Daniel 2 Commentary

The King of Babylon has a dream and demands that his wisemen not only tell him what it meant, but also tell him what he saw in the dream.

Nebuchadnezzar demands that the wisemen tell him what he saw in his dream. The wisemen tell the king that only gods can accomplish this task. Because of their failure, the king orders that all the wisemen be killed.

Daniel seeks an audience with the king so that he might, with wisdom from God, interpret the dream

Daniel seeks wisdom from God and gives thanks when it is given to him.

Daniel is taken to King Nebuchadnezzar to interpret his dream. Before doing so, Daniel tells the king again and again that it is only because of the one true God that he is able to interpret Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.

Daniel describes the king’s dream: an extravagant statue made of precious metals. A rock destroyed the statue and grew into a mountain.

Each piece of the statue in the dream represents a kingdom. This dream covers from the current time of Daniel, all the way through and past the time in which we currently live. Thousands of years, so far. It also covers the end of our current age, and introduces the Kingdom of God which will be established upon the earth.

Nebuchadnezzar’s dream reveals that after Babylon, an inferior kingdom will rise to prominence (Medo-Persia), and then a third kingdom will rise (Greece), ruling over all the earth.

Daniel explains the fourth kingdom (Rome), which will crush the kingdoms before it. It will be a mighty and fierce kingdom that is prone to shatter into pieces.

After the fourth kingdom, God will set up His eternal kingdom.

Nebuchadnezzar professes God as the God of gods and rewards Daniel and his friends for the interpretation of his dream.