III. The Fantastic Interpretation (2:38-45)
DAN 2:38-40 ...Thou art this head of gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things.
The change of metals denotes deterioration of the empire's source of power ("inferior", v.39). History pictures a steady weakening of governmental power from the imperial form of government to a semblance of democracy.
First Empire is Babylon (B.C.606-538) -- "Thou are this head of gold" (2:38; also Jer. 25, 27). Nebuchadnezzar first build Babylon into an empire. Babylon was an absolute autocracy. The king was the government. When he spoke, the people obeyed. Successive Babylonian kings degraded in power, until Belshazzar the ungodly drunk handed the kingdom to the Persians.
Second Empire is Persia (B.C.538-331) -- "To the Medes and Persians" (5:28). Imagine the chagrin of Nebuchadnezzar as he was told of other kingdoms after his; Daniel was brave. The Medo-Persian empire was a coalition of two peoples (Medes and Persians) into one great empire. Persia was governed by laws which could not be changed, even by the king (cf. Daniel 6; Esther 8)
Although Persia conquered Babylon, it was inferior to the great Babylon, both in wealth and in power.
Third Empire is Greece (B.C.331-168) -- "King of Grecia" (8:20-21). The Grecian empire was a monarchy supported by a military aristocracy. The government was weak because the leaders were weak. The king of Greece was like a general, less despotic, with more freedom given to the people. This kingdom was to rule over "all the world" (v.39). Alexander the Great rapidly conquered the entire known world, lamenting that there were no more nations to conquer! But at age 33, he died of intemperance and fever.
Fourth Empire is Rome (B.C.168-A.D.476) -- Old Testament ends with Greece, New Testament opens with Rome (Luke 1). "Iron" is not as precious as other metals mentioned, but it is the strongest. Rome is distinguished for its strength in putting down all who rise against it. Rome swept across the known world in might conquests, making the Meditteranean Sea a "Roman lake."
The Roman emperors were elected by the people, but the people were not allowed to legislate or to interfere with government. But the iron rule of Rome grew weaker as we reach the feet and toes (composed of iron and clay). Here, we have imperialism mixed with democracy, or democratic monarchy.
NOTE: The years given above denote the periods when each empire had exercised world dominance.
DAN 2:41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided.
The Roman empire was divided into the Eastern and Western divisions, as follows:
In A.D. 330, Constantine set Constantinople as the empire's universal capital. In 395, he divided the empire between his two sons: Arcadius in the East and Honorius in the West. The eastern empire was subsequently conquered by the Moslems in 450; the western empire by the Germans in 1450.
DAN 2:41 But there shall be in it of the strength of the iron.
This describes Rome as militarily very strong. The Roman armies were second to none in the known world. Thus, the feet and ten toes would be strong but very brittle, because of the non-cohesive admixture of imperialism and democracy.
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.
"Clay" is an entirely foreign ingredient to iron, suggesting dilution of strength. It describes the more democratic form of government under Rome, compared to the previous empire. Note that the whole stately looking colossus of man's empires stands on weak feet (clay). Man's glories are but mud! Worldly powers and pomp contain the elements of desolution and self-destruction.
Also, Babylon was a single unit. The Medes and Persians were dual powers. The Grecian empire was split into four divisions. And the Revived Roman Empire will be a ten-nation confederacy.
DAN 2:44 And in the days of these kings:
This covers the entire Great Tribulation period, as the ten-nation confederacy headed and controlled by the Antichrist rules over Europe and then over the world.
DAN 2:44-45 ...shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed...Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands
The stone "cut out without hands" is the earthly kingdom of God (v.44), initiated by the second coming of Christ. Christ is the stone (Isa. 8:14; Ps. 118:22; Acts 4:11). The stone is distinct from the image, signifying the distinctiveness of Christ and His kingdom. When Christ comes, no other earthly kingdoms and system could withstand Him.
DAN 2:45 ...it brake in pieces the iron (cf: v.34 "which smote the image upon his feet")
The destructive blow is on the image's feet (not head, shoulders,waist, or legs), which effectively brings down the whole image. Christ's first coming was at the "leg" portion of the image; His second coming will be at its "feet" portion. This is the end-time Revived Roman Empire.
The stone immediately becomes a great mountain, filling the whole earth (v.35). This is Christ's millennial reign on earth.
NOTE that the Rapture of the church is nowhere mentioned here. The apostle Paul called the Rapture a "mystery" (I Cor. 15:58), or a brand-new New Testament truth. The Rapture will occur before the start of the Revived Roman Empire.