Daniel's Dream About Our Future

There's always been such confusion over where the coming endtime beast power will arise on the earth. The Book of Daniel, chapter two, gives the answer. It shows that King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream -- it was a prophetic dream detailing the world's gentile governments that would rule before the return of Christ.

This is how Daniel describes the dream to Nebuchaddnezzar: "You, O king, were watching as a great statue — one of impressive size and extraordinary brightness — was standing before you. Its appearance caused alarm. As for that statue, its head was of fine gold, its chest and arms were of silver, its belly and thighs were of bronze. Its legs were of iron; its feet were partly of iron and partly of clay. You were watching as a stone was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its iron and clay feet, breaking them in pieces. Then the iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold were broken in pieces without distinction and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors that the wind carries away. Not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the statue became a large mountain that filled the entire earth."
(Dan 2:31-35 NET)

This prophetic dream dealt specifically with world governments, the last of which, symbolized as the "stone that was cut without hands" (Dan 2:45), represents the Kingdom of God coming upon the earth with the return of Jesus.

diagram from http://blackinkdesigns.com/

Due to the accuracy of the prophesy, biblical critics have attempted to date the book after the fact. However, Jesus calls Daniel a prophet (Matt 24:15). Let's take Jesus' words over this, rather than man's.

The book appears to have been written at the time of the Babylonian captivity of the Jews (during the first kingdom, Babylon) and into the beginning of the Persian Kingdom (Dan 1:1, Dan 10:1). And it foresaw the coming of three gentile empires: Persia, Greece and Rome (see Dan 8 & Dan 11).

Jesus came at the time of the Roman Empire, when Rome issued a decree to kill all newborns. Jerusalem was sacked by the Roman Empire in 70 AD. The Roman Empire (the legs of iron) would go through a series of revivals until the endtimes, signified by the toes (part of iron, part of clay).

Each metal symbolized a different empire. The fact that the toes are part iron and part clay symbolizes that the last empire would be a continuation of the Roman Empire (iron) coupled with another, weaker entity (clay, Dan 2:41).

Once this ten-toed (or ten nations) revival occurs, and subsequent prophecies are fulfilled, then Jesus returns. "In the days of those kings (represented by the toes) the God of heaven will raise up an everlasting kingdom that will not be destroyed and a kingdom that will not be left to another people. It will break in pieces and bring about the demise of all these kingdoms. But it will stand forever."
(Dan 2:44 NET)

This is why we need to keep an eye on Europe for endtime prophesy.

Next time I write I want to show you some interesting parallels between endtime prophecies and the European Union.