THE SIGNIFICANCE OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR’S DREAM
In the dream of King Nebuchadnezzar, God Almighty revealed in one broad sweep, the visible and invisible realms of Satan’s government and affirms the well known verity that He knows the end from the beginning. Truly the “most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.”
The book of Daniel chapter two contains a fascinating account of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream; a dream whose mystery was deepened by the fact that he forgot it entirely. The king commanded his servants to call the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, curiously enough, to remind him of the dream and then to give its interpretation. Of course, none of his wise men could meet his demand, saying that “there is not a man upon the earth that can shew the king’s matter.” They stated further that: “There is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean. And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.” -Daniel 2: 10,11.
As a result the king was angry and very furious. He commanded that all the wise men of Babylon, should be destroyed, including Daniel the prophet. But Daniel implored the King to delay awhile and promised that he will tell the King the dread as well as its interpretation. Having prayed with his companions, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, Jehovah revealed the dream to Daniel in a night vision. – Daniel 2:17.
Here is Daniel’s lucid and captivating account of the dream: “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. This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. 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. 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 threshing floors; 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.” – Daniel 2:24-35
Daniel the prophet went on to give the interpretation: “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. 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: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. 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. 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. 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.”- Daniel 2:36-43
Spiritual Importance
It must be understood that Daniel’s interpretation was not only symbolic but was also prophetic as it pointed to events of great spiritual importance which will reach their climax in this age known as the “latter days” or “end of the world”. We have cause to be grateful to Jehovah Whom it has pleased to use St. Gideon Meriodere Urhobo, of the blessed and eternal memory, the founding instrument of the God’s Kingdom Society to give further interpretation to the dream of Nebuchadnezzar as He promised in Amos 3:7 to wit: “Surely, the Lord will do nothing, but He revealeth His secrets unto His servants the prophets.” – See also Matthew 13:10,11; 1 Corinthians 2:7,8,10,11; Ephesians 3:3-8.
The dream refers to Satan’s entire organization both visible and invisible. It lists the kingdoms of the world, starting from the ruling empire then, Babylon, and ends with a majestic statement about the establishment of God’s own kingdom which will bear rule over all the earth.
It is worthy of note that the image as revealed to Daniel was made up of five parts (verses 32,33). The head of gold is Satan the devil himself, represented in those days by Nebuchadnezzar; the silver which is next in value to gold stands for the chief executive officers of Satan the devil. They are next in command to him and are known as Gog and Magog; the brass stands for the lower wicked angels in Satan’s empire: they are responsible for witchcraft, magic, astrology, necromancy, etc; the legs and feet represent the inferior and visible part of Satan’s organization. This is made up of (1) the legs of iron, representing the political element; (2) part of the feet made of iron, which stands for commerce and (3) the part made of clay, which stands for religion.
At another level, the dream refers to world empires. The number of the kingdoms and their relative strengths is another proof of the authenticity of the Bible. The Kingdoms of Egypt and Assyria had already fallen by then, so the prophecy begins with the kingdom of Babylon. In his interpretation, Daniel identified king Nebuchadnezzar who personified the kingdom of Babylon, as the head of gold. The silver represents the kingdom of the Medes and the Persians; the brass stands for the Grecian empire while iron represents the Roman empire. In verse 41 the prophet Daniel described the fifth kingdom, which was a mixture of iron and clay. This finds fulfillment in the British empire, which in affiliation with America, formed the Anglo-American Imperialism.
God’s Government
Verse 44 of Daniel chapter 2 states that “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.” Who are “these kings”? These are the seven kingdoms or world empires which after their rule, would come together in one body to seek to direct the affairs of the world. For, though the dream of Nebuchadnezzar speaks of five Kings, starting from Babylon, the complete number of the kingdoms that ruled the world at various times is seven as stated in Revelation 17:10,11 to wit: “And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eight, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.”
The seven Kings or Kingdoms are those of Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome and Britain. At the time apostle John was writing, five of the empires had fallen; but one, the Roman Empire still existed. The one that was “yet to come” was the British empire. After the British Empire there will be no other empire of global significance other than a body made up of the representatives of the seven world powers that had ruled and fallen. This body, known as the “beast” in the text under reference finds fulfillment in the League of Nations. The League was formed in 1919, but went into partial destruction in 1939 when the Second World War broke out, only to re-emerge in 1945 as United Nations Organization now United Nations.
Concerning this global organization Jesus Christ declared: “But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains…” (Mark 13:14) The League of Nations was an abomination in that it was characterized by deceit and hypocrisy (Proverbs 6:16-19); And Scripture says: ”For that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.” (Luke 16:15) The League claimed to be able to do those things which God alone can do in His kingdom – to end wars, wipe out poverty disease, and bring about peace generally. The so-called Churches of Christ in America on May 9, 1919 hailed it as “the political expression of God’s Kingdom on earth”. The League thereby “stood in the holy place” (Matthew 24:25,16) “where it ought not” to stand, which is God’s Kingdom. The hopes of people who looked to the League than to God for solution to world problems were dashed in pieces as they suffered great desolation in the aftermath of the Second World War. Those who look to the United Nations and to political leaders of the world than to God for solution to human sufferings and woes will suffer even greater desolation when God will destroy this evil world in the great tribulation soon to take place in this age. –Jeremiah 3:8; Jeremiah;17:5-8; Psalm 146:3,4; Isaiah 8:9,10.
It is in these Last Days, – “in the days of these kings” – that God promised to set up His Kingdom which Christ referred to as “mountains” in Matthew 24:15,16, that those in “Judaea”, meaning those who love to praise God, shall flee to, knowing that it is the only place of safety and protection. This harmonizes with the prophecy in Isaiah 2:2: “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.”
That we are now in the last days when this prophecy should fulfil is beyond argument. As Jesus Christ foretold, (Matthew 24:3-8) the beginning of the end of the world, was marked by a global war, which fulfilled in the First World War of 1914-1918. Daniel the prophet was also inspired to give other marks “of the time of the end” such as increase in learning and ease of communication. (Daniel 12: 4,8-10) That apart, Apostle Paul said the people who will live in the last days, will be selfish, proud, “blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection …despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof…” (2 Timothy 3:1-5) These signs are now fulfilling to the letter.
For the fact that Jesus Christ had driven Satan away from heaven to the earth and established God’s Kingdom in heaven (Revelation 12:7-12) it follows that the “Mountain of the Lord’s House” meaning God’s Kingdom belonging to Jesus Christ and the saints, (Hebrews 3:6; 1 Corinthians 3:16,17) has been established “in the top of the Mountains”, or Satan’s organization. The Kingdom set up on earth will grow gradually and surpass worldly clubs and societies (hills) because of its stand for truth and righteousness. “All nations” meaning all those who love righteousness, shall be gathered into it.
Since the prophecy about the empires that will rule the world and the global organization that will come thereafter had fulfilled, it goes without saying that the dream of Nebuchadnezzar which is essentially about the setting up of God’s Kingdom, has fulfilled. How does one identify the Kingdom? The mark of God’s organization or Kingdom is the truth, which the anointed servants of Jesus Christ will preach in these last days. (Matthew 24:31,14; 1 John 2:27; Isaiah 26:1,2 John 8:32) Any Church therefore that preaches the truth in any part of the world, like the God’s Kingdom Society, is part and parcel of JEHOVAH’S universal Kingdom on earth.
Concluding the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, verses 34 and 35 of Daniel chapter 2, states that “a stone cut out without hands”, smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces…” The “stone”, cut out without hands” represents Jesus Christ whom God will use to destroy both the Devil and the visible and invisible parts of his empire. (Revelation 20:1; Ezekiel 28:12-19; Isaiah 14:12-19;Jeremiah 51:20-23).
The wind that will carry away the smashed pieces of the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold, which became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors” represents the battle of Armageddon when Satan’s entire realm will be swept off the earth and only God’s Kingdom fully established – the “great mountain” which “filled the whole earth” will hold sway over the whole earth. All mankind will then be subject to JEHOVAH under the form of government based on His laws, known as theocracy, and perfect peace will exist on earth forever. – 1 Corinthians 15:28; Matthew 6:9,10; etc.