606, 597, 586 BC sieges of Jerusalem by Babylon. Daniel captive in 606; Ezekiel captive in 597.
625-605 BC: Nabopolassar; destroyed Assyrian Nineveh in 612 BC
605-562 BC: Nebuchadnezzar; 585-572 besieged Tyre; 568 Egyt
Evil Merodach; 562-560; beheaded Jehoiachin of Judah in captivity
559-557; Neriglissar
557; Laborosoarched; murdered by Nabonidus
556-539; Nabonidus; father of Belshazzar
539; Belshazzar; in Babylon when it fell; Dan 5:30
2:1 written approximately 600 B. C.
2:28 dream concerns the latter days
BABYLON: 606-538 BC ruled Israel
2:32 head of gold
2:37-38 Babylon is head of gold
MEDIA-PERSIA: 538-331 BC
2:32 breast and his arms of silver
2:39 inferior image (of brass)
GREEKS: 331-64BC ruled Israel
2:33 belly and his thighs of brass
2:39 third kingdom of brass rules earth
ROME: 476 BC last W Emperor in Rome
ROME: 64 BC– AD 638-700 Palestine, Egypt
ROME: 64 BC – AD 1453 Greece, Constantinople
2:33 legs of iron: W and E Rome
2:40 fourth kingdom of iron
The progression from gold to brass to silver to iron reflects a progression from totalitarian rule to republican rule by the people.
Other than dispensationalists most churches interpret the stone which struck the image as the first coming of Christ and God’s kingdom which will rule the earth as the Church.
There are so many insurmountable problems with this interpretation that it must be rejected.
(1) The church came into existence in the first half of the first century after Calvary at a time when the Roman Empire was at its height and very far from being a divided kingdom. Rome was enjoying a period of great peace which allowed the Gospel to spread.
(2) Rome would rule in the West for over 400 years after Calvary, another 700 years in the East over Palestine and until 1453 in Constantinople.
(3) Israel would continue with a national identity until AD 135.
(4) The common denominator between Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome is its rule over national Israel. This is why other great ruling kingdoms such as the Ottoman Empire are not included in the prophecy.
DIVIDED ROMAN EMPIRE:
2:33 feet part of iron and part of clay.
2:41-42 divided kingdom; strong and weak
2:43 mingle; intermarriage; still weak
Israel ceased to exist as a nation in AD 135 and re-emerged as a nation in 1948. Therefore there is an essential gap between the end of the fourth iron beast and the beginning of the divided remnant of the Roman Empire as seen in the feet of iron and clay. In the “latter times” the divided kingdoms will again attempt to oppress Israel. The details will be given in the visions of Daniel 7, 8 and 9. The second coming of Christ will occur in the “latter times” while these ten exist.
2:34 stone hits image on the feet
2:34 feet are broken up
2:35 entire image breaks into dust
2:35 wind carries dust away
2:35 stone fills the whole earth
…….
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.
The Church has been on earth since Calvary. It does not fit the description of these texts. Even at its height of power in the 12th century the Roman Catholic Church did not control anything outside of Wstern Europe. The Muslims and Buddhists controlled more land and people and the new world’s Inca and Aztec empires were unknown.
The kingdom of God will be established on earth during the millennium as described in Revelation, chapter 20. The Church is not seen in the book of Daniel.
