31

A. We can find this question out by two ways. 1. We can look in the Bible. 2. We can look in ancient history. For this answer we will look in the Bible. Daniel just told Belshazzar, “Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.” That night the kingdom of Babylon was ceased and Darius the Mead took his place in ruler-ship over Babylon.

Q. Were there any other prophecies about the Meads and Persians in Scripture? Isaiah 44:27, 28; 45:1

A. Yes, there is reference to the Meads and Persians in another prophecy that was given by Isaiah 100 years before Nebuchadnezzar. This amazing prediction tell us that Cyrus, the Medo-Persian general, would attack and overthrow Babylon. Then Israel would receive their freedom from captivity once more. The Medo-Persian empire ruled the world from 539 B.C. - 331 B.C.

Q. What did Daniel tell Nebuchadnezzar about the multi-metal man's brass torso? Daniel 2:39 (Last Part)

A. He told the king that Medo-Persia would not last either, that a third kingdom of bronze would rule over the whole earth. By now, the king had to have some very mixed feelings about what Daniel was telling him, all the while being quite intrigued. Are you getting the idea that the kings dream was a time line of the rise and fall of kingdoms?

Q. Who was this third kingdom of brass, does the Bible tell us this as well? Daniel 8:20, 21

A. Yes the Bible does tell us who the third kingdom of brass was, we can also confirm it in history, but well look at the Bible for the answer. The two verses that we are looking at are from a vision that God gave Daniel some time after he gave the king the interpretation of his dream. We only want to look at who it was that succeeded Medo-Persia, these verses tell us that it was the kingdom of Greece. This prophecy was given 200 years in advance of when it took place. Greece took away, the once known kingdom of Babylon, from the Meads and Persians and ruled the world from 331 – 168 B.C.

Q. How did Daniel describe the fourth kingdom? Daniel 2:40

A. “And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others.” Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar that the iron kingdom would devour everything in its way. The Bible doesn't tell us directly who the Iron Kingdom is, but History does and sometimes we must look to history for answers. History tells us that it was the Roman Empire that succeeded Greece as rulers of the world. The Roman Empire began in 168 B.C. and lasted until 351 A.D.

Thessaloniki was first a city based in the Kingdom of Macedon, and soon after its founding, a parliament was established in representation of the king. In the 2nd century BC, the Roman era in the history of Thessaloniki began with the fall of Macedon in 168 BC. (http://www.destination360.com/europe/greece/thessaloniki.php)

Q. What did Daniel say would happen to the Iron Kingdom? Daniel 2:41

A. “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.” Daniel told the king that this fourth empire would become divided, no one would concur it, it would simply split apart. The divided empire would be partly strong (iron), and partly broken (clay). The kingdom divided into ten parts. Three of the ten parts are now extinct. The remaining seven make up Europe as we know it today.

Q. What did Daniel say the rulers of the divided kingdom would do to try to fix the division of the empire? Daniel 2:43

A. “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.” The rulers of the divided kingdom would try to reunite the kingdom by intermarriage of royalty, political intrigue, or war.The Bible tells us that the divided kingdoms will never be united no matter how hard they try.

Q. What does Daniel say would, ultimately, happen in the days of these kings? Daniel 2:44

A. “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.” God will establish His kingdom that will never be destroyed or left for anyone else to rule.

Q. What does the rock cut out with out hands represent? Daniel 2:45

A. “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.” The rock is the kingdom of Jesus Christ. All earthly kingdoms will come to an end and ultimately be destroyed at the second coming of Christ.

Q. What does the Bible tell us will happen to those who are not included in Christ's kingdom? Psalms 2:8, 9

A. “Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’” Those who are not included in the kingdom of Christ will ultimately be destroyed.

Q. What advise does the book of Titus give us for the end days? Titus 2:11-13

A. “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” We should deny all ungodliness and worldly lusts. We need to live sober, righteous, and godly lives right now. We should also do so as we wait for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.

Extra Learning

For history about king Nebuchadnezzar see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebuchadrezzar_II

 

All rights reserved © 2008, Study Deep Truth