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What does Daniel’s interpretation mean?
He tells us that the gold represents King Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylonian Empire. Three greater kingdoms would come after the reign of Babylon (silver, bronze, and iron). With each level, there would be a balancing of power and a lessening of mind and influence but an increase in strength. King Neb’s Babylon was considered gold because it was an absolute autocracy. It was ruled by King Neb alone and stood for 66 years.
Persia would conquer Babylon as a monarchial oligarchy. This meant the nobles were equal in some ways to the king. The Medo-Persian Empire is represented by silver and would rule for 208 years.
“As silver is inferior to gold, so Medo-Persia was inferior to Babylon, not in size but in its effectiveness in governing its people.”
Nelson’s New Illustrated Commentary
Next comes Alexander the Great’s Grecian Empire. It was the largest kingdom which was prophesied by Daniel in verse 39 when he says it “shall rule over all the earth.” The Grecian Empire stood for 185 years and is represented by bronze.
Finally, there is the Roman Empire. A democratic imperialism, it would be represented by iron. The Romans would rule for more than 500 years.
“Since Roman history provides no fulfillment of this federation of kings (which seems to number ten, because of the number of toes, and passages like Dan 7:24 and Rev 17:12) this prophecy must still be future.”
David Guzik
Many believe that Rome will be revived under the influence of the Antichrist. Of course, there is more to the dream. A stone not cut by human hands destroys all the empires in one strike. “Not cut by human hands” would indicate divine intervention. Jesus is described as “the stone the builders rejected” in Psalm 118 as well as a “stone of offense and a rock of crumbling” in Isaiah 8. Zechariah 3 provides a striking resemblance to the prophecy of Daniel.
For behold, on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven eyes, I will engrave its inscription, declares the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day.
Zechariah 3:9 ESV
The stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. This is what we must cling to. No matter what your interpretation may be in regards to the End Times, we can all agree that the Kingdom of Jesus Christ will shatter every other kingdom of this world both physically and spiritually. The certainty of this prophecy was realized by Daniel in ancient times and it is still being revealed to us today!