Head of Gold

*Hosea 13:4-9, "Yet I am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no saviour beside me. I did know thee in the wilderness, in the land of great drought. According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted; therefore have they forgotten me. Therefore I will be unto them as a lion: as a leopard by the way will I observe them I will meet them as a bear that is bereaved of her whelps, and will rend the caul of their heart, and there will I devour them like a lion: the wild beast shall tear them. O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help."

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 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. 3 And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream. 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. 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. 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. 7 They answered again and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation of it. 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. 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. 10 The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can shew the king's matter: therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean. 11 And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh. 12 For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. 13 And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain. 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: 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. 16 Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would shew the king the interpretation. 17 Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions: 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. 19 Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. 20 Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his: 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: 22 He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him. 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. 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 shew unto the king the interpretation. 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. 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? 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, shew unto the king; 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; 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. 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. 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. 36 This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. 37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, 606 B.C., he had a dream which he could not remember. The dream troubled him so he consulted with his soothsayers to tell him the dream and to give him the interpretation promising them gifts and rewards. Now the Chaldeans were famous for studying the stars to foretell the future. Being cunning in their behavior they asked Nebuchadnezzar, in the Assyrian language, to tell them the dream and they would interpret it. This made him extremely angry and he threatened their lives and the sanctity of their homes if they would not tell him what he dreamed and the interpretation. After making their request three times and telling him it was impossible for any man to know what he dreamed he accused them of trying to gain more time and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be put to death.

Nebuchadnezzar was obviously not a patient man. What he asked and what he commanded were to be responded to immediately. Upon hearing the decree Daniel asked the captain of the guard, who was responsible for fulfilling Nebuchadnezzar's order, why the king was so quick in his judgment. After hearing the report from the captain Daniel went to the king. He requested if he would give him the time he would tell the king both the dream and the interpretation. Nebuchadnezzar granted him his request.

The first thing Daniel did was to ask his three friends to pray and to ask God for mercy concerning the king's dream so that they might be kept alive. Daniel was not interested in the rewards Nebuchadnezzar had promised as were his constituents, the Chaldeans. His desire was that their lives be preserved. God showed Daniel the dream and gave him the interpretation.

*Daniel 2:19-23, "Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his: 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: He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him. 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."

As Daniel begins to reveal Nebuchadnezzar's dream we see an image appearing. A statue which had a head of gold, arms and breast of silver, belly and thighs of brass, legs of iron, and feet of iron and clay. The king looked at this statue until a stone cut without hands smashed the image on the feet. The image shattered from botton to top into pieces which the wind blew away. Until none of the pieces were found; however, the stone became a great mountain and filled the earth.

Daniel's interpretation of this dream reveals that the statue represents four kingdoms. The first kingdom represents the head of gold. *Daniel 2:37-38, "Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. 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."

The second kingdom, the kingdom of silver, would be inferior to Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom; however, the third kingdom, the kingdom of brass would consume the whole earth. The fourth kingdom, the kingdom of iron, would be strong. It would conquer the other kingdoms breaking and crushing them into pieces.

*Amos 3:7, "Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets."

History reveals that the kingdom of Babylon ruled the world from 626 to 539 BC when the Persians invaded the land and conquered Belshazzar, the king of Babylon, by stealing their way into the city via an aqua duct. As prophesied in Daniel's interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream, Babylon is the head of gold.

From 539 to 331 BC the world was ruled by a Medo-Persian empire. Persia was noted for the mining of silver. It was an ancient empire that extended from the Caspian Sea to the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. The Persians were originally a Medic tribe which settled on the eastern side of the Persian Gulf. Cyrus II united the divided power, conquering Media, Lydia, and Babylonia, and carried his arms into the far East. His son, Cambyses, added Egypt to the empire which fell to pieces after his death. It was reconquered and thoroughly organized by Darius whose dominions extended from India to the Danube. Medo-Persia is the arms and chest of silver.

From 331 to 146 BC Greece ruled the world. Greece originally consisted of the four provinces of Macedonia, Epirus, Achaia, and Peleponnesus ruled by Alexander the Great. Greece was noted for the brass, or bronze, armor that attired their armies. Greece is the belly and thighs of brass.

From 146 BC to 476 AD Rome was in power. Rome was enriched and adorned with the spoils of the world, and contained a population estimated at 1,200,000, of which half were slaves and included representatives of nearly every nation then known. It was distinguished for its wealth and luxury. With the strength of iron Rome conquered from Egypt to the northern most parts of the world under the rule of Caesar. When Rome divided it became a nation that ruled from the Persian Gulf to the islands of the Atlantic. Rome is the legs of iron.

As you read through the second chapter of Daniel, look at Nebuchadnezzar's dream and Daniel's interpretation, you will notice that this vision is the embodiment of all the prophesies contained within the book. Therefore, you need to closely examine this chapter and comprise a chart allowing spaces for Daniel chapters 7, 8, 9, 11, and 12 as well as chapter 2.

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Our generation has a great privilege. We can look back and see what Daniel could not see. We can also see what Daniel prophesied nearly 2500 years ago has transpired. We can truly understand that God's word has not failed. It has not returned to Him void. Every word Daniel spoke has been fulfilled. Every prophesy has come to pass except one.

When Daniel finished the interpretation of the dream he told Nebuchadnezzar, "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," (*Daniel 2:45). The scriptures in Daniel chapter 2 tell us that Nebuchadnezzar looked at the statue until a stone cut without hands smashed the feet of the image and it broke from bottom to top. The feet, partly of iron and partly of clay, represent a kingdom that will rule the earth at the time of the end.

After the fall of the Roman empire there has not been a nation that has dominated the entire world. There have been monarchs and men who have had the desire; who have attempted to control the world but since the time of Rome no nation has ruled in the manner that these four kingdoms have ruled. Napoleon, Hannibul, Gengis Chan, William the Conqueror, and Hitler have all tried and failed. There is a kingdom that will rule in the last days that will be partly strong and partly broken. This kingdom, ruled by ten kings, will consume the entire world. The kingdom will not last. It will be destroyed, along with all the other kingdoms, and never be found again. This kingdom is the feet partly of iron and partly of clay.

When Daniel had finished interpreting the dream Nebuchadnezzar gave great honor to both Daniel and his God. He promoted Daniel to a great place of honor over the whole province of Babylon making him second in the rule of the nation. So Daniel requested that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be placed over the affairs of the province but Daniel sat in the king's gate.

&We will be looking at this interpretation further as the prophesies unfold. For the moment we are simply looking at each chapter observing literally and interpreting. Although you may have read Daniel, as requested at the beginning of this study, it is through observation that we can interpret. If you have an encyclopedia handy this is a very resourceful tool to use when you are doing observations in any study of times or ages that require interpretation. But, before any interpretation is concluded, you must take the scriptures literally and in prayer seeking the Lord's wisdom and discernment because, "no prophesy of scripture is meant for any private interpretation," II Peter 1:20.