Daniel 2: A Dream About Successive Powers
What is the theological heart of the dream narrative in Daniel 2? The Statue of gold, silver, bronze, iron, and iron & clay serve the greater theological point: God gives power and wisdom, and God takes it away (deposes kings). Kings who are supposed to image God, as God intended from the beginning for all human beings, are deposed because of their violence and greed in successive generations. And this anticipates the coming of the fullness of the kingdom of God that will fill the earth with God’s glory, righteousness, and steadfast love.
Outline of Daniel 2: Prayer, Wisdom, and Praise
The Mystery of Dream and the Inability of Babylon’s Wise Men (2:1-16): “There is no one on earth who can reveal what the king demands” (2:10).
Prayer and Revelation of the Mystery by Divine Wisdom (2:17-23): “the mystery was revealed to Daniel” (2:19).
The Dream Recounted: Revelations of the Future (2:24-35): “there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has disclosed to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen at the end of time” (2:28).
The Dream Interpreted: Four Kingdoms and the Kingdom of God (2:36-45): “You, O king, the king of kings—to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom the power, the might, and the glory, into whose hand he has given human beings, wherever they live, the wild animals of the field, and the birds of the air, and whom he has established as ruler over them all—you are the head of gold” (2:37).
Response to the Dream: Nebuchadnezzar Worships and Rewards (2:45-49): “The king said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings and a reveler of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery!” (2:47).
The Theological Heart: God’s Identity and Actions (2:20-23, NRSV)
| Verse | Text | Part |
| 20 | Blessed be the name of God from age to age, for wisdom and power are his. | Invocation |
| 21 | He changes times and seasons, deposes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. | Divine Acts |
| 22 | He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with him. | Divine Acts |
| 23a | To you, O God of my ancestors, I give thanks and praise, | Thanksgiving |
| 23b | for you have given me wisdom and power, and have now revealed to me what we asked of you, for you have revealed to us what the king ordered. | Reason |
- God of Israel reveals mysteries, not the wisdom of Babylon and its gods.
- The two key attributes are: (1) wisdom/knowledge and (2) power.
- God is active in human kingdoms for God’s own purposes (cf. Job 12:23).
- God gives wisdom, knowledge, and power to whomever God chooses.
- This confession is universal as it speaks to who God is and what God does.
The Kingdom of God (2:34-35; 44-45).
The Dream: a stone, cut out by God, struck the feet of the statue, and it collapsed. The statue was reduced to dust carries away by the wind, leaving no trace of its existence. But the stone became a great mountain and filled the whole earth (2:34-35).
The Interpretation: in the days of the kingdom when iron is mixed with clay, God will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed nor succeeded by any other because it will stand forever (2:44-45).
Historical Interpretations of the Image in Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream
| Statue | View 1 | View 2 | View 3 |
| Gold Head | Babylon | Babylon | Babylon |
| Silver Chest | Medo-Persia | Medes | Medo-Persia |
| Bronze Belly | Greeks | Persians | Greek |
| Iron Legs | Roman | Greeks | Roman |
| Iron & Clay Feet | Divided Rome | Divided Greeks | Post-Roman; Yet to Come |
Diverse Christian Interpretations of the Kingdom God Will Set Up
- Daniel does not identify the timing of the coming of the kingdom with any specificity.
- The stone represents the first advent of Jesus and the resultant establishment of the church in Acts 2 on Pentecost until the church fills the earth.
- The stone represents the first advent of Jesus, but the millennial kingdom will not be established until the time of rapture and tribulation has passed at the end of the age.
- The stone represents the second advent of Jesus and the resultant establishment of the millennial kingdom.